Duke is a confident, aggressive, and frequently politically incorrect muscle man, who, although not superhuman, nonetheless manages to achieve incredible physical feats of violence and conquest through sheer machismo and expertise with automatic firearms. (However, a poster in the "barracks" in Episode 4, Level 1, suggests Duke Nukem may have been genetically engineered.) Other than a wide array of automatic firearms, explosives, and energy weapons, Duke is best known for his trademark jet pack, which gives him the ability to fly short distances in quick bursts. He is also known for his golden Colt 1911 Pistol and sunglasses, which completely conceal his eyes and which he has not been seen without (even at night) since Duke Nukem 3D, his leathers, his motorbikes, and his platinum blond, military-style haircut, which is existent since the first game. In every game, he traditionally wears a red tank top and blue jeans. In some of the games, Duke has a melee attack known as the "Mighty Foot", which is basically a strong kick to the face.
Duke's Weapons
The Mighty Boot (sometimes called Mighty Foot) is Duke's signature "weapon". Duke always has access to this means of attack, and can even deliver a kick while holding another weapon.
The Pistol is Duke's trademark, and (arguably) his weakest weapon. Duke has used this weapon in almost each game since Duke Nukem 3D. It is usually accurate and shoots fast, but is not automatic and needs to be frequently reloaded with its low magazines. The Pistol has several variations in Duke Nukem games, like the Desert Eagle or the M1911 and became one of Duke's most symbolic guns.
The Shrink Ray will shrink any enemy it hits. Enemies shrunk are about 10 times weaker to weapons than they normally would be, and enemies that are on the ground can be stepped on by Duke for a 1-hit KO.
The Freeze Ray fires a cold beam at enemies. If an enemy is hit by the beam for long enough, they will be frozen solid. Once frozen, Duke will then be able to shatter the enemy with a melee attack, projectile attack, or execution. The beam appears to have a maximum range of about 20 feet, and as such it is useless against any enemies that are farther away than that. The Freeze Ray's ammo refills over time.
The RPG is a large weapon that fires rockets with a large splash radius. It has two firing methods. The first is the standard rocket that is fired normally. The second is a tracking rocket, which is fired by holding the crosshairs over an enemy. It transitions between green, yellow, then red. After turning red, the RPG will fire a tracking rocket at the enemy. Each additional shot fired while maintaining the target in the crosshairs will give the RPG enough time to keep the lock.
The Ripper is a Nordenfelt-type machine gun with three barrels that fires standard bullets. Its high rate of fire can shred enemies in no time, but is limited somewhat by its small 50-round magazine, which needs to be reloaded fairly often. The magazine of the Ripper is inserted in front of the trigger group. It has a sten grip to control recoil, picatinny rails, and a stock which is seen retracted.
The Enforcer Gun is an alien weapon wielded by the Assault Enforcer. When one of them is killed, the player can pick it up and use it themselves. This weapon is exactly why Enforcers are dangerous opponents. When fired, the Enforcer Gun fires three mini rockets with light blue trails. These rockets will home onto any nearby enemies at close range, but will flunk at longer ranges. These rockets are quite powerful and can gib enemies.
The Pipebomb is a grenade-like weapon that can be remotely blown-up after thrown. Unlike the other weapons in the game, the Pipebomb can always be held if the player finds one. It has its own hotkey, which lets the player toss one anytime. Of comic note is the fact that the detonator is a car key remote (presumably to Duke's monster truck), and upon detonation it makes a sound just like one. The 3 beep-pattern emitted by the detonator sounds like part of the Duke Nukem theme song.
The Devastator is a double-barreled weapon that fires rockets from each barrel. These rockets have great accuracy at short range, but scatter the longer they fly. The Devastator is the strongest weapon in the game.
The Railgun is basically a cross of a classic sniper rifle and the Expander. In theory, a railgun is an entirely electrical gun that accelerates a conductive projectile along a pair of metal rails using the same principles as the homopolar motor. The gun fires a very powerful red beam that can kill an enemy in one hit. However, if the player kills an enemy with a headshot, the enemy’s head will explode. It can also pierce any wall and multiple enemies. However, it will not pierce some types of glass, so you cant stay safe and nail enemies easily.It is equipped with a scope to allow accurate aiming at long range.
The Laser Tripmine can be placed on any surface. When placed, it will emit a red laser. If something touches the red laser, the Tripmine will explode, killing or harming whatever is in front of the Tripmine.
The Shotgun is a sleek 12 gauge single barreled pump-action shotgun with a pistol grip. Its sprite resembles a Mossberg 500 Cruiser shotgun with forend pistol grip and heatshield. It is a good, close range weapon, very damaging, but inaccurate at large distances. It has an average rate of fire. Duke pumps it after each shot.
