Duke Nukem II
-
3D Realms: Anthology
(2014) -
3D Realms: Anthology - Steam Edition
(2015) -
Apogee Game Collection Volume 2
(1997) -
Duke Nukem 1+2
(2012) -
Duke Nukem 3D: Kill a Ton Collection
(1997) -
Duke Nukem Platformer Pack
(2013) -
Duke Nukem: Kill-A-Ton 2015 Collection
(2015)
Description official descriptions
Duke Nukem II is a platform game and a sequel to Duke Nukem. While giving an interview on TV, the famous muscular hero Duke Nukem is captured by the evil Rigelatins, who intend to use his brain for conquering Earth. Duke easily escapes his prison cell.
Now he has to make his way through four episodes, each one consisting of an assortment of levels with varying graphic design. On his way, Duke has to destroy lots of obstacles and enemies - both Rigelatin forces and apparent local wildlife. Initially, Duke has just a weak laser rifle, but he can also find a flamethrower (which allows him to shoot down to launch himself in the air), a rocket launcher or a far more powerful laser cannon. These stronger weapons, however, have limited ammo.
There are also lots of items to collect: health items such as soda cans or atom power-ups, Duke Nukem merchandise which gives score, keys and access cards that let him pass through locked door or electrical barriers. Duke can also find a rapid fire power-up which lets him shoot faster, a cloaking device which allows him to go through forcefields, and a globe which will give the player a hint when brought to a special pedestal. A lot of items are hidden in boxes of various colors which have to be opened by shooting. Beware, as some boxes do not contain items, but rather a harmful bomb!
On some levels, Duke can find a small spaceship. He can enter it and fly around the level, using the ship's powerful cannon to mow down everything in his way. However, the ship won't fit everywhere, so Duke will have to get out of it eventually.
Groups +
Screenshots
Promos
Credits (DOS version)
14 People (12 developers, 2 thanks)
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 59% (based on 11 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 78 ratings with 9 reviews)
The Good
It's a great platform side-scroller. Duke's attitude and ambiance add a lot to the basic formula. Weapons are well balanced and interesting, and the game keeps you entertained from the start of Episode 1 to the end of Episode 4.
The Bad
The difficulty of levels is very uneven. Some are insanely hard while others are easily beaten in ten minutes. Side scroller formula can get repetitive for some.
The Bottom Line
A great side-scroller with the Duke's humor. If you like Duke Nukem, you'll like this game.
DOS · by Shadowcaster (252) · 2001
We gave Duke another chance, and he delivered quite a good game.
The Good
The sounds have improved like a miracle in the 2 year gap between this game and it's predecessor, there is also more action, and firepower, the graphics are no longer EGA, they're now VGA, the humor is more and better.
The Bad
The graphics, style of action, and the annoying sounds that characterize apogee games were all over Duke Nukem, but are nowhere in Duke Nukem 2, I am a huge apogee fan so this quite disappointed me.
The Bottom Line
Worth playing but also not that good, while the predecessor delivered some memorable moments this game is not much like it, it's a good, fun, entertaining game but just isn't like Duke Nukem, sure the jumping and all are similar, but the graphics, the sound, they all played a big part in Duke 1. Quite good, a swell 4/5 for this sequel!
DOS · by Jim Fun (206) · 2001
A competent follow-up to a classic 2D Platformer
The Good
If you owned a computer in the early nineties, the Duke Nukem series was THE platform series to play. The first one was a very good game, and quite popular, with colorful, detailed graphics, and well designed levels. This sequel improves on every aspect of the original game. For one thing, the 256 color VGA graphics are a great improvement over the original's EGA graphics, as is the Sound Blaster sound effects and music. The animation is good, and it runs well on a 386. There are many detailed enemies, a great improvement over the original's few robots. In general, the levels are well designed, though some of the levels can be frustrating to get through, but it's mostly a joy to play. You start out with the assault rifle with unlimited ammo, but you can obtain a powerful laser or rocket launcher. There are many levels in the games four episodes, my favorite one is when you are on the outside of the space station with the sky whizzing by, and have to avoid the rocket engine blasts, very cool.
The Bad
The levels get repetitive after a while, and some are easy, while others are very difficult, they should have balanced the levels out more. The boss creatures are un-inspiring, being basically the same alien creature in different steel vehicles..ho-hum.
The Bottom Line
A very good platform game that requires some patience, but is worth it. If you are a fan of the first game, or just a platform game fan, you should get this.
DOS · by Ryu (50) · 2002
Trivia
Development
The voice in the intro, "I'm back!", is done by Joe Siegler, 3D Realms' webmaster.
Graphics
Duke Nukem II and its predecessor obviously used graphics taken from other games, for instance from Turrican and Savage, two classic platformers. See this link for some good examples. It is unknown, but doubtful, whether or not this was done with permission of the authors of these games.
Game Titles
An official statement from Apogee regarding the many game titles of Duke Nukem:
*There is frequently a great deal of confusion over the correct spelling of one of Apogee's most prized characters, Duke Nukem. The original spelling for the name was "Duke Nukem"; however, during the code fix stage between v1.0 and v2.0 of the original game, Apogee found a character overseas named "Duke Nukem" that was thought to be copyrighted. So, for v2.0 of the original Duke game, the name was changed to "Duke Nukum." Then, during the programming of the next Duke Nukem game (Duke Nukem II), it was discovered that the character they found overseas was not copyrighted after all -- and so the original name was reinstated. "Duke Nukem" is also the spelling used in all successive games that featured the character.
The spellings "Duke Nuke 'em," "Duke Nuke'um," "Duke Nuke'm," "Duke Nuk'em" or other variations are not, and were never, correct. The correct spelling of the game is "Duke Nukem".*
Music
In addition to using graphics from Turrican and Savage, the first level's music bears a striking resemblance to Megadeth's "Angry Again".
References
In this game Duke is kidnapped by Rigelatins, a reference to Star Trek's Rigelians.
Technology
Duke Nukem II requires a VGA compliant video card in order to run, which would be capable of displaying 256 different colors at a time. Nevertheless, the game's graphics feature only 16 distinct colors - this was already possible using the older EGA standard. It's essentially still an EGA game engine, only using the VGA specific features to provide a custom color palette.
Re-releases
- A complete version of Duke Nukem II is available on Classic Games Collection CD featured with the July 2000 issue of PC Gamer Magazine.
- You can find the full version of Duke Nukem II on the CD of Duke Nukem 3D (as well as the first Duke Nukem game).
Information also contributed by Bhatara Dewa Indra I, Cantillon, Goteki45, Karthik KANE, Kyle Levesque, NGC 5194 and CaptainCanuck.
Analytics
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Related Sites +
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Duke Central
Everything you'll need to know about Duke Nukem 1 and 2. -
DukeNukem.Com
Apogee/3D Realms Official Website (Alternate URL) -
S&F Prod.'s Duke Nukem 2 Page
Here you'll find an extracter and more for Duke Nukem 2.
Identifiers +
Contribute
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Derrick 'Knight' Steele.
Linux added by Plok. iPhone, iPad added by Kabushi. Windows, Macintosh added by lights out party.
Additional contributors: MAT, Xantheous, Frenkel, CaptainCanuck, Patrick Bregger, lethal_guitar.
Game added March 8, 2000. Last modified July 8, 2024.