Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition and Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project are available on Good Old Games for just $8.98, 25% off the regular price. Duke Nukem 3D is a legendary FPS and one of the best selling games of all time. The 3D platformer, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project, is a more recent release.

Gamers who’ve never met the Duke can finally get an idea of what all the controversy over the Duke Nukem Forever is about. If you’ve already got one of these games, you can pick up the other for $1.50 off at $4.49. The Duke Nukem Pack offer runs until Monday, June 1st at 11:59pm on GOG.com.

Check out the Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project video after the break.
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I just knew some litigation was going to come of this.

It looks as though Duke Nukem Forever publisher Take-Two isn’t going to let the recent closure of the game’s former developer Apogee Software, Ltd.’s 3D Realms go without some form of retribution for its near 12 years of slacking. Bloomberg initially broke news of the publishers’ grievance stating Apogee/3D Realms “breached an agreement to design the latest installment of Duke Nukem” claiming Apogee/3D Realms “never produced the game and instead closed its studio on May 6, terminated development of the game and fired employees who had been involved in the Duke Nukem project”. Take-Two insists that “Apogee continually delayed the completion date for Duke Nukem Forever”, and ” Apogee repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing development of the PC Version of the Duke Nukem Forever”.

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When you create an intense atmospheric game with an intriguing story how best do you continue that story?

Apparently 2K Games thinks you add useless multiplayer to the sequel.

Today 2K Games sent out a media blast revealing the multiplayer functionality of Bioshock 2 in the most marketing rich, vague terms possible. Supposedly the multiplayer game will allow players to experience Rapture before the fall as Plasmid test subjects. The release seems to indicate that a key aspect of this game mode will be combining Plasmids and weapons while discovering how everyday life progressed in the Utopian model society.

“The fans asked for a multiplayer experience and we answered,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “With Digital Extremes delivering a multiplayer experience for BioShock 2 that features all of the things that make BioShock unique, we’re holding ourselves to a high standard so that we can deliver the depth and variety that fans of the BioShock universe demand.”

I’m not sure why anyone was asking for a multiplayer component in Bioshock 2, but I guess I’m in the increasing minority of folks who can enjoy a single player title without feeling it is incomplete without some mindless online mode filled with Xbox Live! p0wning idiots.
The other thing that stands out to me is that they are trying to fill in backstory that we get by playing through the game.. is it really necessary to spell it all out when we know how and why Rapture fell(or at least a good portion of that tale)?

Maybe I’m being too harsh and with so little real information on what form the multiplayer mode might take. This could all be an interesting exercise, though the press release makes certain to point out Digital Extremes’ FPS shooter expertise which is worrying.

You can read all the lovely details after the jump.
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With rumors circulating around the web the past 24 hours regarding Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms shutting down, the guys over at Shacknews have found the proverbial nail in the coffin in the form of confirmation from a reliable source at 3D Realms. Shacknews reports:

3D Realms webmaster Joe Siegler has commented on the shut down, stating: “It’s not a marketing thing. It’s true. I have nothing further to say at this time.”

Shacknews also obtained Duke Nukem Forever’s publisher Take-Two’s stance on 3D Realms failure at producing the game:

“We can confirm that our relationship with 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever was a publishing arrangement, which did not include ongoing funds for development of the title,” said Take-Two VP of communications Alan Lewis in a prepared statement. “In addition, Take-Two continues to retain the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever,” he added.

While this news is bleak, Apogee Software and Deepsilver want fans to know that Duke is far from dead. You can see what they had to say after the break.

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The new trailer for BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams may have many questioning just what 2K Boston has in store for us with such archaic imagery, but there are those who are wonder just what else there could possibly be left to do in Rapture. What or whom survived the last round remains to be seen, but what we do know, thanks to a recent quote from 2K representative Charlie Sinhaseni on Gamespot, is that the game is “destined” for the PS3, Windows based PCs and the Xbox 360.

While a psychic barnyard animal could have predicted that, what we are still unsure of is if each port of the game will be released simultaneously or not. Hopefully, this time around that will be the case–that way those who wish to play the PS3 version will not have to once again wait an whole painful year to get the game on their system.

When BioShock 2 was officially announced back in March, Take-Two stated that not only would Ken Levine be involved in some capacity, but that the game would be released sometime during the company’s Q4 fiscal year, which means we can hopefully expect it to hit sometime between August and October 2009.

Granted, that is over a year away and a lot can happen between now and then, but let’s keep our fingers crossed that this time around everyone will be able venture back into Rapture on the same day. In the meantime, just keep your eyes glued to 1UP for a more official announcement.

While Take-Two Chairman, Strauss Zelnick, may be the king of Men’s Fitness right now, there’s one place where he’s not so revered at the moment: Jim Cramer’s Mad Money. If you’ve ever flipped over to CNBC, odds are you’ve seen Cramer bring a wild amount of drama to the unlikely topic of stock trading. Part of the spectacle of the show extends to a “Wall of Shame” for businessmen who somehow cause their stocks to dwindle in the market, which found a new member recently in Zelnick (via GamePolitics). Cramer cited Take-Two’s rejection of EA’s $25.74 buyout offer as the reason for this, stating:

[EA's offer was] an offer no sane man can refuse. But Strauss Zelnick, Take-two’s chairman did just that…Welcome to the Wall of Shame, Strauss Zelnick. You managed to take a sure thing, a $25 stock and turn it into a $13 one [note: now around $12, as of this morning]. That takes talent.

Zelnick was added along with two CEOs from other companies whose stock suffered a similar fate, whom Cramer described as “The New Marx Brothers AKA The Destroyers of Capitalism As You Know It” (via CNBC). Aw, don’t feel too bad, Strauss. As long as your company keeps making great games, we’re still with you. But you have to do us one favor: no more Manhunt games. Ever.

I think just a decade ago, if you told someone that a video game executive would one day be on the cover of a fitness magazine, they’d probably just laugh in your face. These days though…well, they’d still probably laugh in your face, but they’d be wrong. This month’s Men’s Fitness features a cover and interview with Take-Two Chairman, Strauss Zelnick, alongside such headlines as “The Two Best All-Body Exercises Ever!” and “No More Gut!” It’s the first time a video game exec has ever made the cover of a health magazine, and it’s like staring into a bizarro universe — there’s even a picture of a Big Daddy right next to him.

In the magazine though, the 51-year old exec divulges his secrets on staying in shape, which include 50-mile cycling treks and getting in exercise whenever he can (via DasGamer). Heck, the man even sees a gym session as a way to discuss business:

“I schedule exercise as though it’s a meeting and treat it the same way… When someone asks me to have a drink, I suggest the gym instead.”

He doesn’t mention it, but I’ll bet there’s one other tip from his daily regimen that could help: constantly resist the advances of rival publishers wanting to buy your company out. That’s gotta take some serious muscles.

Just when we were starting to expect nothing short of blatant shenanigans aimed at fellow gaming executives and their work from the folks over at Gamecock Media, SouthPeak Interactive walks in and acquires the Austin-based developers.

Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak, commented on her company’s latest acquisition by stating that:

“Gamecock brings us a solid slate of upcoming titles, including Legendary, Mushroom Men and Velvet Assassin and supports our strategy of working with independent developers. We are excited to give the Gamecock titles a bigger platform to succeed.”

You may recall that in the past, Mike Wilson was a partner of “Gathering of Developers” (a.k.a. God Games) which was bought out by Take-Two in 2000, approximately two years after opening their doors, for 30 million dollars which in turn raked in over 350 million dollars in revenue for Take-Two and was eventually absorbed by the 2K label. So, what did Gamecock’s CEO Mike Wilson, jokester extraordinaire, have to say about another one of his companies being bought out? Why, nothing more than amiable words of phrase of course:

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with SouthPeak to continue to bring great original titles from independent developers to market with a stronger sales and distribution reach.

“We have followed each other’s progress closely over the last two years, and combining our team with theirs results in a very strong and well-rounded force in the market.”

SouthPeak is expected to release Gamecock’s current IPs Legendary and Mushroom Men titles during the current quarter. I guess their days of crashing acceptance speeches and wearing strange outfits reminiscent of a Mexican wrestler are all in the past now. I bet Kevin Levine is breathing a sigh of relief that their rein of terror may finally be over.

Game developers are just like every other business when it comes to donating money to candidates who share their philosophy or whom they think will benefit them in the long run, and this year, the presidential race is no exception. Over the past few years, big names in the gaming world like Strauss Zelnick, John Riccitiello, and George Lucas have donated to different democratic candidates running for senate or the White House; while Bobby Kotick and Will Wright have sent checks to republicans running for different offices.

Thanks to some in-depth research from GamePolitics, we now have information pertaining to where each one of these big names sent money, and while each person donated to different sorts of campaigns over the years, we will only focus on which presidential candidate they were rooting for this year.

Republicans:

• Will Wright: (Spore, The Sims) $3,000 to McCain; previously donated $2,350 to Giuliani
• Bobby Kotick (Activision CEO) $2,300 to McCain; previously donated $2,100 to Romney
• Curt Schilling (38 Studios) $2,300 to McCain.

Democrats:

• Strauss Zelnick (Chairman, Take-Two) $2,000 to Obama; had previously donated to $2,500 to Edwards, $1,000 each to Biden & Richardson
• Ben Feder (CEO, Take-Two) contributed $1,000 to Biden in 2007
• Sam Houser (Rockstar) $4,600 to Obama
• Patricia Vance (president, ESRB) $2,000 to Obama
• John Riccitiello (CEO, EA) $4,600 to Obama
• John Smedley (Sony Online Entertainment) $2,300 to Obama
• Richard Garriott (a.k.a. “Lord British”) (Ultima series, NC Soft) $2,300 to Hillary Clinton
• Alex Rigopulos (CEO, Harmonix) $32,900 to Obama
• Kathy Vrabeck (president, EA Casual) $2,300 to Obama
• George Lucas (LucasFilm) $33,100 to Obama
• Doug Lowenstein (former ESA head) $2,300 to Hillary Clinton
• Kenneth Doroshow (new ESA general counsel) $2,500 to Obama
• Gabe Newell (pres., Valve) $2,300 to Dodd

While this site is in no way shape or form political in any way, we do like our readers to be informed when gaming is mentioned in the political realm, and no matter who you will vote for this election year, being gamers it is your right to know which way the companies you shell out money to are leaning.

If you would like the full list of who each of these developers donated to over the years, visit GamePolitcis and click on each person’s name, and you will be redirected to a page listing the date and name of the candidate who was showered with green.

After failing to come to an agreement with Electronic Arts, and deciding to look for other partnerships instead, Take-Two has instead decided to remain independent after all. This is a very anti-climatic end to the back and forth that gamers have been following closely since EA made their initial tender offer back in February.

However, according to recent comments made this morning by Take-Two’s Chairman of the Board, Strauss Zelnick, the company has decided that it would be better for stockholders if the company continued to do business as usual.

Zelnick feels that the company has great creative forces working for it, is financially stable, and still a big enough competitor to brush off any offers that should come their way:

“Our management and outstanding and talented employees have maintained an unwavering focus on our products and our business through this lengthy strategic review process and we are confident in our prospects. We remain focused on maximizing value for stockholders and are executing on our business strategies in a determined manner.”

Ben Feder, Chief Executive Officer of Take-Two added his two-cents regarding the decision to remain independent with the same amount of confidence the company has maintained over the past few months, by reminding the world of their recent financial cash cow, GTA IV:

“We have delivered solid financial results and expanded our portfolio of leading titles, which includes the powerful Grand Theft Auto franchise, as well as 15 other wholly owned brands with sales of more than one million units each..with no debt and an undrawn $140 million credit facility [this gives] us the financial flexibility to continue to do what we do best: innovate and create the great games that our customers have come to expect.”

Yes, it is easy to be confident when you have big name games in your portfolio coming to consoles like BioShock PS3, Duke Nukem Forever, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, GTA: Chinatown Wars and GTA IV coming to the PC in November. The biggest and most interesting thing I find though is that Feder states that they have no debt. How many companies can say that?

Take-Two sort of dodged the bullet on the EA take-over though, and while most companies would have been content to sell out to the first monopolistic giant to make an offer, they didn’t. While they did this in the best interest of their company, it is the gamers who are the big winners in the end.