Duke Nukem Forever

Duke Nukem Forever (2011)

Duke Nukem Forever is the long awaited sequel of Duke Nukem 3D. It was developed for 15 years (1996-2011) by four different studios. 3D Realms started developing the game in 1996, several months after the huge success of its predecessor. Due to financial problems in 2009 Triptych Games and Gearbox Software (known for Half-Life: Opposing Force and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway) took over the development and finished the game. The multiplayer part was developed by Piranha Games, the creators of Need for Speed: Shift.

The game was released in June 2011 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows.

The following weapons appear in the video game Duke Nukem Forever:

Usable Weapons

"M1911"

The primary handgun in the game is referred to as the "M1911". It is a heavily customized M1911-type pistol. Duke's personal version has a gold slide, gold hammer, gold assets, decorative engraving, and stag horn grip panels; regular black versions are used by Pigcops (who sometimes use two), EDF Troopers and Secret Service agents. "HoloDuke" also uses the black version. Both versions are fitted with a laser sight, tritium illuminated sights, and use 8 round magazines.

Sadly, the "M1911" offers relatively low power (a weak .45, for shame!) so it's pointless to carry it around in the later levels; as with most games with two-weapon inventories, the pistol is likely to only be a temporary fixture in the player's arsenal until something better comes along. Duke's M1911 is the subject of an Achievement / Trophy, awarded if the player still has the one-off weapon in their possession at the end of the game.

“Castor Troy” 24k gold titanium Springfield Armory M1911-A1 V-12 pistol - .45 ACP.

Duke finds his M1911 in the Duke Cave for the first time.

An image from the official site shows a good view of the custom M1911.

Duke examines a toy RC-car after being shrunken down by the evil aliens who also drank all his beer and took all the hot girls of the planet.

Reloading animation of the pistol. The slide always locks back magically even if there is a bullet in the chamber. The falling magazine is also always empty.

Black M1911 used by Pigcops.

Winchester 1300 Defender

The Winchester 1300 Defender seen in Duke Nukem 3D returns as a devastating close quarters weapon with high damage, decent accuracy, tolerable range and extreme dismemberment ability. It is still fitted with front and rear Tacstar pistol grips and a heat-shield, but now, unlike the original, it has a standard magazine and a truncated barrel. It is usually used by Pigcops and EDF soldiers. The ejection port is portrayed on the wrong side like in the original game. It is simply called "Shotgun" in the game and holds seven shells.

Winchester Model 1200/1300 Defender with pistol grip - 12 gauge

The actual Winchester 1300 Defender which was digitized for Duke Nukem 3D - 12 gauge

The W1300 in the game. While the original was with an extended magazine, this one is now sheer shorty.

"Guess he won't be in the sequel."

Duke pumps the Winchester. The shotgun is incorrectly pumped after every reload, even if there was an unfired shell in the chamber. The same inaccuracy can be found in many video games.

An EDF member holds his shotgun in the "game-in-the-game" level.

Close look on the shotgun shows that it is indeed a W1300 Defender. This is through the scope of the Railgun, which for some reason uses the scope_overlay_m40a3 reticle from every sniper weapon in Call of Duty 4.

"Ripper Chaingun"

The Ripper is a three-barrel "salvo rifle" possibly loosely based on the Russian Pribor-3B triple-barreled assault rifle, though its magazine is in front of the trigger group. It returns from the last game with the unusable radar display replaced with an unusable Picatinny rail and always-retracted stock. The Ripper seems to have evolved from a belt-fed machine gun to a magazine-fed assault rifle in the dozen years since the events of Duke Nukem 3D. The reloading animation is downright bizarre, apparently some sort of sci-fi version of an HK slap; the entire upper receiver of the weapon is retracted from the barrels, slides itself into the forward position as Duke leans the weapon forward after replacing the magazine, then he moves to apparently latch it in place, which just calls into question how the weapon cycles normally. The Ripper is sometimes used by Pigcops and appears to be standard issue for many EDF soldiers.

Duke discovers the "Ripper" for the first time. Also looks like somebody accidentally left his equipment while fleeing.

Duke follows the EDF troopers to kick some ass and chew bubble gum.

Handheld M134 "Minigun"

The Handheld M134 "Minigun" is a usable weapon in the "Hail to the Icons" DLC, on a level which is a parody of Team Fortress 2.

Airsoft handheld M134 Minigun with 'Chainsaw grip' to handle the recoil force. This variant was seen in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. This is an airsoft version which retains the half-circle attachment point for the M60 foregrip from Predator; the real T2 minigun did not have this - (fake) 7.62x51mm NATO

Non-usable Weapons

Colt Gold Cup National Match

A pair of Colt Gold Cup National Match pistols with stainless finishes are seen on the pinball table called "Balls of Steel".

Colt Gold Cup National Match (Mark IV, Series 70) with Pachmayr grips - .45 ACP

"Balls of Steel" pinball table. We can see two pistols near the inscription "Shoot again". The grips and triggers show that these are Colt Gold Cup pistols, not another M1911 variant.

Colt Canada C8A1

On a photo, Duke can be seen holding what appears to be a Diemaco/Colt Canada C8A1 Carbine.

Colt Canada C8A1 carbine with ELCAN scope - 5.56x45mm

Duke with the assault rifle.

Browning M2HB

An M2HB is clearly visible mounted on the nearest of the two M1 Abrams tanks in the background of the same shot.

Browning M2HB - .50 BMG

You wouldn't have thought they'd need tanks with Duke around.

Hunting Rifle

Another picture shows Duke with an unknown bolt-action hunting rifle.

Duke after a successful hunt.

Cut Weapons

The following weapons were included in the leaked builds of the 2001 version of Duke Nukem Forever, but did not appear in the final game. Some of which are never before seen prior to the leaks:

Desert Eagle Mark VII

A golden Desert Eagle Mark VII appears as the "Desert Eagle" in-game, chambered in .50 AE. It incorrectly holds 15 rounds in a magazine, which are also gold like the weapon. It can also be loaded with "Hollow" ammo, which makes the pistol deal more damage but with the side effect of reducing accuracy, or "Piercing" ammo, which makes the pistol deal more damage against armour and also for some reason changes the sound effect to a Hollywood-style silenced "pew" sound.

A non-gold version appears used by Infected EDF troopers; it cannot be used as picking up a non-gold Desert Eagle will give Duke his golden Desert Eagle anyway.

Gold-plated Magnum Research Desert Eagle Mark VII - .44 Magnum

One of Duke's maids (with a bad hair day due to rendering issues) hands him his golden Desert Eagle.

The Desert Eagle in idle. It is incorrectly depicted as double-action.

Firing the Desert Eagle reveals that there is no ammunition in the magazine.

Duke reloads his Desert Eagle; an alternate reload animation also exists where Duke tosses up a magazine and slaps it into the gun mid-air.

Reloading the Desert Eagle with a magazine of "Hollow" rounds; note the blue band.

Reloading with a "Piercing" magazine; note the red band.

IMI Desert Eagle Mark VII - .357 Magnum

The non-gold version.

Winchester 1300 Defender

The Winchester 1300 Defender seen in Duke Nukem 3D is still present in the 2001 version, but is now equipped with an extended magazine like in 3D. It can be loaded with either regular or Acid shells, which do less initial damage but inflict damage over time and can gib enemies.

The actual Winchester 1300 Defender which was digitized for Duke Nukem 3D - 12 gauge

The W1300 in the prototype.

M16A2 with M203 grenade launcher

An M16A2 with an M203 grenade launcher appears as the "M16", incorrectly stated to be chambered in 7.62. It uses a 20-round magazine but still holds 30 rounds. The grenades launched by the M203 bounce around and explode after a few seconds except when hitting an enemy, where it detonates on impact. The markings on the weapon indicate that the receiver was referenced from a Colt Match Target.

It was replaced with the Ripper in the final game.

M16A2 with M203 grenade launcher - 5.56x45mm NATO & 40x46mm grenade

Duke holding the M16. While the American flag wrapped around the carry handle is befitting of someone like Duke, this would render the iron sights completely unusable.

Changing the magazine.

Charging the weapon; Duke does not actually use the charging handle, but rather appears to insert his finger into the ejection port to pull the bolt back.

Colt Model 733

The world model of the M16A2 most closely matches a Colt Model 733 with a Colt Model 607-like stock and M203 grenade launcher. This is likely a remnant from an earlier M16 model; some pre-release screenshots show the first-person model of the M16 with a regular A2-style handguard.

Colt Model 733 - 5.56x45mm NATO

Colt Model 607 - 5.56x45mm NATO

The world model. Unlike the reference image, the in-game weapon has an A2 upper. Note the completely featureless M203.

"Sniper Rifle"

The Sniper Rifle is the predecessor to the final game's Railgun. Unlike the entirely-fictitious Railgun, the Sniper Rifle has the receiver from a Heckler & Koch PSG-1.

Heckler & Koch PSG-1 - 7.62x51mm NATO