When a game is in development for a long time, it means that either it's going to be met with all the more anticipation because of it, or people will have just stopped caring a long time ago. That is one of the problems fans of the duke nukem series and casual gamers alike will have when debating getting this game, especially if they were unfortunate enough to play that god awful demo put out last week. Whilst the demo started well with all the duke humour and quips we know and love and a nostalgic remake of a classic boss fight from duke 3d, the second section was, well, boring. I was worried for the first time since this titles resurrection, had all this hype been for nothing? Thankfully, no.
I popped the disc into my ps3 and was instantly transported back to 1996, the duke theme tune came on and the game started up, beginning with the boss fight from the demo, before realising duke was playing a game of his legacy, and from then on the strangest thing happens; nothing. I don't mean in the sense that it becomes boring, but you are just given free reign to explore dukes penthouse, go meet people, sign autographs and basically just live as duke for a while. It was the kind of start that reminded me of half life 2, where you just spend some time to take in your surroundings before the shit hits the fan. Even when it does, it's a fair while before you get a weapon, there are pitch black stealth moments where you make your first kills in the dark using melee attacks and 'duke vision' that satisfy your bloodlust before the gunplay begins, but when it does begin, it's hella fun!
The violence is pretty glorious and is made all the more satisfying by duke saying things like "who wants the White meat" after killing a pigcop, genius! Once the game gets going you go through a varied selection of environments, from streets to construction yards and underground nests to other places that I'll let you discover for yourself, and the gunplay is broken up by some valve-esque physics based puzzle solving and platforming. Speaking of physics, the engine in this game really surprised me with how well objects move, roll and react, nothing feels static and it really makes the game world seem more interactive and alive. The campaign is longer than I expected, and took me around 10-12 hours on the middle difficulty, and it had great pacing all the way through, making it feel very well structured. I haven't touched on the multiplayer because I haven't actually touched the multiplayer, but I'm sure other people will have their own write ups you can check out for that.
All in all, 3d realms and gear box have delivered a fun, misogynistic tribute to a gaming icon that the fans who have patiently waited for for 13 years can enjoy in the same way they enjoyed duke 3d all those years
ago. Duke is back baby, and hopefully he won't be staying away for that long ever again.
Digital Foundry : Nintendo's worried about the next-gen transition, Xbox Online DRM causes a major outage, Gotham Knights gets an unconvincing gameplay reveal, Concern over so many games using Unreal Engine 5 and the legendary Duke Nukem Forever build from 2001 has leaked.
Recently, a user leaked the 2001 build of Duke Nukem Forever on the forum and also shows us some gameplay footage from this version.
I remember that trailer very well, it was epic back then, same for the first Prey trailer from 1998, nobody seems to remember that one.
Take a look back at Duke Nukem Forever, and why you should maybe give it a second chance!
I really enjoyed it, although I never did finish it. I didn't understand why so many people were trashing it. Sure, the gameplay wasn't revolutionary or anything. But it retained a lot of that Duke charm that I've come to love since the early days of gaming.
I don't know. I'm not against janky games. I'm a big fan of Eastern European rpgs like those from Piranha Bytes and Spiders. I've enjoyed fps like Legendary and those of that vein.
While I didn't hate Forever like many did, the game had a whole lot of faults, and not just its lack of polish.
I too found it enjoyable but then again I was a fan of the original Duke 3D on PC. I think most of the hate was all that time in development hell and it emerged as it did. They tried, they really tried with what they had to work with and it ended up being a decent game but nowhere up to par with all the other offerings at the time. That game, exactly like it is, had it released 3-4 years sooner then it prob would have fared better in terms of critical response.
Really fun game with lots of glitches but still very fun, that slapping level was ridiculous
Just a few will understand it , because it was so wrong yet so right XD
Would love to see a remake with lots of physics lol
The game was a good Duke Nukem. The same kind of immature humor, gameplay and plots from average to bad. The blame for perception is not Forever's. People need to reevaluate the perception about the series, which had just one good game among all the releases and a lot of people made the exception rule.
This was the WORST game I have ever played in my life. I bought it day 1 and traded it in day 2. I had it on the 360 and the first level showed promise but as you went further into the game, there was more and more missing and not working. There was 1 boss fight that the draw distance was so bad if I walked too far away from the boss it would disappear but could still shoot at me and hurt me and all I was able to see was the walls to the sides and the skybox ahead of me. SO SO BAD. I finished the game and I had no desire to keep playing it, even tried online but it was lame. DUKE 3D was great, ran good on most PCs, had interesting levels and was in some ways ground breaking. DUKE FOREVER was in so much development hell that at the end they just wanted to release this and be done with it. Gearbox (i think it was gearbox) polished up the first level and a few parts of the next few levels but as you got to the end you can see that they either gave up or expected the player to give up and never make it that far.
good review! its good to see that your not just jumping on the bandwagon to hate this game because its been in development hell. i feel you should have put all the info for sound, gameplay etc.. in the whole review itself tho. maybe explained it by category but hey i liked it. the only thing i do disagree with is the gameplay, it sure is satisfying to play with the enviroment but the controlls feel clunky to me. nice review
Hey man, cheers for the feedback! I was getting so annoyed at the lack of reviews for this game, especially when A) I already had it a few days ago, and B) lots of people out there who have only played the demo are expecting to be disappointed and want to know in advance what to expect if they do take the plunge. I should have made mention of the controls like you said but after a hefty amount of time with this game the last few days I kinda just forgot due to inadvertently getting use to them! It's my first review so hopefully I'll learn with time for any I do in the future!
good review thanks, nice to read a more postive outlook.
keep it up
I`m getting this on PS3 i cannot wait to play it. I don`t care about the negative things people say. I`m so pumped for it this is one of the few very positive reviews i have seen.
If you wanna play online come June 14th for me my psn id is.....
Killerpwnedxx