Duke Nukem 3D No doubt about it: Duke Nukem 3D is one mighty game. It rocks and it rolls, it shakes and it bakes--and best of all, you get to try it for free! The shareware version supports up to four players on a network (the registered version will support up to eight), and modem and serial connections for head-to-head action. You've got nothing to lose but a lot of productivity by giving it a try. Duke Nukem 3D - killer moves the duckwalk When you spot an enemy, fire a shot, then immediately crouch and start advancing, shooting as you go. It'll take a few seconds for even a Pig Cop to hit the ground--and that should be enough to finish him off. You can also stay crouched to move unseen through areas with plenty of cover, such as inside the theater on level 1. leapfrog If you're stuck in a tight spot and running low on health, try leaping over the enemy facing you and getting the hell out of Dodge. This move works great in open areas, but it can be confusing and fatal when attempted in a small room. the 180 Assault Captains love to materialize directly behind you, a habit you can use to your advantage. When you see an Assault Captain dematerialize, move forward a few steps, listening for the sound of his transporter device--then hit the Backs pace key to do a 180-degree turn, and open fire. Ducking after you spin around ain't a bad idea, either. jump 'n' shoot Your RPG will try to target any living enemies, and here's a way to make the most of it. Hide behind a crate or other object; then jump in the air and fire a missile. If there's an enemy anywhere close to where you're pointing, the missile will hone in on it. Great for Dukematch slugfests. gunfight Here's a variation on the jump 'n' shoot that'll work with every weapon. While hiding behind an object, make sure you're facing your enemy, then slide left (or right) to emerge and get off a few volleys before sliding back to safety. It takes a little patience, but the damage you'll avoid is well worth it. strafe and turn When using spiral stairways, slide in one direction and occasionally turn in the other direction to keep your weapon trained on the middle of the stairway. If you're going up a spiral staircase that turns right, you'd strafe left and tap t he turn right button. You can also use this technique to circle an enemy, but if you have Run Mode on you'll probably be moving too fast to keep a steady aim. - Duke Nukem 3D - weaponry Note: although the complete version of Duke Nukem 3D will give you nine weapons, the shareware game features only six. Mighty Foot About the only good thing you can say about Duke's front snap-kick is that it doesn't run out of ammo. You can defeat weak enemies using this method, but only in a one-on-one situation--and even then you can take a fair amount of damage yourself. specs gun contains: 48 rounds ammo packs: 12-round clips maximum ammo: 200 rounds pistol It's better than the Mighty Foot, but only because you don't have to move in close to use it. Depending on the difficulty level at which you're playing, you need three or four bullets to take out Assault Troopers and Assault Captains, and you need more than triple that for Pig Cops. To make matters worse, the gun stops firing when you change clips--exactly what you don't need when a Pig Cop has a shotgun in your face or when you're putting the finishing touches on a Dukematch opponent. specs gun contains: 10 rounds ammo packs: 10 rounds maximum ammo: 50 rounds shotgun Now we're talking firepower! It takes only two or three good blasts with this baby to splatter Pig Cops and Octabrains, and one pull of the trigger is all you need to make a real mess out of the Assault Troopers and Captains. You can't use it to blow open walls or knock down doors, but on the bright side, you can't get hurt by firing it point-blank at an enemy, either. The spread pattern makes it good for intense, close-range battles when you don't have a lot of time for precise aim. specs gun contains: 50 rounds ammo packs: 50 rounds maximum ammo: 200 rounds Chaingun cannon Go ahead, heft it. Feel the power in your hands. Squeeze the trigger and spray a deadly shower of lead. Got four aliens headed straight for you? A few strafes with this monster will slow 'em down. The only drawback to the Chaingun is that it goes through ammunition faster than you can say, "Die, scum!" Good thing there's plenty of ammo lying around! specs gun contains: 5 rounds ammo packs: 5 rounds maximum ammo: 50 rounds RPG You can cause some serious mayhem with this powerful weapon. Besides easily taking out every enemy (except Bosses) with one shot, the chances are good that any enemies within the grenade's blast radius will go up in flames, too. You can al so use it to blow holes in walls to create shortcuts, but whether you're shooting an enemy or an object remember one thing: don't stand too close to your target! You're just as vulnerable to damage as the aliens. specs ammo packs: 5 rounds maximum ammo: 50 rounds pipe bombs They're not worth a damn in the middle of a firefight with a bunch of Pig Cops and Octabrains, but pipe bombs are perfect when you have time to set a trap. Here's how they work: after you toss a pipe bomb, the weapon in your hand changes t o a detonator; you can either press Fire to detonate the bomb or throw another (and another, and another) and detonate them simultaneously. Setting traps for aliens can be a little tricky, but it works great in Dukematch games. Just toss one in a hard-to-spot location--behind a counter, say, or in a toilet stall--then jump into a hiding spot and wait for your hapless victim to mosey along. Another strategy is to leave a few traps scattered throughout several locations you know your opponent will visit, then detonate them all at once. Why more than one in each spot? Because when you hear one of them explode, you know your enemy is shooting them with a weapon--and he might unknowingly be standing close to another one as he does it. There's only one drawback to this last tactic: you can mistake the sound of a grenade for a pipe bomb and set them of f at the wrong time. - Duke Nukem 3D - cheap shots what a relief The restrooms are there for your convenience, pal--and if you're running low on health, just using the facilities will give you a 10 percent boost. If you're really desperate for some rejuvenation, you can blast open a toilet, urinal, or f ire hydrant and drink the water: each gulp restores one health point. Go on, you know you wanna! I'm watching you... Use the video monitors to spot any areas you may have missed--or to see if you can spot a Dukematch opponent running around. Perfect for monitoring a pipe bomb booby trap. HoloDuke as bait Set up a HoloDuke in an open area, climb into a hiding space, or duck behind a counter, table, and so on, and wait for your enemy to attack the dummy. If nobody comes once the HoloDuke is 30 percent gone, turn it off and launch a couple of missiles or set off a pipe bomb to attract attention. You can even set up a HoloDuke on a pipe bomb, but only the most idiotic opponents will walk that close to him, even if they think it's the real McCoy. HoloDuke as guard Yes, you can have eyes in the back of your head! If you're busy punching buttons and don't want to keep constantly checking your rear for approaching enemies, just set up a HoloDuke a safe distance behind you. Anyone or anything who sees I t will open fire, giving you the warning you need to run, hide, or turn and start shooting. pipe bomb fever Oh, those pipe bombs--there are so many ways to use 'em it'll make your cyberhead spin! Toss 'em near power-ups and set 'em off when your greedy opponent goes to stock up on goodies; leave two or three scattered far apart in every crucial spot of the level, and hit the button at random for a long-shot chance at victory (it worked for me--honest!); or throw out a trail of pipe bombs that leads around a corner--even if your enemy is shooting them as he goes, he'll never draw a bead on the one that gets him. Be creative! death from above Ain't nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a Dukematch opponent trotting along the street trying to find you--when you're floating above him with a Chaingun or RPG, that is. By the time he figures out you're above sea level, he'll be reduced to a bloody spot on the sidewalk. beat the boss There's a very simple way to beat the boss of the shareware version. When you enter the room where he's hiding, go in a very short distance and then immediately back out before the door closes behind you. Re-enter the room, and this time t he door stays open. Lure the boss toward the door, and run out into the circular room; the boss will get stuck, and you can leisurely pump missiles into him from a distance. He'll manage to get a few shots off at you, but if you've made it this far, you shouldn't have any problems. miscellaneous tricks and Easter eggs... One of the greatest things about Duke Nukem 3D are all the gags and hidden jokes the developers planted in the game. As you move through the game, pay close attention for Easter eggs like these... In the theater bathroom on level 1, check just above the urinals for a special phone number. Tommy Tutone, where are you now? Go into the bar next to the disco on level 2 and check out what's playing on the tube. Do the words "slow-speed chase" ring a bell? (Note: you won't get to see what's on TV if you fire an RPG into the room before entering.) Go into the chapel on level 3 and walk up to the altar. Press the Open button against the face panel, then shoot out the stained-glass window on the left and enter the tunnel. You'll find a corpse in a green space suit, and Duke says, "That's what I call a doomed space marine." (If you haven't played Doom DeathMatch, you won't get the joke--but who hasn't played Doom DeathMatch yet?) - Duke Nukem 3D - gear the keyboard to success In Duke Nukem 3D, you have complete control: you can make the death-dealing dynamo run, jump, crouch, slide left or right, look up or down--you can even make him use the bathroom! With so many actions at your disposal, choosing and configuring your input device is crucial. The main thing to remember is that there's no right or wrong way to configure the controls, as long as they feel comfortable to you. Fortunately, Duke Nukem 3D supports four different control methods--keyboard only, keyboard plus joystick, gamepad, and external controller--so it shouldn't be too hard to find one that lets you focus on shredding some aliens. Here are a few general rules to keep in mind: Not too many people use joysticks for this type of game, but if you do, you'll want one that has at least four buttons so you can perform the four most common actions--running, shooting, crouching, and jumping--quickly and easily from the stick. If you want to avoid the keyboard entirely, though, you'll need something along the lines of Advanced Gravis's Phoenix, which features 24 buttons that can be configured to send keystrokes. It takes two hands to handle a gamepad, and that can spell big trouble in Duke Nukem 3D. With a two- or four-button joystick, there just aren't enough inputs to accommodate Duke's abilities--and that means you'll constantly be taking one o f your hands from the gamepad to strafe, open, or perform some other fairly common action. If you just gotta use a gamepad, try the Suncom SFX-PC Pad (list-priced at $29.95 from Top-Tek); with six buttons and two "flippers" that can be programmed to send keystrokes, the Suncom lets you do just about everything you need to except change weapons. Nearly everyone remaps the keyboard commands, but be warned that certain setups make it impossible to type in cheat codes. For example, if you use the F key to strafe right, any cheat code with that letter will no longer work (don't worry- -we'll list the codes later!). a word about video Duke Nukem 3D runs in several video modes, ranging from 320-by-200 to 800-by-600 pixels. To run at resolutions over 640 by 480, though, the game requires that your video card be VESA 2.0-compliant; if it's not, the game installs a universal VESA driver to ensure compatibility. It turns out that the ATI Mach 64 video card--a pretty popular brand--is not VESA 2.0-compliant, and the universal VESA driver that comes with the game doesn't work. Try running the m64vbe.com driver that came with your card before loading the game, and it should work just fine. - Duke Nukem 3D - tactical these feet were made for kickin' Instead of wasting ammo, use Duke's Mighty Foot to kick down fans, knock out grates, and open trash cans. jumping in the night Keep your eyes peeled for objects you can leap onto, especially after you've cleared out a level and are searching for goodies. At the start of level 1, for instance, you can jump onto the crate near the crate on the street, and from there you can hop through a window or onto the ledge just above the Innocent sign--both are secret places. don't waste medikits If your health is only down to, say, 90 percent, don't grab a large medikit worth 30 percent--the only thing that'll take your health over 100 is the Healing Atom. Instead, make a note of its location so you can come back when you really need it. listen up Use audio cues whenever possible. If you hear snarling and grunting, it goes without saying that a Pig Cop or a Trooper is nearby, and even the greenest of rookies will soon learn the sound of the Recon Patrol Vehicles. But there are other cues, too: if you hear Duke say, "What a mess!" after you've shot a grenade into a window or detonated a pipe bomb, you know for sure you killed something. The Assault Captains' transporters make a distinct noise when they materialize, an d don't forget to listen for the sounds of secret doorways opening--they won't always be directly in your line of vision. use the environment You can greatly augment the destructive power of any weapon by using it on certain objects. In the arcade above the theater in level 1, for example, simply stand in the elevator and use the pistol to blow up some yellow oxygen tanks and kill all (or nearly all) of the enemies in the room. Fire extinguishers blow up nicely, too. the right weapon at the right time RPGs and pipe bombs are no doubt powerful weapons, but they don't do you a lot of good when you're in close-quarters combat in rooms, tunnels, and other tight spaces. If you know you're about to enter some spots where the enemy will get up close and personal, try to conserve shotgun and Chaingun ammo by using grenades and pipe bombs whenever possible--remembering to save some of the heavy stuff for an emergency, of course. leave the girls alone, man! Yeah, you can tip 'em and hope they'll dance--some of 'em will even give you a little show--but don't even think about purposefully killing the ladies in the bar or dancing onstage at the nightclub. Besides displaying a very warped attitude toward women, it also will result in the appearance of one alien for each gal you shoot. But what about the women who've already been turned into pod creatures, you ask? Well, yeah, you can kill them--they even ask you to, like in Aliens--but if you gotta do it, use the Foot to save ammo. night moves If you have night-vision goggles, use them whenever you go into a darkened area. Helpful messages only visible through the goggles are often scrawled on the walls of tunnels, and the glow-in-the-dark aliens are ridiculously easy to spot. high flying When you've cleared out an area, activate the jet pack and have a look around from a better vantage point--you'll find ammo, armor, and even buttons that you normally wouldn't see. practice makes perfect Before you even think about getting into a head-to-head or network game, make sure you know the level inside and out--if you don't, you'll be tasting grenades and walking on pipe bombs early and often. Don't feel like taking on monsters, e ven if you're invincible? Try launching the game by typing DUKE3D /M to play without any enemies. It's perfect for carefully exploring each level.