Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition (PlayStation 3) Second Opinion Review

Remasters are starting to become something less surprising and more expected. It can, oftentimes, be a better option than a reboot, however. The last time Duke popped his head up, it didn't end so well. In fact, many viewed it as a sign that certain aspects of the games industry were terribly wrong. Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition is a very different story, though, showing that many aspects of the gaming industry are moving in the right direction. Megaton Edition isn't going to introduce old players to anything new, although it does include many of the expansions to the original game. A multi-player component is tacked on, but it feels exactly like that - a tacked on addition, so if a new experience is sought, it won't be found here.

That's not a bad thing, as when the source material is as iconic and well crafted as Duke Nukem 3D was, does it really need tinkering with? The game didn't age particularly well, however, but this too shouldn't be held against it as the original came out in 1996, when 3D was still be explored and mined for potential. Therefore, the look, which resembles that of a police shooting gallery, and the enemies looking like mannequin cardboard cut outs, should be excused.

The sound quality begins to push its luck, unfortunately, since while graphical quality can still only be raised so much, sound quality can be heavily tampered with. Abstraction really didn't need to do much other than make it audible. However, without a television currently set to 30 or higher in the volume department, hearing Duke's many quips is a game in and of itself, and not a fun one at that. Not that there's much audio to begin with, since Duke only speaks when something good happens to him. If he gets a key or tips a stripper, expect him to chime in with his weighted attitude towards the situation. Beyond that, he's not very talkative, which is fine, because almost every other word out of his mouth is exceedingly dull.

It's been seen before that Duke's games are hard and Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition is no exception. Even on "Piece of Cake" difficulty, the levels slowly give the player less resources, while piling on the enemies in droves. It's a solid formula and could be seen as punishing by today's standards, and it's actually one of the most appealing aspects. For a game that largely appeals to hardcore gamers, it has the "one more try" mentality of a smaller or even a casual title... that is, until death creeps up.

Although not a bad feature, it is very weird. Games teach that checkpoints and deaths have a wonderful and deep relationship, dictating where respawns occur, and it is accepted. Not here. Instead, a rewind feature pops up that allows a window to rewind through to choose where the respawn happens. This puts the burden of responsibility on the player, which isn't always a bad thing. Here, however, it not only greatly detracts from the experience, but just feels odd. Rewinding means paying attention constantly, as one death could require cognitive recollection of when in that window everything was at its best.

Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition is a solid effort by a studio with a decent track record to back it up (Awesomenauts Assemble, anyone?). It's a fairly cookie cutter example of how to reboot interest in a title sullied elsewhere. However, the handful of things that could have been changed to improve the experience have been left alone, and the one new edition is sadly a weird, and frankly useless, tack on. Hopefully, someday, The King will regain his throne as an FPS god, but until then, this will have to suffice.