{This review was written using the Duke 64 Total Conversion mod for the PC. This is a 100% completely faithful recreation of the original version outside of using WSAD/Mouse and the ability to Quick Save/Load. The usual eDuke engine quirks exist as well, but outside of these things, it faithfully recreates the N64 experience}

This was a version of the game that I never had when I originally owned a N64. I had Doom 64, Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, South Park and Conker's Bad Fur Day (among other games) but I didn't hear of Duke Nukem till Duke Nukem Advance. My first full Duke game though was Duke Forever Nukem. I always heard about this game and how it censors the heavily sexual and religious themes in the game, and I never liked that. Still though, I was always curious on playing the game despite this.

This review is here to explain my intial reaction to the game and why it was better than I originally thought.
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Graphics: The graphics have been slightly updated. Strippers have been clothed so that they probably won't catch a cold, enemies have been slightly redone to look menacing, and the weapons have been redesigned or replaced. I honestly like the updated look. I wish we had these designs for the original PC version. These are some of my favorite redesigns. Levels, either out of censorship or because of reasons, have been changed around slightly and dark areas have been touched upon to actually BE dark. I actually had to use my Night Vision goggles at some point to avoid ambushes.


Sounds: Because of the cartridge space, music has been taken away (if you are using the mod, you can enable music) but as far as I know it's the same sounds, grunts, and groans of dying enemies. Since I played Duke Nukem Advance, having no tunes of the admittedly awesome Duke Soundtrack (Outside of the Start Screen) is a fine sacrifice to have.


Addictiveness: I have played Duke 3D for awhile now. I have the Megaton and World Tour Anniversary editions on Steam, and thus have played this game many times over. Now I am playing the N64 version. I will probably play this game for quite awhile and each version has it's unique quirks. I can see myself play this game (the mod anyway) again.

Story: Duke still has to kick alien butt, save the world, and run out of bubble gum. It's the same story as the original PC version. Just, you know, on the N64.


Depth: Instead of separate episodes, Duke 64 has you play it all at once. This means that except at the beginning of the Death Row level, you get to keep your weapons at all times. Some levels have been deleted due to space, and Episode 4 has been deleted completely except for Duke Burger and Area 51 which are now secret levels. These happen to be my favorite Episode 4 levels but that's a different story altogether. Some areas are changed around due to censorship reasons, or just because. Babes, which could be potentially mercy killed or just killed in general, are now able to be rescued. You can't kill them. In the mod, this is true as well. I point blanked shotgun and kicked one to prove if that glitch from the original PC version was fixed or updated, and it was!

Some of the more questionable lines that Duke says that are profane or violent, have been redone. This is just as true in the mod as it is in the original N64 version! They are just as cheesy and classic as the original. At least I think so.


Difficulty: This game isn't that hard. I played this game on Come Get Some which is Hard Mode, and it generally is easy. The controls can take some getting used to (if you aren't playing the mod) and thus it can be down to fake difficulty due to N64 having really weird controls compared to modern FPS gaming. If you come to this and other N64 FPS titles from a modern game, then it's going to get really weird getting used to the controls of yesteryear. I grew up in this era of gaming and I still get spoiled due to today's gaming. I also don't much care for Damn I'm Good difficulty.

I don't know if it's my luck in finding everybody, but I notice that with the exception of Red Light District/Gun Crazy, getting 100% enemy kills is a little easier in this version compared to the original. Maybe I just get lucky with the enemy spawns or they fixed the enemy spawn system, or maybe it's due to some unexplained cosmic occurrence.
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So in short, Duke Nukem 64 is a heavily censored, albeit fun port of Duke Nukem 3D. Ignoring the fact it's rated M, it's approachable if you don't like the suggestive material of the original or dirty minded sexual humor. Duke 3D is relatively tame, but I digress. Duke Nukem 64 has some great ideas, level design alternatives, and a fantastic weapon design. I can't get over how fun it is to shoot the ambush with a grenade launcher from afar. In some ways, I very much prefer it over the original weapon. Technically the RPG does appear in this game, but it's a different weapon slot and different overall.

I find it very much worth the time even if I am not directly playing the N64 version. The mod is pretty accurate and probably a lot more legally acceptable compared to playing it on Emulator as you still need Duke 3D to run it and play in in Eduke. I don't know the legality of Total Conversions, but whatever. It's the same game, and experience overall just with better controls.

9/10