Duke was introduced to me at a very young age, and he's been responsible for many a-things in my life. All in one afternoon, Duke was my first boobies, my first FPS, my first PC game, and my first swear words. Me and my brother, my friends, we all had a special relationship with the Duke. Sure, we didn't understand why he was named Duke Nukem. Literally every single reference went over our heads, and we never got around to beating it. Duke 3D was truly special to me as a child, and I'll never forgot the find memories I have for it. 
 
It's no surprise that I was waiting for DNF to come out, with my past. But was I waiting on pins and needles? Was I at the edge of my seat? Hell no, I was barely awake. This game was condemned to vaporware, and when Gearbox picked it up, it was condemned to be terrible. There was no way a game fourteen years in the making was going to stand up to modern expectations or gameplay mechanics. As Mr. Gerstmann has pointed out, many things in Duke have been taken out of FPS games for a reason, and it all feels dated. DNF isn't bad simply because it's old, but because it has been passed through so many hands. It controls poorly, Duke himself isn't funny, the animations are awkward and stiff, and huge swaths of music are missing at certain parts of the game.  
 
Despite all of this, I'm very excited for Duke's future. What people don't acknowledge about this game often enough is the fact that Gearbox had no hand in making the actual content of this game; they were stuck with this stinker and had to slap a new layer of graphics on it and toss it out the door. It's clear, though, that everything Gearbox touched is superior, and this is especially evident in the load screens. Such gems as "Picking a turd from the toilet won't take away your ego even though we really wanted it to" and "Remember, if you get stuck, you can always cheat by looking up a FAQ online" show that Gearbox does care for the franchise. 
 
The future of Duke is bright, there's no question. Gearbox has never let me down, giving me wonderful Half-Life expansions, fantastic WW2 experiences with Brothers in Arms, and occupying hours and hours of my time with Borderlands. There is not a doubt in my mind that the Duke of the future will be funny, modern and relevant. What we have now is a relic, a spitshined dookie. But what lies ahead? I trust in Gearbox to tell me.

I shed a single manly tear at your speech.

Epic title, good post

I really hope the future for Duke is bright. But I do hope they won't just turn it into a Call of Duty under the guise of 'Modernising' it and then slapping Duke on it. Some of those 'outdated' things are kind of nice if they are well executed.

I believe Randy of Gearbox actually said he didn't change it. He doesn't think this Duke is the Duke he wanted to see. But he respected the original vision and wanted to keep it in fact for this release.

I really hope the future for Duke is bright. But I do hope they won't just turn it into a Call of Duty under the guise of 'Modernising' it and then slapping Duke on it. Some of those 'outdated' things are kind of nice if they are well executed.

I believe Randy of Gearbox actually said he didn't change it. He doesn't think this Duke is the Duke he wanted to see. But he respected the original vision and wanted to keep it in fact for this release.

"For my part, I've approached it in a few ways. First off I own Duke, so I could do whatever I wanted. I could put him in a tutu, but I had a duty to the game: we've been waiting to play duke nukem forever all this time. We need to play the game its supposed to be. We need to play the game that is the vision of 3d realms. We need to play their Duke Nukem Forever, not my Duke Nukem Forever. I'll have plenty of time to play in the space and take it in a new direction if I want. But for this one, well, we certainly don't want to get in there and turn it into something it was never ment to be." -Randy Pitchford President and CEO, Gearbox software.

Taken from; History, Legacy & Legend: Duke Nukem Forever art from the vaults (included in the balls of steel edition)

I really hope the future for Duke is bright. But I do hope they won't just turn it into a Call of Duty under the guise of 'Modernising' it and then slapping Duke on it. Some of those 'outdated' things are kind of nice if they are well executed.

I believe Randy of Gearbox actually said he didn't change it. He doesn't think this Duke is the Duke he wanted to see. But he respected the original vision and wanted to keep it in fact for this release.

Nice read. I hope they take him in another direction and one that makes the character actually likable in some way.