This game made a very clean escape from being one huge medieval sewer level. The setting of the game is a world whose sun died long ago. The races of the world worked together and managed to move civilization underground before the inevitable apocalyptic freeze. Now, the peace and cooperation is wearing thin. You start in a dank dungeon with nothing but vague promises from a fellow prisoner who offers to help. Progressing from literally a bone-swinging savage in tattered leather thongs, you can become any sort of warrior, launching massive fireballs or cleaving foes with swords. However, the game becoming increasingly unforgiving, so the player learns to be consistent in skill development. The amount of environmental interaction rivals the best of modern RPGs. You can mine gems and metals, cook, manufacture weapons, and use the environment to kill more difficult foes. The story gets darker and creepier the further you go, but the developers accomplished a great in adding vast detail to what is supposed to be a limited environment.
Duke Nukem is one of the most popular names in gaming. This is so for a very good reason. Duke Nukem 3D promised an adventure filled with babes, guns and aliens. It delivered. There is a very large variety of weapons that have unique ways of causing carnage. The monsters and aliens are not very smart, but are capable of causing large amounts of damage and attack in numbers. Also, there's the humor. It's cheesy, but it's Duke. At the very least, you're going to smirk a few times. The Atomic Edition adds another episode to the original three. New enemies and weapons are also available. Other than that, it's more of the same.
Honestly, this game is not the least bit fair. Enemies are fast and have very good aim. Often, you are pitted against giant tanks that you can only kill at close range. You are often stuck in tight corridors filled with all kinds of turrets that will tear you to pieces very fast. There are sniper sections. I thought the concept for this game was pretty good, but the difficulty curve is very steep and, graphically, the game looks gloomy, which I guess was the idea. This game is yet another case of over-ambition. It is in no way the worst game in the world, but it has a few of the elements, which is enough to bring it down. That being said, it is still worth a try.
