We’re not entirely sure how it’s going to work, but Duke Nukem will be spending some time in World War II in the upcoming Duke Nukem Trilogy for the DS and PSP.
“We plan on making Duke the Forrest Gump of World War II,” Apogee Chief Operating Officer Terry Nagy said in an interview with Shacknews. “It was really Duke that sunk the Bismarck. It wasn’t the British.” Nagy went on to say that Duke was responsible for victory at the battle of Iwo Jima, adding, “[Apogee CEO] Scott [Miller] absolutely loved the storyline, claiming that it was ‘absolutely Duke.'”
Differences between the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP versions of the game were also described in greater detail. In announcing the game, Apogee said the titles would share the same storyline but would take advantage of the strengths of their respective platforms to offer differing gameplay options. Nagy revealed that the DS version of the game will feature side-scrolling levels, first-person “sniper portions” and top-down jetpack shooting sections, while the PSP release will have no side-scrolling, but will offer both first-person and third-person gameplay and over-the-shoulder jetpack shooting.
Storyline details remain scarce, but Critical Mass, the opening entry in the Trilogy, will put Duke in the future, while the second title, Chain Reaction, will see him turned loose in the present day. The final game, Proving Grounds, will feature the hero in World War II action that will finally explain his origins. While the PSP and DS versions of the game remain Apogee’s primary focus, Nagy claimed a PC release of the game remains a possibility, saying, “We aren’t ruling it out.”
The M-rated dialog, excessive violence and strippers of Duke’s past may be gone on the DS, however, as Nagy revealed that Apogee is looking at different approaches to “certain graphic situations” in order to satisfy Nintendo’s concerns about adult game content on its consoles. “We have the opportunity to reestablish [Duke] to younger players while keep Duke as edgy as ever,” he said. “Duke has been gone for awhile.”
