Introduction
Once again we are going to get groovy as we are going to review another Duke Nukem game again! We have had many Duke Nukem reviews in the past, but we felt, it was time for a new one! Duke Nukem is back in Zero Hour as he is going to time travel to stop the aliens from changing the timeline. This is a third-person shooter game, and for some reason, I have inverted controls, but we can get used to that! Now, hail to the king baby!
What did I think before playing Duke Nukem Zero Hour
Duke Nukem Zero Hour is not just another Duke Nukem game, this time the game will take place in third person. Meaning, a lot of the mechanics will be different. I am always interested in shooting games, especially if Duke Nukem is involved! It had been a very long time since I have played this game. What I did know, is that there are quite some weapons and aiming is hard, but who cares, let’s find more information on the fandom page!
The Fandom page
https://dukenukem.fandom.com/wiki/Duke_Nukem:_Zero_Hour
This page has all the information that you need, all the guns that you will find, which are a lot, the huge enemy variety, and a lot of levels to conquer! The hardest part for me, was to use third person view instead of a first person view. While it takes some time getting used to. It is a good touch in the end, but the aliens just spawn out of thin air. As the Duke, you just need to be prepared! Can you blow up everyone? You ought to have fun blowing up aliens as the Duke!
Rating
I rate Duke Nukem Zero Hour with an 8,5 before playing.
While the third person view can be difficult to adjust too, it can be very fun!
Story
The story of Duke Nukem Zero hour is kind of strange, and can be hard to follow, time travel is complicated! But, the aliens are messing with time, and it is your goal to stop them by going back in time!
Rating
I rate the story of Duke Nukem Zero Hour with a 6,4
While the story is fun, it is not perfect, we are just here to chew some bubblegum and kick ass, and we are all out of bubblegum!
Gameplay
The game can be very difficult to get under your control, especially with inverted controls. But as in many other games, you will get used to it. The aiming is done very smoothly, so smooth in fact, that too much force will send your crosshair across the screen. As you get through the first level, you will get used to it. And there are many different weapons, even when you just start out but in the end you will have insane guns!
You have to be careful, as friendly fire is a thing, you can kill the soldiers that stand in your way, but in turn, you can also let them explode, if you want. In this game, you have jumping, meaning there are more secrets to find. However, the jumping is quite awkward, and when you stand still, the animation takes quite some time. It is best to run and jump. As for health, there are enough places where the Duke can get a drink for some much needed health!
As you gather more items, you can swap freely between them. The same goes for weapons, be on the lookout for babes that you can rescue. The aliens will have a spawn animation if you are fast enough. The damage they do is quite unbalanced, as some aliens barely deal damage, while others can completely annihilate you! You should be careful of poison gas, and sometimes, finding where you need to go can be difficult, but these old games can be confusing.
Rating
I rate the gameplay of Duke Nukem Zero Hour with a 7.7
While the gameplay is fun, and different from what you would expect from a Duke Nukem game, it is quite fun once you get used to the weird mechanics!
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
The graphics of Duke Nukem Zero Hour have not aged very well, this has to do with the 3D graphics. As back in the day, this was amazing, but older 3D games just do not age well. However, there are a lot of amazing Easter eggs! The Duke is always the king, no matter how ugly his sprite is! He is the king of killing aliens!
Sound
The soundtracks are epic, and they will have you enjoy this game even more, but the best thing, is off course the amazing quotes that Duke Nukem throws around!
Rating
I rate the sound and graphics of Duke Nukem Zero Hour with a 6.6
Come get some!
What did I think after playing Duke Nukem Zero Hour?
The time travel aspect is more fun than I had expected, this game takes on a much darker tone compared to other games. I believe this game may be better, gameplay wise compared to Duke Nukem Forever. At least you have an insane amount of guns, where does someone keep this many guns? On his head? In a magic inventory space? Maybe Duke is a wizard?
There is something that you need to be careful of in this game, getting run over by tanks, or shocked by high voltage. Strangely enough, this will kill you in one hit! There are many more dangers that you will need to avoid, but I think many people that love to play Duke Nukem would enjoy this game! There are so many enemies and different areas to enjoy!
Rating
I rate Duke Nukem Zero Hour with an 8.3 after playing. While this game is a bit strange, it can be a lot of fun!
What are my personal thoughts about Duke Nukem Zero Hour?
I had a lot of fun with this game, we even visited the kill site of a Jack the Ripper victim, oh, and I liked to use the sniper on enemies that could not hit you! While the inverted controls and third person view were hard to get used too, once I did, I had a lot of fun!
Rating
My personal Rating of Duke Nukem Zero Hour is a 8.1
Groovy!
Last Words
Pros
- Face off with many new aliens, as there is a huge variety of enemies!
- Explore different places in time to stop the aliens!
- Find many different guns to kill the aliens!
- Enjoy Duke Nukem from a different view.
- The game mechanics fit well together, even if they are odd
- The soundtracks are fun to listen too
- The Duke Nukem quotes are amazing!
Cons
- Thrid person view is not for everyone
- The story is not very good
- The jumping animation is very slow
- Aiming can be hard
The aliens look very scaley, perhaps it’s the old graphics, or I am going insane, but damn, that alien looks a lot like a lizard!
Final Rating
7.5
Let me know what you think of Duke Nukem Zero Hour in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
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Thanks for the nice review
You are welcome!
I wonder what influenced the shift from a first person perspective to a third one, and how fans of the franchise feel about this game? It still sounds like a fun romp regardless of changes made from the original game. Also, I think any game in the series would be better than Duke Nukem Forever from what I’ve heard of it…a game that comes out in Zero Hours is sure to be better than a game that takes Forever to make!
I do have to admit, I like first person a lot more! However, change can be good but if it is not well received, switch back or improve upon it!
I liked this game even old. Third person is little bit annoying.
Thanks for the review. I love Duke nukem games. I wish there was a proper sequel game.
Man, we really need a new Duke Nukem!
Those are not lizards but reptilians 🙂
Otherwise great review. This game needs to get more love because it seems like it’s never talked about.
Yeah, I know but the graphics are so odd, they look like lizards!
This is a forgotten game, forgotten to time!
Good game, nice review!!
Good review! This sure is a fun game!
Thrid person view for a Duke Nukem Game seems Just wrong to me. I grew up with Duke Nukem 3D. That game was a Bomb!
Duke Nukem 3D was indeed, the bomb! That shit was just dope!
I didn’t play any duke nukem games
all time classic
Seems a cool game, but prefer the retro FPS style. Even liking 3rd person shooters this looks a bit weird.
I have no nostalgia for Duke nukem but after reading, it seems 7.5 is a very generous score, I’d probably not give this more than 6 to be honest.
To be fair, this Duke is not so bad, compared to some other Duke Nukem games. So, cut the Duke some slack and I will take you down the shithole of what Duke Nukem game is even worse!
Third person Duke is not my kind of Duke.
Good review though.
the duke of hazard, oh yeah
Great review, for me the Duke is a funny character XD