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    Duke Nukem Forever

    Game » consists of 14 releases. Released Jun 14, 2011

    After approximately fourteen years of development, the heavily infamous sequel to Duke Nukem 3D was finally released, in which the macho Duke must damper yet another alien invasion.

    craigaa1028's Duke Nukem Forever (Xbox 360) review

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    Duke is Back, and He's Gotten Old


    I'm sure there's a joke about size not mattering I'm missing here.
    I'm sure there's a joke about size not mattering I'm missing here.

    Duke Nukem Forever is finally out. That is a statement that most gamers thought they would never hear. After being stuck in development limbo for 14 years, becoming a running joke in the gaming world, and even being cancelled at one point, the long awaited sequel to Duke Nukem 3D is available on store shelves thanks to Gearbox Software picking up the reins from former developer 3D Relams. Unfortunately, the tale of the game’s bizarre development history is the most notable thing about Duke’s latest adventure as people who purchase Duke Nukem Forever will experience a dated, ugly, and unsatisfying shooter with few redeeming qualities.

    As we catch up with the King of alien genocide, Duke is on top of the world. He has a penthouse suite, two sexy twins by his side, and a level of fame that would make most movie stars jealous. Every guy wants to be him and every girl wants to be with him. He has it all. Unfortunately, the aliens are back to destroy our cities and steal our chicks forcing Duke to come out of retirement and kick their asses back into the stratosphere.

    If you come to Duke Nukem expecting a rich narrative, you’re looking in the wrong place. The story elements are thin and barely explained. All you need to know is that these alien bustards need to be killed and Duke’s the one to do the killing. There are a ton of one-liners, movie quotes, sexual innuendo, and references to other popular franchises, and while some of these are chuckle worthy, most of them fall flat. The ending is also sudden and unsatisfying. But the Duke Nukem games have never been about story anyway. What’s important is the action.

    The gameplay in Duke Nukem can be split into 3 parts; gunplay, platforming, and vehicle sections. The shooting feels old, almost like a throwback. Whether this was a conscious design decision or just a product of when the game started development is hard to say. Either way, it feels dated. You move from one environment to the next shooting aliens. That’s all there is to it. There are some turret sequences to break up the standard on foot action and some simple environmental puzzles, but for the most part the shooting mechanics are straight out of an old game like Doom or Duke Nukem 3D. In present day, this gets repetitive rather quickly. With no real exciting set-pieces to speak of, Duke Nukem Forever relies heavily on its old gunplay, and therefore loses the interest of the player before long. While there is some mindless fun to be had, it just doesn’t carry a modern full price game.

    Another old design decision that simply isn’t in modern games is the first-person platforming sections. There is a healthy amount of jumping on boxes to reach higher boxes to reach a high platform or pipe. This was done a lot in games years ago and there’s a reason most modern games have removed this element. The platforming sections go on for far too long, often reaching a point of tedium. It can be novel, especially when Duke is shrunken down and climbing up shelves or across burger grills, but most of these sequences seem like unnecessary, boring busy work.

    Finally, there are the vehicle sections. There are some small thrills to be had riding a monster truck through enemies before launching off a ramp over a cliff, but, like most of the game, these sequences keep going. A part where you’re forced to get gas for your vehicle multiple times is annoying and feels like unnecessary padding. The driving controls are simple and easy to wrap your head around, but without any real challenge, the driving sections are become dull.

    The campaign should take most players around 8-10 hours and once that’s finished there is a multiplayer component. Like the rest of the game, the multiplayer feels old. There are standard deathmatch modes and a capture the flag variant called capture the babe, but the multiplayer feels pointless. Issues with lag and framerate help to hinder any fun that might of come from these modes. There are much better online shooters available and if you desperately want to play some Duke Nukem multiplayer, then Duke Nukenm 3D is available on Xbox Live Arcade. There is little difference between the two multiplayer experiences.

     
    Sometimes Duke just wants to relax and play some air hocky.
    Sometimes Duke just wants to relax and play some air hocky.

    If the presentation had to be summed up in one word, that word would be “ugly”. Everything about Duke Nukem Forever looks dated. Textures are low-res and pop in frequent, character animations are stiff and awkward, explosions are laughably bad, lighting is dull and often too dark, and the load times are excruciatingly long, taking 30-45 seconds to load a level, as well as after death. The framerate is also consistently poor, dropping even when just opening a door. Sound is slightly better, with hammy, but enjoyable voice acting from Jon St. John as Duke and other bit parts that often fall into the “so bad they’re good” category. One notable element of the presentation is the environment interaction. You can pick up many  objects and throw them, draw on any whiteboard you come across, even play pinball and air hockey if you so desire. These interactions are neat at first, but suffer from poor control and will likely be ignored after a small amount of playing around.

    Duke Nukem Forever is a mess of a game. Its development history is fascinating and it’s admiral that Gearbox Software made the effort to get the game finished. But admiration does not make a good product and Duke Nukem Forever is out-dated, repetitive, and downright bad when compared to it’s modern day contemporaries. Some fans of old-school shooters might have alittle fun with it’s throwback design, and for them, a weekend rental will be more than enough time to get their fix. But for anyone looking for the latest, greatest shooter, I strongly recommend you look somewhere else. 

    Sorry Duke. 

     
      

    Other reviews for Duke Nukem Forever (Xbox 360)

      Well, it's a game. 0

      Duke Nukem Forever excels at one specific thing: Making the act of alien genocide fun as hell. All of the weapons have a great feel to them, and even the starting pistol packs a punch. Unfortunately, Duke Nukem Forever really wants you to do things other than shoot aliens, and that's it's biggest downfall.  12 years after the events of Duke Nukem 3D, Duke is now a mega-celebrity. Girls want him, guys want to be him. About 5 minutes after pressing start, aliens invade earth, steal our chicks, and...

      3 out of 4 found this review helpful.

      Brand New...Yet Old 0

      I'll avoid the usual list of things that have happened since Duke Nukem Forever was announced (OK, just for giggles, I'll remind people that President Clinton got impeached since the game was announced, to give an idea how long this has been in developmental hell). Gearbox decided to pick up the pieces from whatever the heck 3D Realms was doing besides releasing games or finishing this repeatedly-rebuilt-from-scratch game of infamy. And the game will likely sell pretty well simply because it is ...

      1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

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