Line #1 VideoGame/DukeNukem


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Duke_Nukem2_sm_1447.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''"Babes, bullets, bombs... ''Damn'', I ''love'' this job."'']]
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4	The Duke Nukem franchise started early in TheNineties as a series of regular side-scrolling [[PlatformGame platformer games]]. It started under Creator/ThreeDRealms development, but in 2010, the rights to the series went to Creator/GearboxSoftware. In February 2021 Gearbox (and by extension Duke) was purchased by Embracer Group (which owns Plaion, Creator/THQNordic and a number several of companies). Later that year, 3D Realms was purchased by them (via Saber Interactive) as well, once again placing Duke and his original creators under the same roof, until 2023, where Embracer sold off Saber to Beacon Interactive.
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6	The series is composed of several games which follows a loose continuity:
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8	[[index]]
9	* ''VideoGame/{{Duke Nukem\|I}}'' (1991)
10	* ''VideoGame/DukeNukemII'' (1993)
11	* ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' (1996)
12	* ''VideoGame/DukeNukemManhattanProject'' (2002)
13	* ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' (2011)
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15	%% Don't pothole the below, otherwise, it screws the index.
16	There were also several spinoffs for consoles and handhelds.
17	%% Don't pothole the above, otherwise, it screws the index.
18
19	* ''Duke Nukem: Time to Kill'' (1998)
20	* ''Duke Nukem: Zero Hour'' (1999)
21	* ''Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes'' (2000)
22	* ''Duke Nukem Advance'' (2002)
23	* ''Duke Nukem Mobile'' (2004)
24	* ''Duke Nukem: Critical Mass'' (2011)
25	[[/index]]
26
27	ComicBooks include:
28	* ''Duke Nukem Forever'' (2011)
29	* ''Duke Nukem: Glorious Bastard'' (2011)
30
31	A book titled ''Duke Nukem Does the Internet'' was released in 1996. It is an instructional book in the vein of the ''For Dummies'' series, teaching the reader how to set up and use the internet (though said advice [[TechnologyMarchesOn might be outdated by now]]), narrated entirely in-character by Duke Nukem himself.
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33	There are also hints of a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Nukem_(character)#Proposed_feature_film live-action film]] being made. In June 2022, it's FINALLY confirmed that the creators of ''Series/CobraKai'' and Creator/LegendaryPictures will create the film.
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35	Not to be confused with a member of WesternAnimation/{{Captain Planet\|AndThePlaneteers}}'s RoguesGallery.
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37	!!Tropes found across the series include:
38	* AchievementMockery: Tip a virtual stripper who takes her top off and you'll get the 10G achievement "Shake it Baby".
39	* TheAhnold: Duke Nukem's inspiration in Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger is undeniable, not only in appearance but on his whole 80's ActionHero persona. He only lacks the Austrian/Germanic accent...
40	* AliensAreBastards: Duke has yet to meet an alien species that wasn't a bunch of jerks.
41	* BagOfSpilling: In the first three games, Duke loses all weapons he picks up across episodes. Averted in ''Forever'' [[spoiler:until the final battle]].
42	* BrassBalls: One of Duke's catchphrases.
43	--> ''"I've got balls of steel!"''
44	** The company that made ''Duke Nukem'', 3D Realms, later released a {{pinball}} game named ''VideoGame/BallsOfSteel'', which featured a Duke Nukem-themed table.
45	* BondOneLiner: Duke is rather fond of these.
46	* CanonDiscontinuity: The [[GaidenGame third person shooters]] ''Time to Kill'' and ''Land of the Babes'', for the original [=PlayStation=], while decent in their own right, aren't regarded as canon. The fact that they were made by different developers probably has something to do with that.
47	* ChivalrousPervert: Duke is a royal jackass who has no problem shitting down an alien behemoth's neck after killing it, but he will never insult a woman directly.
48	* CoolShades: From ''3D'' onwards, now became an iconic feature of his character.
49	* DamselInDistress: All of Earth's women.
50	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The third game presented a massive shift in both genre and tone, going from self-aware platformers that were family-friendly to a predominantly shooter-focused franchise with [[LudicrousGibs lots of gibs and gore]], and lots of [[HotterAndSexier babes]].
51	* GirlinessUpgrade: {{Gender inverted\|Trope}}. It is hard to believe that, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness once upon a time,]] [[RealMenWearPink Duke wore a pink shirt, watched Oprah, maintained a curly hairstyle]], and kept his language within the territories defined by GoshDangItToHeck. Then, [[DarkerAndEdgier something]] happened in between the two alien invasions...
52	* HeroicComedicSociopath: Duke's idea of a fun time is blowing an alien's brains out with a large shotgun. All of Duke's dialogue is bragging about how amazing he is. Duke casually throws money at the feet of strippers when any sane person would be evacuating them out of an active warzone. Duke once wrote a book titled "Why I'm So Great", and once threatened a large alien monster with "I'll rip your head off and shit down your neck", and then after killing it ''[[NotHyperbole followed through with the threat]]''. Duke is an absolute ''douche'', and he's ''hilarious''.
53	* InconvenientlyPlacedConveyorBelt: All four installments to date have at least one.
54	* JennysNumber: This is an EasterEgg above urinals in both ''3D'' and ''Forever''.
55	* LockAndKeyPuzzle: The games are full of them. Lampshaded in ''Forever'', where the trope takes on a more creative twist.
56	* ManInAKilt: Believe it or not, Duke himself wears a kilt in the Medieval levels of ''Time to Kill'', and a tunic in the Ancient Roman levels.
57	** CensorShadow: Most of the time, except...
58	** {{Mooning}}: ...in an EasterEgg, where he imitates ''Film/{{Braveheart}}''.
59	* MascotMook: The L.A.R.D pig cops have become this.
60	** The Octabrains, as well; they've appeared in various permutations in every title since the third game, except for ''Manhattan Project''.
61	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Duke Nukem. Kinda obvious to see what happens when you piss him off.
62	* NegativeContinuity: {{Zigzagged}}. The guns at the Duke Museum in ''Forever'' state that they were used by Duke in 1996 ... which refers to the year when ''3D'' came out. ''II'' was supposed to happen in 1998, since ''Duke Nukem'' is set in 1997, and the introduction of ''II'' mentions "defeating Doctor Proton last year", with ''3D'' happening immediately after ''II'''s conclusion. However, the ''Balls of Steel Limited Edition Guide'' says: "This pegs the original invasion around 1999, which works out, since ''Duke Nukem'' and ''Duke Nukem II'' are set in the then-near future of 1997 and 1998."
63	* NoSuchThingAsDehydration: In his first adventure, a [=DOS-based=] scrolling shoot-'em-up, Duke can replenish his health by eating a cold turkey drumstick (+100 points and one health block), or zap it with his [[RayGun blaster gun]] to convert it to a hot turkey dinner (+200 points and two health blocks). Duke will also encounter cans of soda in his travels. Duke can drink the stuff as is (+100 points and one health block), or go for a maximum score by zapping it with his blaster and quickly snagging what's left before it flies out of reach. This is worth +1000 points, but adds no health. Going for a maximum, therefore, means eating only cooked turkey and zapping all the soda cans rather than drinking them.
64	* OctopoidAliens: Octobrains (octopus-like alien brains with tentacles) are regular enemies in the games.
65	* OneManArmy: Duke Nukem, alone, takes on a mad scientist and his robot army, followed by two alien armies, the latter of which had already at least partially conquered Earth the first time. Acknowledged in a 2001 trailer of Duke Nukem Forever when a SWAT Officer asks "Hey pal, what are you gonna do, save the world all by yourself?"
66	* PinballSpinoff: ''VideoGame/BallsOfSteel''.
67	* PopCulturedBadass: Duke, of course.
68	* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Duke has many of these.
69	* PressXToDie: In ''Zero Hour'', it's really not a good idea to start firing off weapons inside the support structure for the blimp. Boom indeed.
70	%%* RatedMForManly:
71	* RefugeInAudacity: Duke's bread and butter. As Randy Pitchford claimed in the April 2011 issue of ''US Xbox 360 Magazine'':
72	-->''The secret to Duke's humor is that he and his universe actually are serious. In his world, it makes perfect sense for families to be visiting the Fellatio hotel (i.e., the Bellagio) in Las Vegas. Everything in his world is real for them, authentic. It's only when we look at it through the lens of our world that we get the joke.''
73	* SeeYouInHell: Duke sometimes says this whenever he blasts enemies into oblivion.
74	* ShoutOut: Check [[ShoutOut/DukeNukem the page]].
75	* StoppedNumberingSequels: Although they tried to keep it up with ThirdIs3D and a PunBasedTitle that ended up [[DevelopmentHell having a different meaning]].
76	* TakeThat: some of his one liners in 3D are digs at other popular-at-the-time FirstPersonShooter games:
77	** "I ain't afraid of no ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}''"
78	** "That's One ''VideoGame/{{DOOM}}ed'' Space Marine."
79	* TestosteronePoisoning
80	* TitleDrop: Literally the first thing Duke says when the game starts in "Time To Kill" is "Looks like it's 'Time To Kill'."
81	* TheUsualAdversaries: Every alien race after the Rigelatins has employed Pig Cops in some way, what with them appearing in just about every game since 1996.
82	* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: While the player ''can'' kill babes and male {{NPC}}s when they appear, such as the male strippers in ''Time to Kill'' or any male civilian in the 2001 leak version of ''Forever'', this results in alien forces promptly teleporting to the player's position and forcing the player to fight extra enemies, this can range from a few basic enemies that aren't too challenging to outright EliteMooks in some of the games. (The 2001 leak version of Forever has Duke lose EGO instead.)
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Context VideoGame / DukeNukem