Duke Nukem 3D

Even if you've played the PC game to death,
it's absolutely worth Nuking it on the Saturn.

Publisher: Sega
Developer: Lobotomy Software
Genre: First-Person Shooter

What makes Duke Nukem 3D such a great Saturn title? Well, let me count the ways:

One -- Lobotomy's graphics engine in Duke Nukem 3D is arguably better than 3D Realm's original Build engine for the PC. This is a true 3D engine, fully polygonal and texture-mapped, with some nifty lightsourcing tricks to boot. You can look straight up or down, something you couldn't do on the PC. And believe me, you'll be utilizing the "look" feature throughout the game. It's a gorgeous game that proves other PC-to-Saturn ports, like Doom and Hexen, were just handled by the wrong development groups

Two -- Duke Nukem 3D isn't just a 3D corridor shooter. There's tons of great gun-blazing action in this blastfest, sure, but there's a lot of puzzle solving that needs to be done. Utilizing the shrink-ray to squeeze into tight corridors, or employing machinery in a certain level (like a grappling claw), or just flipping switches in the right order, you'll be keeping busy while your guns cool. Heck, you'll be doing so much platform-hopping, you'd think that Mario joined the NRA.

Three -- NetLink support. Not only does Duke play extremely well in solitaire mode, but wait until you plug in the NetLink and play with and/or against someone else. Granted, it's easier to play multiplayer on one system, but this is a great alternative considering that the Saturn was unable to include a split-screen mode. Take advantage of it if you can, you won't be disappointed.

Four -- DeathTank Zwei. I'm not going to ruin the surprise, but you'll know what this means when you find it. Here's a tip: Grab a multi-tap.

Lobotomy and Sega pulled no punches bringing this awesome PC title to the Saturn, and just breathing the fun back into the Doom-style games. I could wear my nitpicker mask and mention the trivial elements that didn't make it into the port (like whizzing into the toilets), but there's no way these ommisions take away the overall fun. Even if you've played the PC game to death, it's absolutely worth Nuking it on the Saturn.