After a build of Duke Nukem Forever from 2001 was leaked earlier this year, a modder cohort now calling themselves Mighty Foot Productions quickly assembled to take on the task of reconstructing Duke Nukem Forever as it might have been in a better timeline. They're building on the framework of the leaked version, which was an unfinished build made to demo at E3, and the result looks a lot like the kind of low-budget retro shooter a small studio might make today. In a good way.
According to the latest update, "Current progress has been focused on finishing the polish for the first chapter of the game, 'High Stakes, Lady Killer' and working on a plethora of render and engine fixes alike; with many major and small fixes already developed, such as a proper 'hair fix' and progress on an entirely new renderer for the game in DirectX® 9. Much of the content seen in the E3 trailers and promotional material for the game have been restored, with an all-new story being developed by a story team to bridge the gaps between what we know about the game and what we don't."
That first chapter is set in a casino whose opening night, to be attended by the President and also one Mr. Dukolas Nukemton [check this – Ed.], has been interrupted in violent fashion. Expect a whole lot of neon lights, a showy Las Vegas skyline, and gunfights around a swimming pool and across a rooftop. It's a Duke Nukem game after all, you gotta have a rooftop battle. And some secrets.
This first slice of the Duke Nukem Forever Restoration Project will include a map editor and deathmatch mode. There will be 12 weapons for Duke to play with including pipe bombs, laser tripbombs, a freeze cannon, a flame thrower, and the venerable mighty foot itself alongside more typical options like the pistol, shotgun, and a plain old machine gun. There's also a riot shield, and a visual comparison with the leak showed they were keeping the motorbike sequence so that's something to look forward to.
The enemies include a lot of zombified civilians with alien parasites bursting out of them and regular-looking cops, though there's a brief glimpse of pig cops as well. Here's hoping for more alien enemies rather than just dudes with guns.
We'll have a chance to try it for ourselves when the first slice is available to download on December 21. Check out the project's page on ModDB for more.
