Duke wasn’t through with the Nintendo 64 just yet after 1997’s Duke Nukem 64. A whollynew sci-fi shooterstill radioactivelyglowedon the mushroom cloud horizon.
By 1999, thevideo game celebrity had been livingthe high life: a line of action figures by ReSaurus, Interact memory cards shaped in his likeness, his own Tiger Electronics LCD handheld. If hehadn’t already become a cash cowfor his developers, 3D Realms, theycertainly tied a greatbell around his veiny neckby September of that year when the lunkhead was forcedto hawk Monster Cables:
“‘I got a call from Noel Lee, the boss over there, he actually goes by the name The Head Monster, clearly this guy knows what he likes–in addition to making the best cables on the planet.’ Nukem grinned, ‘I can respect that.'”
The bizarre press release went on to say that 3D Realms ran on Monster Cables—that the premium-pricedwireswere the only ones entrusted to power the computers used to develop Duke Nukem Forever—and ended with Duke proclaiming, “‘Monster Cable. Come Get Some'” (link).
Duke’s questionable endorsem*nts notwithstanding, his emergent global franchise was being pushed more and more aggressively. The previous year, a Hollywood movie based on the game serieshad been announced by Threshold Entertainment, the producers ofMortal Kombat Annihilation(link).
“Our marketing manager at our Duke Nukem publisher, GT Interactive Software, recently remarked that anything they slap ‘Duke Nukem’ on sells,” 3D Realms Founder Scott Miller admittedin an interview (link).
George Broussard, co-ownerof 3D Realms, had plans to elevate “the icon and merchandising dream” to loftier heights:“Our goal is to make Duke synonymous with PC games (and gaming in general) like Mario is to Nintendo, or Sonic is to SEGA” (link).
All chips rested on Duke–literally, Broussard had gamblingchips made with his chiseled he-man face on them–and the pressure was great, perhaps too great for even a self-described king to meet.
As part ofanother promotional drive,3D Realms gave its blessing toa Duke Nukem-inspired soundtrack in August that featured a hodgepodge ofdisparate performersranging from Megadethto the Wu-Tang Clan. Miller later told an interviewer,“In hindsight, we should not have allowed the rap songs on the CD” (link).
Marketed as a “musical companion,”Music to Score By contained a $10 rebate inside as an incentive to get players to visitthe music aislebefore picking upthe latest effortbyDuke’s higher-upsto license him out to a home gaming console: Duke Nukem: Zero Hour(link).
Athird-person action-adventureby Eurocom, the makers of Duke Nukem 64,Duke Nukem: Zero Hour takes advantage of the Nintendo 64’s optional hi-resolution Expansion Pak to make Duke’s world look graphicallymore impressivethan beforein fully three-dimensional polygons without a cardboard cutoutsprite in sight. A custom version of theBUILD engine was used to support long draw distances, variable fog forambient effect, and dynamic lighting on characters and weapon fire (link).
Keith Schuler of 3D Realms once wrotethat the gamebegan as a port ofn-Space’s Duke Nukem: Time to Killon thePlayStation, but Rob Benton, the lead artist on Duke Nukem: Zero Hour, remembered differently(link).
“No, I don’t believe we ever started out with the intention of converting Time to Kill?As I remember, our relationship with George Broussard and GT was good, and we were pretty much given free reign after our work on Duke 64 to develop something along the same lines, the connection being time travel and possibly some similar location themes. We also had access to their assets if we wanted… we didn’t.”
Benton saidthat the developersenjoyedcreative freedom while designing the game, something that he pointed outisnow highlyunusual.
“Well, it was a fun project to work on and things were very different back then as we, a core team of around 10, were pretty much left alone to create it and that is a rare experience these days and has been for a while unless you’re independent and even then you usually still need publishers and there’s a lot more focus, rightly so, on their investments.”
The story goes that Duke must thwart an outer space menacefrom rewriting Earth’s history by blasting more than a century’s worth of alien asses over 22 levels, through present-day and post-apocalyptic New York City to the rough-and-tumble mining towns and settlements of the Wild West; the misty, lamp-lit,brougham-linedcobblestone roadsand cemeteriesof Victorian London; a moat-surroundedmedieval castle in the rainy Scottish Highlands; and even historical disasters like on the Hindenburg and the Titanic, in which he retroactively sinks himself.
Whilethe game carries the same violent streak as Duke Nukem 64, in terms of sexualsuggestiveness, to quoteNintendo Power, “what a difference two years can make.” Technically speaking, stripper poles remain cold, but gentlemen’sclubs, albeit not verylivelyones, have sprouted up.
The hypersexualizedhumor visible inDuke Nukem:Zero Hourexposes Duke at his raunchiest–up until that point, at least. Billboards for Louinski’s All Natural Clam Juice with the attached slogan “America’s most powerful men swear by it,” a brothel by the name ofHunter’s Hoe House, a store calledHerm’s Hardware holdinga 50% off sale, liberally plastered cheesecake pin-up shots of g-string models requiring the jaws of life, advertising placards alluding to bodily fluidfetishes, genitalia, erections, and masturbationarebuta samplingof the racyridiculousness permeating throughoutthe game. And “ridiculousness” is the appropriateword here, because all of this tackyoutlandish indelicacy seemsless about constructingslummy environmentsthat flippantly reflect modern-day realities, à laDuke Nukem 3D, and moreaboutscattershooting frat boy-stylehijinksatevery dirty street corner–especially if that corner happens to fallon “69th St.”
Remarkably, the Entertainment Software Rating Board cited nothing more than “Animated Violence” and “Animated Blood and Gore” in its evaluation.
This screenshot from a preliminarybuild published in theFebruary 1999 issue ofOfficial Nintendo Magazineappears to depict David Hasselhoff sanctioningplastic surgery. “Tom’s Rhinoplasty” is a South Park episode in which Mr. Garrison has a nose job, which resultsin him looking like the former Knight Rider star. While the released game has a number of allusionsto another televisionanimated series, The Simpsons, this particular poster was taken down,presumablybecause GT Interactivedidn’t want to hassle The Hoff (or his lawyers). “Yeah, it’s incredible to believe that things like that were even in there at all,” Benton commented, “we were all very young and naive back then and I don’t think many of us were that aware of copyright law or if we were we didn’t take it too seriously. There was a ton of stuff that didn’t go in, lots more South Parkreferences.(Image source: OldGameMags.com)
The “Babes” return in Duke Nukem: Zero Hour, and they still need saving, thoughthey’re missing Duke Nukem 64‘s covered-up tank tops.
And by the looks of it, their pants, too.
An early version previewedinOfficial Nintendo Magazine shows the “Babes” in slightlydressier attire than the retail game. (Image source: OldGameMags.com)
Not as helpless as these women isDuke’s tough-as-nails female co-star, aU.S. Special Forces lieutenant who acts somewhat like the narrator, moving what little plotthere is forward viacutscenes. Her presencemay soundprogressive for the virile action game star until you get a load ofher name: Kimberly Strokes. In all fairness, Lt. Strokeshasabout the same degreeof character development as Mr.Nukem.
The eye-rolling comedydoesn’t end there, as parodiesmake a biting comeback.
They can range from the banal, like a pop cultural jab at the Spice Girls’ then recent disbandment, which is represented by a department store windowshowcasinga clearance sale of their signature touring outfits. The mannequin thatresemblesGeri Halliwell is headless. Her detached noggin is held by another dummyas a reference to the rift that occurred when she up and parted ways with the group.
Thepunchesgetpersonal when Eurocom takes aimatit* main video game competition at the time with sex position and testicl* jokes: “GoldenGuy 069” (GoldenEye 007) and “Monkfish is… Bolok: Alien Hunter” (Turok: Dinosaur Hunter).
The award forthe most esotericslam goes to aposter in the first Western level: “DRY TOWN BY ORDER OF SHERIFF TED NINDO.” Atrenchant dig at Nintendo’s prohibition of alcohol in the games that grace its systems, I sensea cathartic underpinningby the English developers after the editedDuke Nukem 64‘s rigorous restrictions.
Signage and visual gags aren’t the only things lewd, as the audio pushes even more boundaries.
When GameSpot U.K. asked pointblank in 1998 if Duke is sexist, Broussard brushed off the question, saying, “Duke is Duke. That’s up to the fans to discuss. Duke’s women certainly don’t think so” (link). (Image source: RetroMags.com)
The ladiesyou save, for example, havesome fairly provocative things to say. When I rescued one from the OldWest, she yeehawed, “Reckon I’m gonna get a bang outta you!” Another was slightly more subtle in her remarks to me: “Oh, Duke, I knew you’d… come.”
Not to be outdone, Duke, sounding clearer than ever, recites some of his well-adored apothegmsand a number offresh profane turns of phrases. The bar of soap shovedin his mouth in Duke Nukem 64 mustn’t have worked, as he now mutters half-swearslike when he sees a riverboat and comments “Looks like I’m in a world of ship,” and full-on expletives when he calls General Custer an “asshole” to his face before a shootout, though the f-word is bleeped. At one point, hepicks up a fallen alien cyborg’s decapitated head and jests, “I was hoping I’d get some head.”
When the Renault’s a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’. Duke Nukem: Zero Hourcarries the tradition ofmoviehomages, like this steamy one from James Cameron’s Titanic.
As vacuous as these dopey puns may be, hearing themspoken in deadly serious gruntsby Duke’s voice actor, Jon St. John, servesto create the impression thatyou’re on the set of some low-budget exploitationfilm that’s destinedto become acultpleasure.
Whether or not yoursensibilities becomeoffended will likelydepend on ifyou findthe game to be a convincing low-brow spoofor the very thing that it attemptsto mock, eitherof which could be reasonably argued, as the staff reviews from Electronic Gaming Monthlyprove; it can besimultaneouslyskewering of and slavishly inseparable to its own cliché trappings.
At the very least, it’s hard to find anything quite as outrageousas this on the Nintendo 64, aside fromConker’s Bad Fur Day, which would not comeout until a couple of years later. Duke Nukem: Zero Hour marked an historic shift inNintendo’s loosening game content policies.
I asked Benton for his take on the Japanese company’s suddenabout-face.
“I think there were a number of factors: Nintendo wanting to broaden its user base, GT putting pressure on and bargaining with Nintendo on what could and couldn’t go in. There was still a lot of content cut, and things they suggested we changed but to the point that it no longer made sense and so was dropped–shop signs, posters, etc. Ultimately, it was a case of give and take.”
On the subject of sound, arguably one of the weakest aspects of Duke Nukem 64, has become quite possibly Duke Nukem: Zero Hour‘s most impressive asset. Suitablemusic that actually plays during levels and various other atmospheric touches abound. You can hear the roar of the ocean and the cries of distantseagulls in Wet World. In the Wild West, Duke can interact with pianos inparlors, tickling the ivories to produce his famous medley. Jump on the roof ofa parked car in Manhattan, and thealarm will go off. The development team managed to squeezeover a thousand words of speech and a thousand special effect sounds, which takeup about half of the cartridge size (link, link).
And Duke’s arsenalwould no doubt make anysecond-amendment-thumpingNRA cardholder swell, with10 standard weapons (M-80 Blaster, Claw-12 Shotgun, MP-10 SMG, AGL-9 Grenade Launcher, Pipebomb, Freezethrower, GammaCannon, Havoc Multilauncher, CTX-2000Tripbomb, BMF Thunderstrike) plus ninealternate tools of destruction (Peacekeeper .45, Sawed-off Shotgun, .30-30 Rifle, Gatling Gun, Radium Cyanide Launcher, Volt Cannon, MagnavoltTripbomb, Dynamite, Bomb) that rotate dependingupon thetime period.Then there’s the .50 Sniper Rifle, which is in a class of its own,completely overpowering the rest with a zoom feature to deliver a lethal shot to the head–or worse.
“You can shoot them in the nads,” Eurocom Director Hugh Binns bragged toIGN. “We’ve got specific animations for when they’re shot in the groin” (link).
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
There are nearly 30 types of extraterrestrial enemiesfor Duke to practicevasectomy on, from scaly Lizard Enforcersto fancy top-hat-wearing Capitalist Pigs and even evil clones of himself, plus four bosses, like the enormous well-dressed tank operator Boss Hog, a play on words withthe voracious villain fromThe Dukes of Hazzard.
Duke Nukem 64 playerswill likely recognize theSimon Koe’s Gun Boutique storefront in Duke Nukem: Zero Hour. If younever gotthe joke before, read the part of the neon sign that isn’t burned out. Still haven’t figured it out? Let Benton explain: “As with a lot of the references in Duke, it was simply a play on words. ‘Si koe’ equals psycho.”
One of thebiggest complaintsthat critics had was thelack of save points, commenting howinfuriating it can be to have to restart from the very beginning when the levels are so sprawling.
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour wraps things up with a meaty multiplayer package. Battles are fought in the first-person perspectiveon 14 designated close-quarter courses, from a stonycastle courtyard with sniping spots aplentyin Castlemania, to a radiantly neonarena with ice rink conditions in Cool As Ice, anda stacked stagecalled Chimera that pulls more than a little inspirationfrom GoldenEye 007.
TheChimera map once visuallydrew even more parallelsto GoldenEye 007, whichpromptedOfficial Nintendo Magazine to call ita “cheeky GoldenEye copy.” Althoughthe final release changed the textures, the design still retains an unmistakably similarlayout to the Stack multiplayer board in GoldenEye 007. “I don’t think there was any legal concern at the time,” Benton said, “and if I remember rightly, the texture swap was purely down to association with one of the single-player levels.” (Image source: OldGameMags.com)
In addition tocontrolling Duke in his various period piece garbs, there are several othercharacters to choose from, 29 by my count, thatunlock after more of the single-player gameiscompleted. Each has his or her own individual ability, health points, and startingweapon. This factors into deciding whichplaying strategies to applyover the mindlessrunning and gunning formula ofDuke Nukem 64. Jack the Ripper, for instance, can naturally dole outheaps of melee damage when up close, while some alienscan breatheunderwater ifthe above-ground action gets too hot.
Beyond standard Dukematch, Eurocom introduced four-player Team Dukematch, Last Man Standing, and King of the Hill to extendthismode’s longevity and to compensatefor the loss of computer Dukebots and campaign cooperative play.
While much had been upgraded and added, Benton admitted that development time had beenrushed.
“Yeah, we were always rushed and you always end up cutting stuff that you believe would have made it so much better. Certainly the Dukebots would have made a good addition. We were up against it though, and we got all we could out of a heavily modifiedBUILDengine. There weretalks of it, but realistically a co-op mode would have probably required specific level creation as the single-player levels were already struggling under the weight of content we were adding. There were additional enemy types that were dropped, including Cyborg Pigs that visually matched the CyborgEnforcers and also augmented Parapsyches.”
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour has garnereda small but loyalfollowing over the years, with some calling it one of Duke’sfinest hours, which unfortunately for any still lingering fans of the character isn’t saying much. The game seems to more closely resemble its Duke Nukem 3Daction-oriented roots than thethird-person offerings on the PlayStation, which suffer from pokier exploratoryTomb Raider-contrivedmechanics.
Afew months after Duke Nukem: Zero Hourhit stores, GT Interactive folded and was acquired by Infogrames, which then became Atari. The North American release of Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes in 2000 would be the last major game published on the company’s label after the buy-out. The publishingof the European version went toTake-Two Interactive Studio.
In early1999, Rockstar Games, a Take-Two subsidiary, and Gathering of Developers announced that they had secured the rights to publish a next-generation systemDuke game (link). Later that year, in November, more details emerged thatn-Space would develop itfor the upcoming PlayStation 2 (link).The titlewas later revealed to beDuke Nukem: D-Day, also known as Duke Nukem: Man of Valor, and hadthe lady killer travelling back in time once more, now tothe events of World War II. The initial hope was for a2000 release, but according to The “Official” Apogee FAQ, the softwarewas laid to restin 2003 “due to [a] lack of sufficient progress”(link).
As for Eurocom trying its hand atanother Duke Nukem project, Benton said, “No, there was nothing planned, but had 3D Realms been slightly more productive with their output, who knows.”
Rather ominously, during Duke Nukem: Zero Hour‘s credits roll, Duke poses as the Statue of Liberty, holding up a “Duke 4 Ever” tablet. Duke Nukem Foreverhad been in progresssince beforethe release ofDuke Nukem 64. I suppose Eurocom imaginedthat the sequel’scompletion wouldn’t be long.
They wouldonly be off by 12 years.
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour Sample
Followers of GameSnipedare likely aware of Nicola Ferrarese and the service he started there of sharing interesting onlinegaming auctions. What you may not know is that Ferrarese has a large collection of his own in his home country of Italy. Besidesbeing the only person I know who owns a Goomba head from theSuper Mario Bros. movie, he’s also a veteran video game prototypeaficionado who in pastyears has parted withseveral of his amassedpre-productionprizes. I had purchased aDuke Nukem 64beta only a monthbefore helisted his Duke Nukem: Zero Hourprototypeon eBay in May 2009, and so I couldn’t help but complete the set.
I contacted Ferrarese to ask how he came in possession of such arare item. He saidthat he had bought it years ago from a European game development collector named Simon Band, the very same personwho had sold me the aforementionedDuke Nukem 64(once again, I did not receive a reply from Band as to this game’s origin, either).
TheDuke Nukem: Zero Hourprototype is housed in anNUS-16F32SB-256M+256K Nintendo 64 flash ROM development cartridge.
The circuit board insidehas a storage space of 256 megabits, or 32 megabytes, which corresponds to the actual size of thegame.
The board contains16 flash memory sockets, eight on either side, with each one being able to hold 32 megabits, and256-kilobit static RAM backed by aCR2032 coin battery.
The mailing label on the front of this development cartridge lists the Salt Lake City address of GT Interactive, or “Interactrive” as it’s spelled here.
175 W. 200 S. Ste 100Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1413 (Image source: Google Earth)
According to a 1998 press release, GT Interactive once owned real estate in Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle, Washington; San Luis Obispo, California; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company was headquartered in New York City.
Patrick Struhs, whose degree is in electrical engineering, is not found anywhere in the Duke Nukem: Zero Hour credits. He, however, worked as a game tester at GT Interactive in Salt Lake. According to hisrésumé, he was promoted to the position of build and release engineer four months after joining the company in April 1998.
The job of a game tester is to spot bugs and crashes and report them. Build and release engineers, on the other hand, prepare the final release and also distribute pre-release versions internally to departments like marketing.
Struhs left the gaming industry in June 2000. He’s come a long way since Duke Nukem, from machismo to Mormonism, having gone on to take a senior engineering role at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (link).
Another property labelcan be found on the back.
This cartridge was issued a unique handwritten ID number for the purposes of cataloging and tracking its safe return to GT Interactive offices. Clearly, thingsdidn’t go swimmingly.
I turned to the Nintendo 64 hacker “Zoinkity” for his help after battling the GameShark Pro for hours on end in an attempt to successfully dump the data, and he was able to see that the checksum of the released North American Duke Nukem: Zero Hour (“04DAF07F 0D18E688”) matched the backed-up ROM image of this “prototype.”
