you can snag the GRP files and use EDuke32 but im a completionist achievement whore for shooters dlskfj.
said episode is Alien World Order, an original pack of 8 levels made for the rather controversial World Tour Edition of Duke 3D. if you're not aware, the issues range from negative mouse acceleration, lack of previous expansion packs (especially Life's A Beach i loved that one) and Gearbox delisting all prior digital versions. you're legally stuck with this release, thanks Randy!
AWO is... fine. ish. overall. excluding the packaging, AWO is a totally alright addition that pushes Build to its limits for 2016 and it shows through the excellent environmental detail. half the fun's just seeing the original level designers go ham without limitations, taking Duke all across the world from England to Russia. all that good Build destructibility is on display too, everything blows up, breaks, entire streets crumble. on a technical level, nothing to complain about and in terms of gameplay, quite fun on Come Get Some. resources are far more scarce and they love to spam those minibosses but i appreciate the carnage that standard Duke couldn't pull off. it's hard not to enjoy a giant golden gate bridge setpiece that goes boom yknow?
otherwise, it's basically just harder D3D with bizarre additions. there's a new flamethrower weapon that i used all of once since there's no niche for it whatsoever. the new Firefly enemy also shoots it and can... harmlessly shrink? not, sure what tactics were attempted here, one explosive and they're instantly gone. hilariously, it appears the devs didn't figure them out either since they appear less than a handful of times. both honestly feel like content for content's sake; bullet points for the steam blurb. should say as well, AWO's levels are impressive within the context of Duke 3D's design, less so compared to later FPS throwbacks. you're here for technical tricks, not a totally new experience.
im not going to dignify the new final boss with a response.
there's also the rerecorded Duke lines by John St. John himself who, god i don't know what direction he was given but it's not good, full of overacting and weird enunciation. combined with the distractingly higher audio quality and i have no idea what the point was. unfortunately, while you can turn this off for the base game, it's forced for AWO. have fun hearing the classic "unf" noise resemble an orgasm.
im glad to have finally played it but im still sore over World Tour. you're paying $23 for about half the classic experience, all of which was - was - available in the infinitely better (and cheaper) Megaton Edition. with piracy in mind, is it worth snagging for one decent episode and a neat new renderer?
no, not really. that mouse accel really does fucking suck.
that said, if you're looking to own an "official" copy of Duke 3D and you missed the train, get it on sale and stick the files in a sourceport of your choosing. you're still losing two expansions but hey, that Russia level's pretty neat i guess.
