Duke Nukem: Zero Hour has players slipping into the well-traveled combat boots of the blond and buff Duke Nukem, a man long on attitude and short on bubblegum, who began his career on the PC platform in 1991. This time Duke must battle aliens across multiple time periods and settings, including New York, the Old West, and Victorian England. The single-player game is viewed from a third-person perspective as you run around trying to complete multiple objectives within 21 levels. A total of 19 weapons range from pipe bombs and freeze-throwers to cyanide launchers and sniper rifles.
Duke carries with him a TACS (Tactical Assessment Computer System) console to keep him informed on the situation at hand. Besides listing his current objective, the TACS also clues him in on how many secrets and "babes" there are on the level. In addition to the solo campaign, Zero Hour offers multiplayer support for up to four friends. Battle others from a first-person perspective in one of 14 arenas. Adjustable options include time limits, frag counts, radar, screen layout, and friendly fire. Choose from Dukematch, Last Man Standing, King of the Hill, or Team Dukematch play modes. Supported peripherals include the Rumble Pak for vibration feedback, the Expansion Pak for high-resolution graphics, and the Controller Pak for saving data.