Play Duke Nukem - Critical Mass (E) Online

Duke Nukem: Critical Mass came out on the Nintendo DS in 2011, developed by Frontline Studios. It was a time when the handheld was full of experimental shooters, and this one tried to bring Duke's brand of action to a smaller screen. It's a side-scrolling affair, a throwback to the series' older 2D entries rather than the big 3D games.

You control Duke, moving him through levels filled with alien enemies, using a mix of run-and-gun shooting and occasional platforming. The main goal is straightforward: blast everything in your path, find keycards to open doors, and survive until the end of each stage. Signature mechanics include switching between a variety of weapons, like the shotgun and pipe bombs, and interacting with the environment to solve simple puzzles. The pacing is fast, though the difficulty can spike sharply during boss fights. It feels like a rough but earnest attempt to cram a chaotic arcade experience into your pocket.