10 Times Star Trek Appeared In Other Video Games

8. Duke Nukem 3D

Duke Nukem Ready Room
FormGen

Duke Nukem 3D was released in 1996 and is responsible, along with Doom and Wolfenstein 3D, for popularizing the first-person shooter genre. The game follows Duke, returning to Earth after the events of Duke Nukem II, hoping for a vacation. Before this can happen, his ship is shot down over Los Angeles and he learns that aliens have invaded. The humans have been mutated, particularly the LAPD, who have become 'pig-cops', with LARD emblazoned on their uniforms.

There isn't much else to say about the narrative, other than the game is split into several 'episodes'. The environments that the players operate in are extremely interactive and almost everything is destructible. There are plenty of strippers in the game and tipping them will encourage them to reveal themselves to Duke. Because of this and the levels of violence, the game received heavy criticism on release, eventually being banned in several countries.

The game is full of pop culture references, including nods to Aliens, Terminator, Jaws, Pulp Fiction, and of course Star Trek. There is a level called 'Warp Factor', and another called 'Tiberius Station', a reference to James T. Kirk. There are consoles that Duke passes that look suspiciously similar to the bridge of the Enterprise-D and, in the expansion pack Duke Caribbean: Life's a Beach, Duke uses a boat named the Kobayashi Maru.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"