THIRTEEN YEARS.
Today I'll be reviewing Duke Nukem Forever, the long awaited sequel of Duke Nukem 3D. In the 13 years of development (elongated by lack of developer and shortage of money, before being picked up by Gearbox software) the game acquired an almost cult following, and so in the months before release was hyped up beyond measure. Predictable, many people were disappointed by the final game and now many people say "omg worst game evar, 13 years and we get this crap omg". This is dumb, so I'll be reviewing it in a less biased way than many other places.
The game starts off with Duke playing his own game, which includes killing aliens, kicking a field goal with an eye, and even taking a whizz.
F**k yeah realism!- wait, what?
It's then revealed, by two twins who had been giving Duke a BJ (sigh), that Duke is to appear on national TV to give an interview about himself, and how awesome he is. Sadly, before he can give the interview, the earth comes under attack by the same aliens that Duke had bested twice before ('cause they're just that dumb), so he sets out to save the day once again.
They never learn.
For an FPS, DNF may be a little dated, but it's still quite a lot of fun to play. There are a wide-ish selection of guns that all have their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as being effective against different enemies. Instead of a healthbar, Duke has an "ego" meter which goes down if he gets damaged, but goes back up if he kills aliens. Sadly, running away and hiding also replenishes his ego bar, despite retreat not being a very morale boosting thing. A cool thing about ego, however, is that it can be permanently increased by interacting with the game world- for example, Duke can boost his ego by admiring himself in the mirror, or beating the high score on his pinball game. Whilst not essential to beat the game, this interactivity makes DNF unique in a way.
For example, drawing a penis in this kids autograph book definately boosts Dukes's ego.
Overall, whilst DNF might be a bit of a disappointment as a game, it's definately alot of fun as an experience. Ofcourse it was never going to be as good as the hype made it out to be, but nevertheless it's still a solid, playable game. If it's not worth a buy, it's at least worth a download. I hope you found this review helpful, if not entertaining, and remember; if you like what you read, follow me and leave a comment!
After waiting 13 years, it didnt matter what the review said, i was going to play it anyway. But i liked the review, it was really good and encouraged me to play it with the warning of not expecting too much from it. Thanks for sharing it :D
ReplyDeleteI didn't play any of the originals so this franchise didn't mean anything to me. That said I'm told my genre basically came to be because of the originals. So hat tip to the old school
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine was recently talking about this game with me, she said that it's so dated because it is essentially at heart a 90's game, it feels so old because it really is old. It was never going to live up the hype, but Duke fans will still love it, and most do.
ReplyDeleteAwesome review! Anyways this game I cant wait to try it out "]
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit it, but I will be playing this SIMPLY to run around as Duke one more time.
ReplyDeletehard to please when the expectations are so high.
ReplyDeletethey should have just released 5 games in the time it took them to do one haha
The game looks really cool the only thing I don't like about it is that it has ps2 graphics.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the game, I think its cool if you can play it with the same mindset when you played the first few games, the COD generation wont get the jokes or the cheese factor of it! Graphics arent everything in a game and if anything the graphics make it feel more90's which is good!
ReplyDeleteAh, the Duke. They don't make them like this any more. :S
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, look forward to reading you're next update!
ReplyDeleteLooks like it'll be worth the buy!
ReplyDeleteI was definitely disappointed. Duke 3D was one of the best games I played back in the D. All those hidden secrets you could find, the great boss fight scenes. This, however, didnt keep me playing for very long. Maybe it was the graphics, maybe it was the game play or maybe it was just because nothing can beat Duke Nukem 3D
ReplyDeleteNice review man. Duke really was a let down though :/. Followed :)
ReplyDeleteI was definitely disappointed in Duke Nukem Forever, but you can't win them all I guess
ReplyDeletehaven't played the game yet, after this review Im not sure anymore if I should buy it
ReplyDeleteIt's still got a large fanbase, and although I found it a perfectly playable game, it could have been better.
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