I've decided to blog about my opinions on Duke Nukem Forever a day before I play the release, and then again after I finally get my hands on the game. 
 
Now honestly, I, like most gamers, remember seeing Forever being announced way back in 1997 as the sequel to Duke Nukem 3D.  1997 was a time when Arnold and Stallone were on top of the world, when big budget action movies were kicking everyone's ass at the box office, and we were on the edge of the release of 3D era of consoles (I didn't own a Playstation at the time, but I was readying myself for the Nintendo 64).  I remember going to a friend's house and playing hours upon hours of many different games, but the three games that have always stuck out in my mind are The Legend of Zelda, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and of course, Duke Nukem 3D.   The biggest thing that made Duke Nukem 3D such an experience for me growing up is that my parents didn't buy a home computer until 2001.  So going to a friend's house and playing Duke Nukem 3D on a platform I didn't own was kind of a big deal.   Throughout the years, I've played through Duke several times, and I still enjoy it to this day.  In 1997, when Forever was announced, everyone was pretty damn excited to see the return of the king.  
 
Now I don't need to sit here and write out about the fourteen years between Forever's announcement and what's happening now, but suffice to say, that damn game has been nothing more then the joke of the video game world.  When Gearbox finally purchased the rights to finish the game, my hopes reached their highest.  I mean, this is Gearbox, they made Borderlands, so this has to be good right? 
 
Literally every review of Forever is about what I expected.  Which is surprising and disappointing.  I mean, why wouldn't Gearbox have just scrapped what Duke was and made it their own?  I understand the idea of "preserving" the original idea, but come on.  That shouldn't excuse what seems to be laziness.  I honestly think they are banking on people buying this game for the sole fact that it's "Duke Nukem Forever".  Yes, this damn game is finally coming out.   
 
I was extremely hyped up on this game until the dust settled around the time that demo was released, and honestly, that's what really killed it for me.  Yes, I'm still buying the game, but as I am an achievement junkie/whore, I realized that this game isn't probably going to be the walk in the park for achievements as it should be.  Not to mention, Gearbox really did everyone a disservice by releasing that demo, which sucked horribly mind you, because it crushed my hope for Duke's return.   I will be playing the Playstation 3 version of the game now (thanks to the fact that I really don't care about trophies), and I will enjoy the game for what it is.  But until I complete the game, we will see how I really feel.  Right now, I'm pretty let-down.   But I will hold my final judgement, as always, until I see the final credits roll.

@Master_Prophet: It seems like you're rewriting what everyone's been saying. Almost to the point of a collective consciousness. I don't like that idea of everyone using those same bullet points you read everywhere. It makes me feel like I'm watching Fox News. I don't know how to respond to it anymore when I can't see what other people are seeing. I feel like I'm Roddy Piper in They Live.

It's like, how can people really try and review and compare this game to modern day games? It really brings out those people who seem to me to be superficial, you know? They can't pull away from the graphics and the modern style of game play to enjoy something. It really shows where this industry is heading. In another 10 years we'll probably be playing 1 analog and 1 button military shooters where you never die and always win with the high score.

I'm sure the game isn't ground breaking or like some kind of messiah that came to rescue us from the gaming hell we're in. But come on people, is it really that hard to enjoy a game that doesn't do some amazing game play feat or follow the current standards?