- "Faces of Death" redirects here. For the Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown level, see Faces of Death (DNTM).
Faces of Death is a Dukematch level and hidden singleplayer level in Duke Nukem 3D. It was originally intended to be a multiplayer-only level, but it could still be reached during the singleplayer campaign by exploiting cheats and glitches. In the 20th Anniversary Edition, this was changed so that the level could be accessed normally.
Description
Faces of Death has a simple design, consisting mainly of a large ring with a continuous circle of teleporters around the outside edge. The level features 7 Battlelord Sentries and no other enemies. The level gets its name from the fact that portraits of the game's developers can be found throughout the map. The entire level is set on an alien space station.
How to reach the level
Command-line
In the original DOS version of Duke Nukem 3D, start the game with the command-line parameters "/v1 /l7" (without the quotation marks). You can also add a parameter to set the difficulty level.
Classic and Atomic Editions
In the Classic and Atomic editions of Duke Nukem 3D, Faces of Death cannot be reached without the use of cheats and glitches.
The level can be reached through a hidden exit button on The Abyss. In the circular room just before the the Battlelord, there is a compartment with three Chaingun Cannon ammo packs. Using the no-clip cheat, the exit button can be found behind the back wall of this compartment. When the exit button is hit, the player will be taken to Launch Facility. However, if the remainder of L.A. Meltdown is completed as normal, then hitting the exit button again will take the player to Faces of Death.
Prior to the 20th Anniversary Edition, Faces of Death did not contain an exit button, so it could not be completed.
20th Anniversary Edition
In the 20th Anniversary Edition, the secret exit button described above can now be reached without the use of cheats or glitches. Simply pressing the "use" button on the back wall of the Chaingun Cannon ammo compartment will reveal the secret exit button, which will now take the player directly to Faces of Death.
Faces of Death also now contains an exit button, so it can be completed normally in this version of the game, which will lead to the beginning of The Abyss again.
Secrets
Secrets 1-2: Behind the lavafalls
This level contains two secrets, one behind each of the lavafalls:
- Prior to the 20th Anniversary Edition: They can be reached by simply jumping into each of the lava falls. Duke will pass directly through the lava. The secrets are on high ledges, so it is necessary to jump.
- In the 20th Anniversary Edition: Duke will have to use the Jetpack (one can be found in this level) to reach the high areas behind the lavafalls.
Walkthrough
See Also: Written/Pictorial Walkthrough by 3D Realms
