10 Times Star Trek Appeared In Other Video Games

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.