Duke Nukem Advance (2002). Play online

Summary

Duke Nukem Advance brings a first‑person shooter experience to the Game Boy Advance, borrowing graphics and sound effects from the classic Duke Nukem 3D while delivering entirely original levels and a fresh spin‑off storyline. Players choose from four difficulty settings, can pause to check a zoomable map for hidden secrets, and enjoy up to four‑player multiplayer if each friend brings a copy of the cartridge.

The game offers five save slots and four distinct control layouts to adapt to the GBA’s limited buttons. Originally slated for a fall‑2001 launch alongside other GBA FPS titles, development was delayed a year to avoid crunch and polish missing features. Decades later, it resurfaced on the Evercade/VS as part of Duke Nukem Collection 2 (2023). Critics praised it as the GBA’s most fun shooter, noting its solid looks, smooth play, and standout sound design that earned it a runner‑up award for Best Sound on the platform.

Storyline

Duke Nukem Advance kicks off with the tough‑talking hero answering General Graves’ call to investigate a hostile alien incursion at Area 51. After blasting through the base, Duke learns the invaders need “environmental regulators” and tracks them to the Temple of Amun in Egypt. Inside the tomb he discovers rows of alien‑human hybrid hibernation tanks, a power source feeding the regulators, and a controller alien guarding the stash. By activating an override pump and destroying the controller, Duke triggers a self‑destruct and escapes on an alien transporter.

The blast throws him into Sydney, where Graves directs him to a distressed undercover agent in a nightclub. Duke rescues the agent, then learns the aliens are building a doomsday device capable of stripping Earth’s atmosphere. He destroys the weapon and hijacks an orbiting alien ship, uploading its schematics to Graves.

Onboard the ship Duke hacks the system, finds four captive women—cloned copies of the agent Jenny—and beams them back to Earth one by one. Shutting down the ship’s coolant system causes a massive explosion; Duke fights his way out and escapes, refusing a debrief as he jokes about “getting the job done” with Jenny 5.