Duke Nukem: Critical Mass

Duke Nukem Critical Mass (DNT) is a a score-based “Multi Mode” Action Shooter video game produced by Apogee Software, co-published by Apogee Software and Deep Silver and developed by Frontline Studios for the Nintendo DS. It is the first game in the plainned Duke Nukem Trilogy. A PlayStation Portable version of Duke Nukem: Critical Mass was developed but was cancelled. The DS and PSP versions were going to be unique games unified by the same basic story. The company announced that the first game in the trilogy Duke Nukem: Critical Mass would be released for the DS in Europe on April 8, 2011.

Storyline

Duke’s original nemesis, Dr. Proton, is back and has unified all those who have opposed Duke in the past. The Earth Defense Force attempts to ensure the Earth’s continued security by transporting Duke into the future. Ironically, just moments after Duke’s departure, Proton launches a devastating attack on Earth!

History

The game has what Apogee calls "multi-mode". Where players switch between third-person over the shoulder, first person, isometric, and side scrolling views. At the moment this action is directed. A four-minute trailer was shown at E3 2008, in which there is no gameplay footage, but rather a series of logos and game-related art. A video that contains screenshots from both the DS and PSP versions, as well as a video with gameplay from both versions, were released in March 2009.

On October 29, 2010, news was released that Critical Mass for both platforms would no longer carry the Duke Nukem license and be renamed Extraction Point: Alien Shootout. However on March 23, 2011 Apogee Software announced that they never lost the license and would release Duke Nukem: Critical Mass for the Nintendo DS on April 08, 2011 in European markets.

Development

Rumors of a Duke Nukem title on PSP and DS began spreading in early 2008, and in July of that year, Apogee released a teaser trailer for Duke Nukem Trilogy, confirming the game's existence. In March 2009, Apogee attended the Game Developer's Conference and showed the game off to Gamespot, which released a short video of some of the gameplay recorded on a handheld camera. Duke was seen running around a city landscape from a third person perspective in the PSP version of the game, and platforming through an environment while confined to a sidescroller style path on the DS version. In the interview, the Fall of 2009 was said to be the target release period for both versions of the game. This event was followed by several updates about the game's progress by Apogee on Twitter during the following months, including one in which the voice recording sessions for the game with Duke Nukem voice actor Jon St. John were confirmed to have gone successfully.

Setting

The game is supposed to be set in the future, and feature gritty city streets and alleys, indoor areas, and many as of now unknown world locations. According to Apogee's official website, the game will be very expansive, with more than 30 levels across 9 world locations.