Duke Nukem 3D – Sega Saturn Review

Duke Nukem 3D – Sega Saturn Review

It was at a time when the FPS genre was still young and developing on the PC. On the Saturn, it was something special.

Episode Notes:

1. It took 15 years for its sequel, Duke Nukem Forever to get released.
2. Opening shots are from both the PC original and the remaster.
3. The Playstation version wasn’t bad itself, but suffers a more chaotic framerate.
4. After Lobotomy was bought out in 1998, it was learned that they were already working on ideas for Powerslave 2.
5. What makes Duke Nukem on the Saturn even more impressive is the fact that Lobotomy Software was working on both it and Quake at the same time. They were a small developer taking on two massive games on a machine that supposedly couldn’t do 3D worth a damn. They also did both ports for a pittance, which contributed to their demise the following year.
6. The PC version used the Build engine, which was then ported to the Saturn using SlaveDriver. Funnily enough, the PC version of Powerslave used the Build engine as well, which itself is the reason SlaveDriver was created for the Saturn.
7. SlaveDriver used both CPU’s effectively. One was used for the walls, while the second took care of everything else.

The Sega Saturn version of Duke Nukem 3D is a 1997 port that was published by Sega and developed by Lobotomy Software. Instead of the classic Build engine, the port used Lobotomy Software’s own game engine, SlaveDriver, which was notable for its use of dynamic lighting.

Source: https://dukenukem.fandom.com/wiki/Duke_Nukem_3D_(Sega_Saturn)