Duke Nukem II

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Duke Nukem II

Developer(s)	Todd Replogle Allen H. Blum III Stephen A. Hornback Randy Abraham Robert Prince George Broussard Tom Hall Scott Miller Jason Blochowiak
Publisher(s)	Apogee Software
Release date(s)	December 3, 1993 (PC)
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	OFLC: G8+
Platform(s)	PC (MS-DOS)
Media	Floppy disks

Duke Nukem II is an MS-DOS platform game developed by Apogee Software and released December 3, 1993. The game consists of four episodes, the first available as shareware. Not to be confused with the second episode of Duke Nukem 1, it is the second Duke Nukem game, following the 1991 Duke Nukem debut and being followed by Duke Nukem 3D in 1996.

1 Story
2 Gameplay
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Story

The evil Rigelatins plan to enslave earth, and they kidnap none other than Duke Nukem (who was performing in an interview about his new autobiography Why I'm So Great), to use his brain to plot the attack for their forces. Duke breaks free to save the world, again.

The general story of Duke Nukem II, except some naming differences, was re-used for the 1997 Game Boy Color game Duke Nukem.

[edit] Gameplay

Your job is to proceed through the levels, picking up whatever weapons, health items, powerups, etc. you manage to find. These items are often found in crates. If you are able to walk behind a crate it contains a napalm bomb which will cause damage to your character if you're not careful. If you can walk in front of the crate it is safe to shoot and will often contain a beneficial item. You are ultimately searching for the exit which will take you to the next level.

You will need to destroy monsters (most commonly robots, slimy aliens, and men in blue suits) along the way. Your basic weapon can take care of most of them, but you will also find weapon powerups.

[edit] Weapons

Weapons are found in green crates and look like round coins with one of four letters on them:

N (default weapon): A short blast that is effective against many types of enemies. The default weapon for the game. (Ammo = Infinite)

L(Laser): A blue laser that shoots through multiple enemies on-screen, and is slightly more powerful than the default weapon. It can even shoot through walls. (Ammo = 32)

R (Rocket Launcher): The most powerful weapon available. Except for bosses, this will kill most enemies in a single shot. (Ammo = 32)

F (Flamethrower): A flame like weapon with lots of ammunition and when shot downwards, double functions as a jetpack to reach otherwise unreachable heights. (Ammo = 64)

Note that weapons pass with you to the next level of the game, along with any ammo you have left. It is sometimes wise, therefore, to conserve them for the end of the level.

[edit] Items

Items you can commonly find in Duke Nukem include:

Soda Can: (In red crates) Gives you one health. If you don't need the health, shoot one and it will blast into the air. Catch it to get 2,000 points (but no health).

Six-Pack: (In red crates) Worth six-health units. If you don't need them, shoot them for 10,000 points.

Turkey: (In red crates) Moves quickly once released. These are worth one health. If you can shoot it before you touch it, it turns into a cooked turkey which is worth two health.

Atomic Health: (In blue crates) Worth one health unit. If you have full health when you touch it, it is worth 10,000 points.

Glass Orbs: Depending on their color, they are good for a set number of points (Blue=500, Red=2,000, Green=5,000, White=10,000). If you shoot them, they break and you only receive 100 points, regardless of color. However, destroying all the orbs in the level calls for one of the secret bonuses (see below).

Letters: (In blue crates) Big Letters which spell out the word "NUKEM" are located in every level. Collect them in order to receive 100,000 points. If you collect them all but in mixed order, you will only receive 10,000.

Crystal Ball: Hidden in many levels, they are worth 10,000 points. If you return it to the pedestal hidden elsewhere in the level, you get 50,000 points and a hint to help you. You can also destroy the crystal ball to get a bonus at the end of the level.

Duke Nukem is on foot throughout most of the game, but some levels have him inside a vehicle. The game is split into four episodes, each consisting of 8 levels. In the last level of each episode you face a Rigelatin as a boss.

[edit] Crates

Most of the stuff in the game is found in crates. There are several different colors:

Red: Contain health items or dangerous napalm bombs. A crate containing a bomb can be identified by the fact that Duke walks behind it rather than in front of it.

Green: Contain weapons.

Blue: Contain various merchandise and items for points, like the NUKEM letters. Can also contain atomic health.

Grey: Contain special important items (keys, cloaking devices, rapid fire powerups).

It is also possible for a crate to be empty.

[edit] Secret Bonuses

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

There are 7 different secret bonuses, which you can get in a level. Each of these adds 100,000 to your score at the end of the level.

Secret Bonus 1: for destroying all surveillance cameras in the level (not available if the level has no cameras). Can be very hard if cameras are squeezed into corners.

Secret Bonus 2: for beating the level without taking a single hit (difficult enough on "Easy", near impossible on "Hard").

Secret Bonus 3: for obtaining all the weapons in the level (not available if the level has no weapons)

Secret Bonus 4: in theory, for getting all merchandize in the level, in practice (probably due to a bug) you cannot get it anywhere, except for one level, where there are no NUKEM letters (coincidence?)

Secret Bonus 5: for destroying all turrets in the level (not available if the level has no turrets or in boss levels). This can be challenging because turrets can only be destroyed with higher-level weapons, meaning the player has to not "waste" ammo.

Secret Bonus 6: for destroying all crates with napalm bombs in the level (always available, even if the level has no napalm bombs at all, like in the boss levels)

Secret Bonus 7: for destroying (not collecting) all glass orbs in the level (always available , even if the level has no glass orbs, like in the boss levels. This bonus is actually frequently not worth it, because all the glass orbs usually add up to well over 100,000 in each level--since every silver one is 10,000 and every green one is 5,000.)

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

In the opening movie, after Duke fires a smiley face into the target at the shooting range, he says in a very Terminator-esque voice, "I'M BACK!!".

Bobby Prince followed the same tradition of "borrowing" songs (without actually facing legal action) that he used in Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure and Doom, basing the "He's Back" song in Level 1 and a few other "jail" levels, along with the "Squeak" song from Level 5 and several other "factory" levels, on Megadeth's songs "Angry Again" and "Skin O' My Teeth," respectively. Also, both the weapon and other item pickup sounds appear to have been borrowed from Super Castlevania IV.