Things had reached the point where the next installment of the Duke Nukem franchise was a running joke amongst the video game industry and consumers. Yet, despite setbacks, the next installment was released when Gearbox suddenly picked up the franchise. Enter Duke Nukem Forever, a game that was to be a throwback to the classic FPS games.
Or so we were told.
Instead, the game is one with a confused identity. Rather than picking up health packs and carrying a selection of weapons, DNF had regenerative health and only allowed players to wield two weapons: two big changes which made the game more of a modern FPS rather than a classic one.
Thankfully, the graphics do not suffer from an identity crisis. Despite how long the game has been in development the look of the game is fine. While the faces of the characters could use more definition the game’s details are, once again, good. But let’s face it, the graphics are nowhere near the caliber of a game like Crysis. But neither are they so bad that you need to poke your eyes out with an icepick. They are just about in the middle between horrible and great.
The same could be said for Duke Nukem’s story which is the equivalent to most action movies: all action with a weak story. So it is to be expected that this aspect of the game would be average. It even rehashes the “aliens are stealing all the women” plot device from the older games but adds the point that this time the aliens are also back for revenge. Simply put, the story is there to set up a game filled with hot women and ugly aliens with Duke saying his one-liners and blowing stuff up.
Which brings me to the game’s sound. Duke has some pretty good one-liners which is what the character is known for. So if “powersuits are for pussies” doesn’t make you smile than nothing he says will. Along with his one-liners are some other humorous moments involving the npcs who idolize Duke with one of my favorites involving an obsessed fan who wants his daughter to become a Dukette. The music, however, is rather forgettable but adequate for the game. Yet there are plenty of explosions and gunfire to drown it all out.
And if you can’t get enough of shrinking, freezing, or blowing your enemies into bloody chunks then you can head right into the multiplayer. Despite the stiffness of the character models, and average graphics, the multiplayer campaign is a lot of fun. Mostly because of the freeze gun and shrinking ray.
You wouldn’t believe how much fun it is to step on your opponent after you have shrunk them down to the size of a mouse!
Overall
But Duke Nukem Forever isn’t exactly what I hoped the sequel to be. I hate that both regenerative health and the limit of carrying two weapons were put into a game that was supposed to be a throwback to classic FPS’s. It is out of place and, for me, completely unwelcomed considering that I still enjoy the old system where health packs were needed to keep you alive.
What is strange about DNF is that it also suffers from an identity crisis. As stated before, the game makes fun of modern FPS games yet incorporates the two major changes that make modern FPS’s what they are. Then, even though it is an action-oriented game, at times it gets boring. Some of the levels are a bit too long and for a game that is centered on action there isn’t all that much. There are times when I experienced a drought of killing which threw off the pace of the game.
There are also puzzles that feel completely out of place. There are several instances where Duke pokes fun at Valve and its properties which was amusing, at first. But every time one of these would come up, I expected Duke to do something Duke-like. I expected him to blow something up, kick something down, or shoot a hole into something. Instead, I found myself actually having to solve these puzzles!
But what is really sad is that I thought Duke Nukem Forever was rather tame. More than anything it felt like an updated version of Duke Nukem 3D which, at the time, was considered raunchy. The only thing that really went a bit further was the Hive level where naked, impregnated women had to be killed and snatch-like doors needed to be tickled open.
Which I find odd because DNF is the equivalent of all those parody movies yet, unlike those movies, Duke hasn’t progressed in its shock value. I expected it to be raunchier, have even more nudity, and I expected Duke to be even more chauvinistic than ever before. DNF, for me, is just another example of how modern comedy just isn’t what it should be (modern comedy just sucks and can’t compare to even comedy that was out a year ago). DNF is tame to the point that the only people that would be genuinely offended by this game are those who have never played the older games as well as those overly nice guys who put women on some kind of pedestal.
Which is something that Duke Nukem will never do. He is a roided-out meathead who loves to drink, smoke, and sleep with women. His ego is as large as his *ahem* and he is the world’s most beloved “hero.” That last point, alone, is reason enough as to why people shouldn’t take this game so seriously. Quite a few people have made it a point to, in my opinion, unjustly bash the game.
Case-in-point would be DNF’s “controversial” Capture the Babe mode where people were in an uproar when it was announced that Duke would “hit a chick” when she started to freak out. That “hit” turned out to be nothing more than a slap on the butt as you would carry the babe, over your shoulder, to your base. In fact, it added a little element to the classic Capture the Flag mode and is quite fun. Yet there are still people that will take umbrage to this inconsequential bit of jocularity.
So if you are easily offended by anything then don’t bother to pick up the game. Yet if you enjoy watching all those stupid parody movies then you should give Duke Nukem Forever a shot. Despite its flaws, it is an enjoyable game that will make you smile every now and then.
In fact, the multiplayer itself is a welcome change from the stuffiness of modern FPS shooters. FPS multiplayer games have become way too serious over the last decade and Duke Nukem is needed to help people realize that FPS games can be quirky and fun. Personally, I laugh when I see other players jumping around with that stiff, old-school jump mechanic and thought it was a great idea to keep in the game. That alone brought on a wave of nostalgia when it comes to old FPS games.
Hopefully, there will be a sequel because Duke Nukem is a franchise that is needed to help balance out the dime-a-dozen titles that are out there right now. I just hope that Gearbox takes the kiddy gloves off and really goes all out with the next installment.
| Category | Rating | Description |
| Graphics | 7.0 | -Graphics are fine but lack some detail. The levels, enemies, and weapons all look good. |
| Story | 6.0 | -Aliens want revenge on Duke and abduct all the hot chicks. The story is just an excuse for the killing, gore, and nudity. |
| Sound | 8.0 | -weapons fire, explosions, and dialogue are pretty good although the music is forgettable. |
| Lasting Appeal | 6.0 | -I can’t see anyone playing the single-player campaign more than twice all the way through. The multi-player is a lot of fun and a change of pace from today’s fps games. |
| Overall | 6.0 | -Duke has some good one-liners that will make you smile, killing enemies is fun, but regenerative health and the two weapons limit sucks, while the multi-player is a blast. |
(Author’s Note: This review was published 09/2011 for Press2Reset and, over the years I wrote for them, the review system would change its layout.
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