Always Bet On Duke!

Back in 1996 there was a game I played almost exclusively for a long time; Duke Nukem 3D was a first-person shooter well ahead of its time. Duke is an American hero, large and strong, rocking a pair of shades. As the Earth was invaded by aliens, Duke saved the world (and all the “chicks”). More importantly, he did it with style. Compared to the convoluted storyline found in most modern games, Duke didn’t set the bar very high, but he didn’t have to.

A year later, 3D Realms (the developer behind the Duke Nukem) immediately continued with a sequel; Duke Nukem Forever. After licensing the Quake II engine, the game was set to release only a year later. In 1998, 3D Realms decided to ditch the Quake II technology in favor of the Unreal Engine, abandoning much of the work already done and inevitability delaying the game by another year.