All Hail the Duke Stateside
by Corey Schon
W
e Americans have always had a somewhat different view of royalty than most nations of the world. Sure, we’ve had our King (Mr. Elvis Presley), and a number of Chiefs (44, so far) – but there’s only ever been one Duke. The manliest of men, a paragon of America’s kick-ass, take-no-prisoners machismo. A man known to favour a stripper in one hand and a largecalibre firearm in the other (and remember, I’ve already established this wasn’t any of our Presidents!) A man... who can kick with both legs... at the same time.
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I speak, of course, of American Icon, Mr. Universe’s Bad-ass, Duke “Get Some” Nukem. A virtual monolith of 1990’s gaming ethos, Duke’s “chew more gum, take less prisoners” ethos informed a nation of young, idealistic nerds about the finer point of women, jetpacks, and pig-like police monsters. Watching someone else play Duke Nukem for the first time - watching as they flipped over the projector in the movie theatre to reveal that most risqué footage of pixelated strippers; that was basically watching people be indoctrinated in The American Way.
So we’ll all be watching with baited breath to see the return of our Real American Hero, our Cadillac (or Ford F150, more probably) of men, He of the Golden Ego. Even if his latest adventure isn’t all that genuinely fun, there’s still something to be appreciated about the return of a hero who rode off into the Las Vegas sunset almost fifteen years ago. Here’s hoping Duke can come out of his retirement and grow his legacy even further. Saving the world a few more times couldn’t hurt. g
gamecca column • issue 21 • March 2011