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Apogee Software Returns, Brings Duke Nukem to Handhelds

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Mon Jul 14, 2008 03:44 PM
from the and-they-want-braaaaaiiiiiinnnnnnsssss dept.
Handhelds Entertainment Games Hardware
In a surprise move, it appears that Apogee Software has returned to action. As their first move, they are promising to bring Duke Nukem to the handheld market. "Apogee is bringing the King of Action himself, Duke Nukem, to the handheld console market with three new missions, together called the Duke Nukem Trilogy. Apogee Software is producing the Trilogy under an exclusive license agreement with 3D Realms and MachineWorks Northwest LLC. The Trilogy is comprised of three episodes: Critical Mass, Chain Reaction, and Proving Grounds. 'This marks a new beginning for a famous publisher with a history of market-making innovation,' said Terry Nagy, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Apogee. 'I can't think of a better character than Duke or a better franchise than the Trilogy to usher in a new era for Apogee.'"
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Apogee Software Returns, Brings Duke Nukem to Handhelds 50 Comments More /

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  • What will come out first, these Duke Nukem games or Forever? And will we get new Commander Keen games?

    • I doubt it. I imagine they probably gave the studios they farmed the games out to production deadlines, so they'll be shipped well before we ever see Duke Nukem Forever.

      And yeah it'd be awesome to see some new Commander Keen games.

      • It would be nice to see a new Commander Keen game, but it probably won't come from Apogee, or 3D realms for that matter. Last I checked it's still the IP of id software, which developed the original Keen games. Apogee was just one of the publishers of the games. Also, the games were designed by Tom Hall, who left id ages ago (actually, he worked for 3D realms for a while), but now works at KingsIsle Entertainment.

    • The article is a little short on details. Are these going to be 2d action platformers like the original Duke Nukem, or an FPS like Duke 3d?

      • That's what I'm wondering. I'd much prefer an fps, even if the graphics are akin to duke3d so it will run well on handhelds.

    • What will come out first, these Duke Nukem games or Forever?

      Well there's not really any question about that.

  • I used to love the fact that the first game in every Apogee trilogy was a shareware title, and after I got a good feel for the game I could decide to buy the next two in the series.

    • I used to love the fact that the first game in every Apogee trilogy was a shareware title, and after I got a good feel for the game I could decide to buy the next two in the series.

      The article said "handhelds". Which handhelds have shareware, other than perhaps Pocket PC?

      • You know, I read it and kept thinking mobile phones rather than handhelds. You're right, it won't happen.

      • Re:Shareware on handhelds? (Score:5, Informative)

        by _xeno_ (155264) on Monday July 14 2008, @04:16PM (#24187541) Homepage Journal

        The article said "handhelds". Which handhelds have shareware, other than perhaps Pocket PC?

        The PSP does. Sort of. The PSP can download games from the PlayStation store, and these can be free demos if the publisher allows it. Due to DRM, you can't share them, so they're not exactly shareware. This requires either a PC or a PS3, unless the built-in PSP browser has been fixed since the last time I tried to download a demo through it.

        The DS also allows Download Play which can be used to access demos, although this is even less like shareware since you can't keep these downloads once the device powers off. This restriction is because the demos are downloaded into RAM and not any sort of permanent storage. This means that the demo has even less memory available to it than it otherwise would, so not all games can really have demos made for them.

        Downloading DS titles requires either a Wii through the free Nintendo Channel, or a Download Station that most stores that sell DS games have.

        So yes, modern handhelds do allow free demos. Sort of. It's not quite the same thing as shareware, but hey, a free downloadable demo is better than nothing.

        I should also mention that most of these demos aren't quite the full episode that old Apogee shareware games were. But on the PSP at least, it's theoretically possible to release a single episode as a free download. Not so much on the DS.

          • Downloading DS titles requires either a Wii through the free Nintendo Channel, or a Download Station that most stores that sell DS games have.

            Is that even English?! So I can get a free Wii through the Nintendo Channel? Really? Where do I find the Nintendo Channel? I can't even parse the second half.

            Translation: Buy a Wii console, an 802.11g router, and a subscription to high-speed Internet access, and you get the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo Channel at no additional cost. Go in a store that sells new Nintendo DS Lite systems, and you can download a selection of about a dozen game demos and videos, which disappear when you turn off the DS.

            But the DS and PSP still fail it when it comes to game moddability.

              • Could you point out where [the comment on moddability] is?

                It wasn't. The translation ended at the paragraph break. I guess I should have been more clear as to where the translation ended and where my original comments began.

        • You can download PSP demos using only the PSP, or at least you could...

          • It didn't work for me the last time I tried. I got an error that, when I looked it up online, indicated that the DRM check had failed.

            Trying through the PC PlayStation store worked first time, although I should probably have mentioned that "PC" in this case means "Windows XP/Vista."

            I don't have my PSP available to try again, so I dunno if it works now. I loaned my PSP out, since I wasn't currently using it for anything other than a paperweight.

      • Someone else mentioned PSP in a "sort of" category, so I think the iPhone/iPod Touch now qualifies in the same "sort of" category... in that there are free demos available, with the full version to be purchased if one wants.

    • I had an online conversation with George Broussard quite a few years back on Planet Crap (is that site still around?) about the skueaky 2d side scroller and its sequels. George told me there were 30,000 copies of the oringinal shareware title sold. So you and I are two of those 30k. I wonder why shareware died? It was a viable business model!

      My daughter Leila (with two eyes, neither one in the middle of her forehead, and name spelled literately) will surely get this game for her handheld when it comes out.

  • Will it play on the handheld GNU/HERD port?

    No seriously you guys, I can't wait.
  • and I'm all out of catchphrases.

  • blah blah blah (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    am i the only one not caring about this trash?

    • Probably. Everyone I know who grew up in the mid-late 80s is excited as hell.

    • Get off my lawn, punk. I'm after Doctor Proton and I'm gonna be kickin' ass and takin' initials; I ain't got time for names.

      To answer your question, yes. I'm guessing Duke Nukem came out long before you were born.

  • Good news for us aging fans of the series (Score:5, Funny)

    by elrous0 (869638) * on Monday July 14 2008, @03:54PM (#24187203)
    Now how the Hell am I supposed to play it on a handheld with my arthritis?
    • Oh well. The world will either end with the Mayan calendar, the 32-bit datestamp or the 1950-2050 Y2K windowing fix long before 2099. (And if it fails to end on the third attempt, it can be placed in indefinite confinement under California's three strikes rule.)
  • I have been wishing for years that someone would do Commander Keen in 3D, with all of the vertically-oriented cartooney pogo-stick-and-floating-platform glory of the original, but in a vertigo-inducing new 3D version, complete with giant slugs and bright green yargs and so forth. If Apogee is coming back, now there's real hope that it could actually happen!

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by cthulu_mt (1124113)
      I bet it could be done as a mod of Source/Portal engine.

      Quick! Someone take this idea and run...'cause I suck at programming!

    • If Apogee is coming back, now there's real hope that it could actually happen!

      Nope, not at all. Apogee published Commander Keen. id Software developed it. They are the ones who own that franchise. The Dopefish makes a cameo appearance in Quake, actually.

    • I'd rather not, using the pogo in 2d was hard at times but manageable, 3d just doesn't work for that since it's hard to see where floating platforms are located in 3d space and of course platforms are easier to miss since you have to align two dimensions instead of one, increasing the difficulty quadratically.

  • Ever heard of 3D Realms, hm? (Score:5, Informative)

    by hee gozer (1261036) on Monday July 14 2008, @04:18PM (#24187567)

    They were never gone, they just dropped the name in favor of 3D Realms. Read the Wiki page [wikipedia.org] on Apogee for details.

    (Now excuse me while I dig up that disk of Commander Keen 5...)

    • So, I thought Duke Nukem Forever was taking a long time to do, however it seems that taking an eternity to develop games is standard procedure for these guys uh?

      The most recent success the company was associated with was Prey, a game released July 11, 2006 after being stuck in development hell for 11 years

  • I can't wait to play this on my game.com!

  • Finally! Now I have someone to call up so I can say "Aardwolf" at them!

  • Just as my motherboard half-died and left me without a video card (and an awful on board chip), I was reliving some Apogee classics in Dosbox. Now, I hear Apogee are coming back :D
  • is also a tip of the hat to a bygone age.

  • yawn:

    "I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum! And I'm all outta....wait does the bubble gum from China have lead in it?"

  • Duke Nukem, Wacky Wheels, Terminal Velocity, Rise of the Triad, Secret Agent, Death Rally, Raptor, mmmmmmmmmm... 3

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