So what can players expect of Duke's next big offering? More of just about everything, to be sure. It's bigger, badder and, according to 3D Realms, all-around better than any other Nukem offering before. That's certainly a bold claim, as many of the Duke titles have impressed. The 1996 first-person shooter improved upon id Software's Doom with larger, interactive environments, truly unique weapons and gadgets and a careful balance of B-movie humor. If everything goes as planned, DNF will bring it all to the next level.

Features
While concrete details about the PC version of Duke Nukem Forever (and therefore the GameCube one) are still somewhat scarce, we've been able to put together the following facts.

• A 3D first-person shooter starring everyone's favorite bad-ass Duke Nukem
• Duke travels to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, and surrounding areas to kick some alien ass
• The hero must save the City of Sin from an evil cyborg determined to turn regular citizens into flesh-eating zombies
• Nukem can use an arsenal of weapons including a rocket launcher, a shotgun, a pistol, an automatic, a sniper rifle and his own feet
• Players can travel through large 3D environments with various vehicles including a motorcycle, a "Hummer," a jet ski, a donkey, a mine cart, and a jet fighter of some sort, among others
• The game features extremely interactive environments allowing Duke to eat foods from vending machines, shoot holes through walls and glass, break through barriers and explode objects
• An advanced 3D engine allows for real-time lighting effects, a spectacular particle system, facial animations and lip-synched speech, and more
• Plus, and perhaps most importantly to the Nukem faithful -- a whole lot of blood, guts, cussing, one-liners and yes, even strippers

The Story
The setting is Area 51 -- the mysterious military base located on the outskirts of Nevada. Duke's old nemesis Dr. Proton, a muscle-bound cyborg who stands almost eight-feet tall, has nuked parts of Las Vegas, gained control of Area 51 and stolen an alien spacecraft. The evil foe uses the extraterrestrial ship to contact aliens from around the universe and align them in his new army. He has also killed and reanimated various soldiers guarding the top-secret base to make them do his bidding. It's up to Duke Nukem to swing into action, take back Las Vegas, dispose of the evil aliens and zombie military guards, save the women and ultimately restore order to Nevada.

Gameplay
The Duke series has never been about storyline so much as it has raw action and funny one-liners, so it's no surprise that it's here Duke Nukem Forever looks to excel. DNF is, like its 1996 PC predecessor, a first-person shooter. Players control Nukem as he travels through the underworld of Las Vegas killing alien pig-military -- the only characters to return from the older shooter -- as well as zombies, and other still unknown otherworldly baddies. Duke is out only for himself -- and the women, which of course has always been a trademark of the franchise, and what makes it so special.

The real difference between Duke Nukem Forever and its granddaddy is the sheer scale of the first-person shooter. A look at the PC footage of the game in action shows a fully realized Las Vegas, Nevada, complete with stretching skyscrapers, flashing lights, signage, cars, and life -- all as far as the eye can see. Duke can, as in other games, explore the city as he desires, going in and out of buildings, through the streets, into the desert, inside Area 51, and more. Already it looks incomparably huge, and as 3D Realms has often been quick to point out, it's not even finished. Other areas featured include, of course, Area 51, as well as the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, the Vegas strip and parts of Arizonia.

Aiding Duke in his adventures are several vehicles that the hero can now pilot. Download the video below to see Nukem drive a Harley Davidson through the streets of Vegas, roll through the city in the back of gang-car, soar through the skies in a jet fighter, or hobble slowly into the desert on a donkey. Each "vehicle" -- be it animal or jet ski, reacts in a complete different, realistic manner, and allows Nukem access to areas of the game otherwise inaccessible, or too timely to access in another fashion.

While the first thing players are likely to notice is the grand scale of the worlds in DNF, 3D Realms has stated repeatedly that is trying to create a living, breathing environment that is fully interactive for the game. To that effect Duke can blow holes into walls, shatter out windows, blow up building areas, destroy doors and video cameras, obliterate internal objects and more. Furthermore, in keeping with the realism of exploring such gargantuan environments, Duke can also play pinball machines he encounters, buy food from vending machines, and fool around with other contraptions.

Of course, in any Duke game weaponry is integral and DNF is no different. In this all-new adventure Duke can take out foes with a truckload of new weapons including, but not limited to a pistol, automatic, sniper-rifle, rocket launcher, shotgun, laser-gun and his foot -- he can stop on smaller enemies and splatter their guts onto the floor. Developer 3D Realms is keeping much of the arsenal in the title secret still, but players can look forward to a whole cast of new weapons and such gadgets as a jet-pack and laser trip-wire too.

Graphics and Technology
Duke Nukem Forever runs on a modified version of the Unreal engine, which any PC first-person shooter fanatic will swear by. This has allowed 3D Realms much more freedom to realize truly realistic looking 3D environments on a grand scale. The engine effortlessly spits out polygons to draw city blocks that seemingly stretch forever with no loss in texture detail. Characters come to life with picture-esque facial animations that are synched perfectly with speech, hair that swings as they bob their heads, eyes that follow gazes, and more. The particle effects system, meanwhile, boasts impressive explosion effects with shimmering fire, shattered glass, and blood spilt in every direction -- just like Duke fans want it. Add in real-time lighting effects, interactive environments, and a variation in locales unequaled in any other first-person shooter and you begin to see and understand why Duke Nukem Forever has been one of the most hotly anticipated titles over the last couple of years.

Outlook
Duke Nukem Forever has been in development for PC -- well, forever. But when 3D Realms finally delivers the product unto PC owners the wait will most likely have been worth it. The title brings the tight play mechanics and super-cool theme and style of the Nukem series into the next-generation of 3D first-person shooters. In addition to shooting everything in sight dead, Duke can fly jets, float jet skis, control cars, ride donkeys, shoot out environments, interact with realistic sidekicks and enemies, and all with a visual finesse that's sure to inspire drool upon FPS fans.

The game will almost certainly hit PC mid-to-late next year. Take-Two Interactive will, with any luck, make sure GameCube owners receive the first-person shooter at around the same time. With the power of Nintendo's hardware, there is no reason why Duke Nukem Forever won't remain completely intact, with detailed graphics and features unabridged.

IGNcube will have much more on the GameCube version of Duke Nukem Forever in the coming months. In the meantime, though, if you'd like to know what to expect, download the PC teaser video and screenshots below -- both snapped at the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2001.