I wanted this blog post to start with a fact, something that wasn't cryptic, or perhaps unsubstantiated. The internet is a bustling with Duke Nukem Forever fever, especially since Gearbox announced the official release date of May 3rd. With that said, I feel a bit squeamish, perhaps hesitant to even commit myself to this game. Gearbox has given us titles like Brothers in Arms and Borderlands, as well as developed Half-Life Blue Shift and Opposing Force and once again they seem to be championing a new title, and like Half-Life, the credibility of the game comes from a previous studio, although unlike Valve, a now defunct studio: 3d Realms.
Let's Review
3d Realms is responsible for the following franchises:Max Payne and Duke Nukem, both good franchises that basically ended up disappearing into the abyss. That's it. Nothing really since. Sure they have published titles such as Prey and...well...there isn't anything worth mentioning. The point I'm trying to make is we have a game, originaly developed by a Studio that for all intensive purposes, since the new millenium hasn't put anything out, or at the very least publish a game worth caring about.
Secondly, Duke Nukem Forever is being finished by Gearbox, they don't have a flawless tract record but they do put out some games worth publishing. I feel that what probably happened when the IP transferred is that they decided to rush Duke to the finishline, fill in what Gearbox had, release it, and claim they delivered the holy grail to gamers, especially pc gamers.
The Quandary
Now I've scoured various sites, mostly Shacknews to compile my information, and it seems that the game transferred sometime between June and August of 2010. This would mean that with a May 3rd 2011 release date, Gearbox has invested a little under a year into getting this game ready for release. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but 3d Realms was sued essentially for not doing what they were paid to do, not finishing the game on time--multiple times. And possibly not being close to finish this time around either. The picture I'm trying to paint here is that, while this game may finally be continuing or finishing a franchise a lot of us PC GAMERS have come to love, doesn't it feel rushed? Personally I don't think the graphics look good. I don't think the gameplay looks all that great. In fact that only thing that feels spot on is the humor. My Warning
is to hesitate, to assume that this game may not deliver. Gearbox could be cashing in, could be milking it for all it's worth. It just feels rushed, and I wish that when Gearbox took over they gave it their quality, as opposed to the perhaps...sporadic quality of 3d Realms that seems to inherent in this game, as especially evident when watching the game-play video. For new video and screenshots:
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/67219
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