Duke Nukem Forever

Finally, after 14 long years of development, the longest-running joke in the game industry has finally come out. Duke Nukem Forever has been one of the most anticipated games in the history of video games. No matter what angle you look at it, whether you hate Duke or Hail To The King every time you replay the original Duke Nukem 3D, the release marks a moment in gaming history. So does the game live up to it's promise? Or does it fall at the first hurdle?

The presentation of Duke Nukem Forever, not taking graphics into account, is a solid one. The menus look slick, and the single player component is pretty bug-free. However, the load times are absolutely atrocious on the console versions. Even AFTER a hard drive install, I was getting 45 second load times. The multiplayer is a different story. It is unplayable right now because of rediculous framerate issues as well as lag problems. But the thing that really raised the presentation of the game was the story. Yes, it's incredibly basic. Go save our babes from those alien bastards. But this is not what makes the presentation great. It is how the story is presented. Rather than play the story off entirely as a cheesy B-movie, the game borrows from Half-Life 2 in this regard and it helps it greatly: By keeping the perspective constantly in first person and starting each new level where the last one ended, it really helps immerse the player into the Duke universe a lot more. The opening half hour espicially was brilliant in this regard.


This is where the game is REALLY held back. It looks like a good 2006 title. All the models lack detail. Some textures look really blurry. Heck, even the sprinting animation looks jittery. The motion blur effect on the PC version is extremely over-done and the field of view on both the PC and console versions are over-done also. The lip synch is also really off. Most of the visuals were in the 6.0-6.5 territory, BUT the lighting and particle effects are really good at times. Moments such as when you're crawling in a vent or in the alien-infested stadium are good examples of it. Also the art direction is pretty good, as it really embraces what makes Duke, Duke.


The voice acting is great across the board. Say what you will about the characters, but the delivery itself was hillarious. It's great to hear Duke saying his classic one liners once again. The sound effects are nothing special, but are nice and loud and really help to add to the feel of the weapons being powerful. The only really awful thing about the sound is the soundtrack. It's barely there. And whenever it is, it's very, VERY generic rock music or string music depending on the tone.


Thankfully, the one area in which Duke Nukem Forever truely matters is the one area in which it excels. Fans of the old game can argue that it's just another linear shooter and it's not like the old ones. But throw-backs have to be exactly that. Throw-backs. They can't be the exact same as how the original was, because then there would be no point in creating a sequel. In my humble opinion, the three things that make a Duke game is the Duke attitude, the rediculous weaponry and the babes. Check, check, and check. DNF has all the things it needs to be a true sequel. The gunplay is somewhat clunky, but this can easily be remedied by turning up the sensitivity. Once you've done that, what you're left with is an incredibly fun, varied shooter. Just when you're about to get bored of shooting, they change it up with a puzzle or vehicle segment, or even a boss battle. The game is also fairly difficult (on "Come Get Some" anyway) but never manages to be too frustrating. The puzzles always have simple solutions but are fun to take part in, and it's always a nice challenge to figure out the weak spot of the bosses. The weapon variety is rediculous fun, with things from your typical minigun to the Duke Nukem staple of the Freeze Ray. Also, the Ego system is an interesting one. Your health regenrates every 8 seconds of not taking damage, but by exploring the environment and doing certain actions you permanently increase your Ego amount. This adds a really nice, light RPG element to the game and adds further depth and replay value.


Currently, the multiplayer is plagued by two major issues. Framerate and lag. The framerate is VERY sporadic, fluctuaing from 15-25FPS constantly. The lag makes this even worse due to the shooting mechanics. Unless you aim RIGHT on them with the redicule, you WILL miss. The lag plus the sporadic framerate make this problem 10 times more noticable. However, what is here right now is quite good and enjoyable. There is no difference between social and ranked matches, so if you want you could play a game of insta-kill fists with only your friends and still get XP from it. The twists on common multiplayer modes is a fun change as well, such as Capture The Babe (which was a lot less explicit than I expected it to be when it came to the butt-slapping mechanic). The level design is well done also, with Morningwood espicially being great for a pick-up-and-play match. The addition of My Digs is really fun as well, with more babes being a GREAT incentive for playing through the levels.


With a 10-12 hour long single player campaign, an additional difficulty level after completing the campaign once, Ego items to discover for every level, bonus cheats, unlockable behind the scenes, as well as multiplayer... If you enjoy this game, you'll be playing it for a long time.


Was Duke Nukem Forever worth the 14 year wait? It depends. If you were expecting a revolution for video games, then no. If you were expecting what it was always advertised as, a fun ride in the world of Duke Nukem (as this reviewer was expecting), then you will not be disappointed. While DNF might be rough in terms of it's presentation, and while it might not bring anything interesting to the FPS genre gameplay-wise, it's an absolute blast and one of the best single player campaigns of the last decade.