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"Duke Nukem 3D", a game by MachineWorks Northwest, is available for US$2.99 at the App Store.
When "Duke Nukem 3D" was first released for the PC in 1996, the "3D" in the title was perhaps there to emphasize that this was not the sort of flat-world first-person shooter (FPS) experience you'd find in a game like "Doom 2." Rather than just pivoting side to side, you could actually use the mouse to look up and down, setting your sights on an object far below you or flying above you -- quite an innovation for the time, as I remember.
It made aiming your weapon a little tricker, but it really expanded the world you could explore within the game and made it a lot more fun. If you can manage to get a copy of "Duke Nukem 3D" running on a modern computer (or you still have an ancient PC lying around somewhere), you might be surprised at how well it still holds up, graphics and sound notwithstanding.
The next game in the Nukem series, "Duke Nukem Forever," has been in design purgatory for over a decade, and at this point its chances of ever being finished don't look good. In fact, it's been so long that the last game in the series, which used to push the limits of a full-bodied desktop system in the mid-'90s, can now run on an iPhone or iPod touch.
Real Deal
What impressed me most about "Duke Nukem 3D" for the iPhone is that MachineWorks really didn't take any major shortcuts in bringing the game to a handheld device. It seems almost all the details are still there. The levels are designed the same way, the weapons are the same, the enemies are the same. I expected something simplified and abridged -- a shortened, easier version of the game for a smaller platform. What I got was something that matches my memory of the game almost exactly.
However, the fact that it's so similar to the original also ups the frustration factor a notch or two. The original control functions were designed for players with a mouse and keyboard, maybe even a PC joystick. The maps were designed to be navigated with these sorts of controllers, which give you a fair amount of detail control. Surprising a bad guy by swinging around a corner or dropping in from a ledge, aiming and opening fire isn't so tricky.
However, touchscreens aren't as easy to deal 
with. On the iPhone version, you make your way through the game's maps using on-screen controls that get in the way of each other and obstruct your view of the screen. There are two directional control panels, along with buttons for pausing, jumping, ducking and opening. I don't know how many times I tried to open a door and instead shot it with a machine gun. Instead of sprinting through corridors with guns blazing, I stumbled along and only opened fire once I finally managed to face what I wanted to shoot at.
This is a really common sticking point with FPS games that are ported to the iPhone. On a touchscreen, you can make fine-motor gestures, but you get no instant tactile feedback. I'm afraid that unless Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) or some third party comes out with an add-on that gives the iPhone physical directional controls and buttons, it will take a lot of time spent using touchscreens before they're as second-nature as real buttons are. Until then, FPS games on an iPhone, no matter how well-crafted by the developer, just aren't as fun to play as they are on something like a PSP.
However, "Duke Nukem 3D" deserves credit for trying very hard to make its controls as comfortable as possible. All its options work within the constraints of the touchscreen, but you get a lot of them -- the most I've seen from any iPhone FPS game. There are two ways to do directional control -- digital and analog. Within the analog setting, you can control movement speed for each direction individually, choose left-handed or right-handed mode, invert the look direction and adjust strafe controls. The digital settings are a little more simplified, but you can ask for extra-large buttons. "Easy targeting" and "Tap to shoot" options are also offered. You can even customize the positions of these controls anywhere on the screen.
With enough adjustments, I was able to find a control scheme that I felt reasonably comfortable with. Still, nothing beats physical buttons.
I also got held up a little with the processing speed on my iPhone 3G. I experienced some lag, especially when I approached situations that required a little extra graphical heavy lifting, like a mirror or a window looking out onto a large area below. Engaging two or more enemies at a time also seemed to slow things down a little. I think "Duke Nukem 3D" approaches the upper limits of what's comfortable on a 3G model; 3GS users might not see this problem at all.
Pining for the Past?
Perhaps my experience with the iPhone version of this game is colored by the fact that at the time it was released, the original was the best FPS games I'd ever played. After getting comfortable with it and so many other games that use similar gameplay control, trying it on the iPhone makes me feel like I'm missing my index fingers. I'm aware that some people have no problem with how FPS games are handled on the iPhone's touchscreen, and if you're one of those people (and you have a 3GS), "Duke Nukem 3D" won't disappoint.
Oh, and as for the game's plot ... does it even matter? There's been some kind of alien invasion, blah blah blah. You're fighting your way through LA and an orbital base, battling aliens, mutant warthogs in cop uniforms, and giant lizards. You get jetpacks, pipe bombs, tripwire mines and shrink rays on top of the usual pistol/shotgun/machine gun setup you get in every FPS ever made. Viscera splatter everywhere as Duke spouts smug one-liners that sound like they came from a 'roided-up '80s action movie. The beauty of a game like "Duke Nukem 3D" is not the subtle nuance of its plot and characters, but the fact that you only have to make it to Level 2 in order to find a fully loaded RPG.
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