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RipTen Review: Duke Nukem Forever (PS3)

Aaron Alexander — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:00:33 +0000

I don’t even know what the fuck is going on right now. I’ve just come off a 10 or so hour binge with what seemingly is Duke Nukem Forever… you know, the game that has been in development for over a decade? Though it’s hard not to dwell on that fact, I can’t help but feel the last few days have been some kind of weird fever-dream. To be quite honest, the 14 year wait has done no favors for Duke (aside from sales derived from it’s legend). You can tell this is a game stuck in the mindset of the 90′s – from the one-liners, to the classic feel of online Duke-match, Duke Nukem Forever is an old ass game. Will Duke deliver on his 14 year promise? Or will he toss us to the side like a fat chick who won’t put out? read on to find out.

Unfortunately for people excited about Duke’s latest adventure, it’s the latter. Don’t get me wrong, Duke Nukem Forever can still be an enjoyable experience, but from the get-go it’s very apparent that this isn’t the return to glory that Duke fans were hoping for. Both gameplay and visuals are very middling by today’s standards, and while some will argue not to compare it to other modern video-games, it still costs $60. Duke Nukem Forever at it’s core, is simply a basic first person shooter with loads of interactivity in the environments. While some interaction is mundane, like squeezing soap out of a dispenser or drinking out of a water fountain, other actions can improve Duke’s “Ego”, which is a fancy way of saying “life meter”

Guess what I sketched on his book. Starts with a P

By doing “Duke-Like” things within the Environments, you will receive an additional chunk to your Life meter, ultimately allowing Duke to soak up more damage before dying. “Duke-Like” things include looking at Porn, shooting hoops or doing weights to name a few. The Ego system is arguably the only thing Duke Nukem Forever truly does right, and should Gearbox choose to continue the Duke Franchise, it should definitely become a core principle. The real meat of Duke Nukem Forever obviously is it’s shooting, and when I say 13 years has done no favors for the game’s development, the combat makes it very apparent. Like in the previous games, you’ll be fighting an array of invading Aliens, from the infamous Pig Cop, to the absolute gargantuan Cycloid’s. Of course, to kill these bad boys, Duke will need a varied Arsenal, right? Not exactly. I earned the trophy for finishing the game with Duke’s handgun, and let me say, that it was no challenge. The only time you’ll need the heavier weaponry is during boss fights, as they can only be damaged with explosives. However, for the grunts of the Alien forces, I found myself sticking to the Pistol/Shotgun combination. You’re given chances to diversify with weapons like the Freeze ray or the Ripper, but they rarely feel more useful then the aforementioned combo, and more like small gimmicky distractions. Also, unlike Duke 3D, you can only carry two weapons at a time now, who the fuck came up with that idea? Some pussy in green power armor?

The problem with the combat doesn’t just come with the lack of interesting weapons however, it just doesn’t feel satisfying, or fun. Pig cops will enrage after a certain amount of damage taken, dropping their currently held weapon, and charging at you like a wild bull. The animations make it a damn chore to even keep your aiming reticule over the pig, as the movement is choppy, unclear, and lacks a sense of dynamic movement. Holding down L1 (or left trigger on the Xbox version) will zoom your aim, however not in a way you’ve come to expect from modern day shooters. The zoom function chops half your weapon model off, and pulls in your field of view toward the enemy. It actually doesn’t help the combat, and while I’m not suggesting that Duke should adopt the typical “aim down the sight” trend, it sure as hell would have worked much better what’s presented here.

"Morningwood" Get it?

As I said, though Duke Nukem Forever lacks modern features in some departments, it certainly chooses to adopt the “Two Weapon Max” trend popularized by Halo. If you’re used to Duke3D, this change will feel quite weird when starting out with Forever. Though as you keep playing, it feels natural in relation to the map design. If you come across a Railgun, you know instantaneously that a long range shooting scenario is about to occur. Aside from the two weapons Duke can carry at any given time, he also has access to four different items which all have various effects on gameplay. The classic Pipe-bomb returns, gibbing any unlucky Alien who comes close to it’s detonation. Duke can also drink Beer, or pop some Steroids. Beer will increase Duke’s resistance to damage for a short amount of time, making boss battles less of a grind-like chore, whilst Steroids will shrink Duke’s ego (among other things), in exchange for the ability to run around like a maniac punching anything he comes across into pink mist.

Aside from being armed with Weapons, Duke’s also armed with his ingenious insults and witty remarks, or at least that’s what Duke thinks. Most of the remarks left me frowning with disbelief, or literally face-palming. Duke often throws out insults to other video-games, which feel especially weak considering the referenced games are indeed better then Forever. When offered Master Chiefs armor, Duke replies with “Power Armor is for pussies”, or when solving puzzles that involve pipes, Duke remarks “I hate Valve puzzles”. Though it’s definitely not insidious or disrespectful, given the state of DNF, it feels out of place and desperate. It’s not only the bad and outdated jokes that induced face-palming, the load-times are long enough for a complete power-nap. Alright, that’s an exaggeration, but when you’re forced to sit for 40 seconds reading stale tips like “Avoid bullets” or “Don’t fall off cliffs”, it makes it a little more tedious than it should be. If you have a capable PC, definitely get Duke on that platform, just to avoid turning 80 before the game loads.

Duke Nukem Forever Scheduled for February 2011 Release!!

Dave Oshry — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:56:31 +0000

They’ve begun taking pre-orders for Duke Nukem forever at Gamestop and Amazon.com. According to them . . . the Duke will ship out on February 1st, 2011.

Numerous Gamestop employees and managers have also been given this heads up . . .

It seems that “When It’s Done” is now confirmed . . . Come Get Some!!

Of course these dates are subject to change . . . but from all reports it seems that Duke is coming in Q1 2011.

Thanks to Duke4.net for the heads up!!

Don’t forget to check out our in-depth interview with Gearbox Software all about Duke, as well as our hands-on preview from PAX 2010

Gearbox: Making Pigs Fly, Robots Dance, and Why They’re Just Getting Started

Dave Oshry — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:33:19 +0000

On Friday, September 3rd, Gearbox Software dropped a bomb on the gaming world when they announced that they had shown up to PAX 2010 with Duke Nukem Forever. So naturally, Ripten cancelled all of our appointments so we could talk to some of the men who are bringing back Duke.

I had already played the demo that Friday, but it was not until Sunday that I got to sit down with Gearbox and talk to them about it. I was ushered into a small room with Mikey Neumann, creative director at Gearbox; also present was Markus Wilding, Global PR director for 2K games. Markus was helpful in answering a few questions and giving some insight, but I’m pretty sure he was just there to make sure I didn’t stab Mikey and run off with the game.

Mikey and Markus gave me some great insight into Gearbox, 2K, Duke, and even a little bit of Borderlands . . . I also got the chance to speak with CEO Randy Pitchford later on that day.

DO: First of all, I just want to say thank you, thank you , fucking … thank you. Words can’t express . . .

MN: Haha, you’re welcome sir.

DO: How in the hell did you manage to keep this under wraps for so long?

MN: Man, it’s crazy how many people knew about this and were able to keep it quiet . . .

DO: Yeah, because we all kind of knew that it was coming, but nobody could fucking confirm it!!

MN: Honestly, at Gearbox, everyone is so busy that there’s no time to even leak this kind of info. It’s been a crazy year watching this game come together into a game you can actually play through all the way. I think everyone has kind of lived through the shock of playing it at PAX . But we’ve had a year of being in shock from it. You’ve gotta trust the people you work with and you’ve gotta be able to trust the people in charge not to fuck that up, and I think we did pretty good.

DO: Oh yeah, so when did this whole thing come together, how did the transition go from 3D realms shutting down, to you picking it up, to 2K getting behind you. I mean, who spearheaded that, was it Randy … ?

MN: Oh yeah. I definitely think Randy Pitchford was at the center of that. I mean, he’s the one link between everybody. We have a great relationship with Take-Two and 2K, they’re awesome (Markus nods), and Borderlands was hugely successful for all of us, so it was kind of a no-brainer to work with them again. So, we kind of put the feelers out there to see what would happen. We said, “Lets talk to George (Broussard) and 2K and see if we can get everyone on the same page because we’ll all benefit, right?” If this doesn’t happen, then everyone kind of loses, the gamers especially. We can all profit and all be friends if we made this happen and it was really a no brainer I think. After that it all just came together.

DO: So how much of an actual transition was there? How much of the game is their game (3D Realms) and how much of the game is your game?

MN: Well, I don’t think we’re adding a whole lot content-wise because after 15 years there is plenty of content. I mean, there’s a lot, a lot of game there. It’s funny that we’re only playing 15 minutes at PAX, that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of this game. But yeah, Gearbox is really good at producing and putting games together and pacing them and making sure all the story works. So I think mainly in that capacity we really came in and fit it all together as a complete game as opposed to a series of vignettes and cool moments.

DO: So was the game almost done at 3Drealms?

MN: Heh, well I dunno. We definitely fit it all together … I don’t have a lot of specifics offhand, but for us it was really an exercise in taking a bunch of awesome stuff and fitting it together into one really cool game.

DO: How much game are we looking at here? 20+ hours?

MN: Oh man, it’s a lot, probably a lot more than games you’ve played lately if that says anything . . . I’m not gonna get into specifics, but it’s longer than most of the games you can pick up on shelves right now.

Read on as we talk about what a thrill it is to be bringing back Duke, and why Gearbox is the right developer to do it.

<<<< GOTO RIPTEN | GOTO PART II >>>>

Gearbox: Making Pigs Fly, Robots Dance, and Why They’re Just Getting Started (II)

Dave Oshry — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:39:30 +0000

DO: What is the biggest thrill for you about bringing Duke back?

MN: Oh man, definitely the fan reaction. It’s just been the most insane thing I’ve ever seen in the game industry. I’ve been to a lot of shows and I’ve showed a lot of games, but I’ve never sen anything like this. I mean, it’s been a long long long time, and you never know how people are going to react.

DO: More than 12 fuckin’ years!

MN: (Laughs) Yeah, the fan reaction has just been insane, so this was definitely the perfect venue to do this. The line got to five hours long earlier, and I was just like … wow. I don’t think there’s ever been a line that long at PAX … ever.

DO: What’s your favorite thing about Duke himself?

MN: Oh god, it’s the one liners.

DO: Definitely. So what’s it like working with Jon St. John, being in the booth and watching him record all these classic lines?

MN: Oh yeah, he’s a pro. He’ll go off page, he’ll improv . . I mean Jon’s Jon, I mean if you met him earlier (and I did) he’s just screaming at the rock band stage telling them to keep it down, and I’m like wow … Jon’s just kinda like Duke in real life. You gotta just let him do his thing, he’s a class act.

Come Get Some!!

DO: So, why is Gearbox the right studio to bring Duke back?

MN: Randy Pitchford is the reason. You can see it when he does the presentations and when he says he owes his career to Duke 3D, that he’s not kidding. He was a professional magician in LA for christ sakes, and he came out to Dallas to work on Duke 3D as a wide eyed youngster. I think your first game always sticks with you, and if your first game is Duke 3D, that’s going to affect you. He’s the most passionate person about Duke I’ve ever seen. He just made all the right puzzle pieces fit into place. So I don’t think if any other studio attempted it, that it would have worked. Brian Martel (Gearbox Co-Founder/VP) also worked at 3D realms, and another strange link between all of of us that you might not know, is that Brian’s first two games were Civ 1 and Civ 2 . . . and Civ 5 is next door (literally in the next booth), so it all literally fits together, right here, right now.

DO: Speaking on that, what’s it like having 2K behind you to publish a title like this?

MN: Well, as we found out with Borderlands, it’s incredible. 2K knows how to market a game, and we know what our games are. Like with the Claptraps, if we’d gone to other publishers with these ideas about crazy robots, they probably would have said no. But 2K was just like, “Yeah lets do that.”

DO: Yeah even throwing Cage the Elephant in there, I mean that song was big before, but now it’s just impossible to hear that song, and not associate it with Borderlands

MN: Yeah, if you look at the YouTube comments for their music video, they’re all talking about Bordelrands, I feel bad (laughs) He’s not kidding . . . click the link.

DO: Well, it’s the Borderlands song now.

MW: Yah, well they profited from it too, I’m sure they’re not too upset about it.

DO: Ok, ok I’m getting off topic … let’s Get back to Duke.

Read on as we talk about the other companies involved with bringing back Duke, and what it was like dropping a bomb on Friday morning.

<<<< GO TO PART I | GO TO PART III >>>>

Gearbox: Making Pigs Fly, Robots Dance, and Why They’re Just Getting Started (III)

Dave Oshry — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:38:09 +0000

DO: How much collaboration has there been between all the companies that have worked on this game? I noticed a few extra names in there during the trailer and in the demo.

MN: Right, we brought in some side companies to help with the production. Because there’s a lot of factors to getting that all put together, and you need a lot of people to make a game this big. I think that’s a lot of the reason the game never came together over all these years, you’ve got all these creative people like Allen Blum, but making a next gen game takes a lot of grunt work. So, we’ve got a lot of people helping out.

DO: Well, who are these other companies? For people who may not know these other companies.

MN: Markus you want to answer that one?

MW: Well the 3DRealms logo is there out of respect. Triptych is a company that was actually formed by 3drealms that was also working on the game that is part of the Gearbox family now, they live on the 10th floor. (In the same building as Gearbox) The only other one is Pirhana, and we’re not talking abut what they do, right now. But they’re … they’re involved.

DO: Very interesting … (I stroke my non-existent beard)

MN: (Laughs)

DO: Very cool, so what are some of the best fan reactions you’ve seen since setting this booth up, after you dropped this bomb on us Friday morning?

MN: Well, you know Wired Magazine has been doing this, “Vaporware of the Year” thing for a long time. And they gave Duke Nukem Forever the award like five times or something, then they finally gave it the lifetime achievement award so they wouldn’t have to do that anymore. So Randy had the guy from Wired in yesterday … and I heard he had tears I his eyes.

DO: Wow …

MN: I mean, I can’t confirm that, but that’s what I heard (Randy later confirmed this to me … sorta) I mean, that’s a lot of life to live with this thing and never have it happen. If you’ve been writing articles about a game for over a decade, then to finally see it, it’s understandable. I’ve seen a lot of people who are just overwhelmed by the whole thing just actually being a reality.

DO: Oh yeah, I mean I literally could not stop fucking grinning the whole godddamn time I was playing the demo (I mimic myself holding a 360 controller while grinning like an idiot)

MN/MW (Laughter)

MW: My favorite moment was Friday at 10:01 am when they opened the gates, and we were just standing here watching people walk by and just stop and do double-takes, and go, “What the fuck … is this for real? Is this a joke?”

DO: Yeah I saw two guys walk by and one guy hits his friend and points at the booth and goes, “Holy shit, what the fuck, does that say Duke Nukem forever!?”

MW: Yeah, so they started to line up not knowing anything, and the first group to go in, we show them the trailer, and then we’re like … “So you wanna play the game maybe?” And they were all like, “Haha yeah right whatever.” And we were like, “No, we’re serious, go next door and fucking play it.” Then they were all like, “What the fuuuuuuuccckkk.” I talked to the first guy who went through and I told him, “Dude, you’re the first person in the world outside of Gearbox and 2K that has played this game” He was almost in shock.

DO: So, When it’s Done is now 2011. It’s definitely 2011? No more pushbacks?

MN: It’s 2011. Gearbox and 2K don’t do the pushback thing, when we say a date, we mean that fuckin’ date.

Read on as we talk about the possibility of Duke getting an AO rating and why Duke Nukem Forever is a true Duke Nukem game

<<<< GOTO PART II | GOTO PART IV >>>>

Gearbox: Making Pigs Fly, Robots Dance, and Why They’re Just Getting Started (IV)

Dave Oshry — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:37:43 +0000

DO: So, a few other gamers and I talked after the demo and actually thought this game might deserve an AO rating. I mean, is that possible? Would you support that if the ESRB decides to go that route? I personally think it would still sell very well.

MW: Well, it’s definitely going to be at least M rated. And we believe it should be M rated. I mean, you can do a lot in an M rated game these days. While with an AO we could still sell a lot of copies, we really want to get it into the hands of as many gamers as possible.

DO: Absolutely, but do you think you’ll have to cut anything in order to achieve an M rating?

MN: Well, I dunno, we’ll see what happens with the ESRB when it happens. But this will probably be the game that’s closest to AO that we’ve ever done.

DO: So it’s riding the line pretty hard?

MN: (Laughs) That should be the tagline of the game. “Duke Nukem: Riding the Line Pretty Hard.”

MW: That’s what she said!! (Laughter)

DO: Duke looks a bit different as well, what have you guys changed about Duke himself?

MN: That’s definitely been a constant back and forth. You have to embrace the 1996 reality that Duke lives in, but you have to update him enough for a modern audience so they aren’t just turning it away. We have to make him actually cool instead of just pretending to be cool. That’s something Brian Martel really spearheaded at Gearbox; the subtle changes. Bringing him into 2010, so many subtle changes, we could probably do a whole book on them. But at the end of the day, I think he’s still the same old Duke to everyone.

DO: President Obama recently said …

MN: Wow, a question just started President Obama. (laughs)

DO: Oh yeah. President Obama recently said that the return of Duke Nukem is the real reason he’s ended combat operations in Iraq. He said, and I quote, “Duke’s got it covered” … Care to comment?

MN: Haha, I voted for him! I wouldn’t be surprised honestly, everyone else has commented on it … I think everyone is kind of jumping in on it.

DO: Yeah, well it’s funny because the first people who broke the story weren’t from the gaming community, it was the fucking Wall Street Journal.

MN: Yeah, it was them and Variety right?

DO: Yeah, and they don’t care about games … It just shows how big of a deal this is.

MW: They were so keen on it, they broke the fucking embargo. They ran the story two hours before the official press release went out, and it’s been crazy ever since.

DO: Wow, so if this is wildly successful, which I think its obviously going to be … what’s next for Duke?

MN: We just announced Duke Nukem forever, what the fuck do you want!! But if fans want more, I’m sure we’ll deliver. Lets get this one out the door first. It’s been kind of a long time coming. Baby steps. People have already asked me about DLC and I’m like, “Really!?” It’s just funny, they haven’t even played this yet, and they’re talking about DLC.

DO: Well, that’s today’s gamer.

MW: Well, what I think is very cool, and I’ve played through the entire game, is that it’s so very much Duke Nukem. You can’t just make a first person shooter and slap a Duke logo on it. This game is so very much Duke in everything it does. All the one liners, all the interactivity,.

MN: Yeah, it’s hilarious. I’ve seen people go the entire 15 minutes of demo time just drawing on the whiteboard and I’m like, “Noooo, you’re going to miss the actual game!!” My advice to everybody has been just skip the damn whiteboard, you’ve only got 15 minutes!! But we did have sort of a silent contest here to see who would draw the best penis on the whiteboard. This one guy drew like this giant anatomically correct one, it was kind of mesmerizing, we were like, “what the hell . . .”

MW: It’s something Duke would do.

MN: When he’s “Riding the line”

(laughter)

MW: The attention to detail is so enormous, like you can actually change the colors of the markers you draw on the whiteboard wit.

MN: And that’s all part of duke. Its part of the identity of Duke, you can Xerox your ass and stuff . . . it’s all just part of Duke

Read on as we discuss why Borderlands and Duke Nukem represent everything Gearbox wants to be as a developer, and why Randy pitchford got a group hug at the gearbox panel

<<<< GOTO PART III | GOTO PART V >>>>

Gearbox: Making Pigs Fly, Robots Dance, and Why They’re Just Getting Started (V)

Dave Oshry — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:03:46 +0000

DO: Is this the culmination of everything Gearbox has ever aspired to be as a developer?

MN: Well it’s definitely the culmination of Randy Pitchford’s career in some way . . . I hope he can still go up, but this is gonna be tough to top. I plan to just take over the world, so . . .

MW: I think he’ll go down in history as the man who brought Duke Nukem back.

MN: Oh yeah, he will . . . he will

MN: To get back to your question . . . yes and no . . . if you ever talk to Randy about what Gearbox is, as an independent developer you have to make decisions of IPs you own, and IPs you wanna touch, and we love touching other peoples franchises. So, I think that if you look at Borderlands, through all the DLC, and now with Duke Nukem, that encases everything Gearbox wants to be. It’s like here’s this thing that’s ours and here’s this other thing that we want to add something to …

DO: Yeah, if you can make a completely original game like Borderlands, and have it be hugely successful and have DLC that sells extremely well, then also revive an old IP like Duke Nukem and have it turn out just as big, who could ask for more as a developer?

MN: Exactly . . . next is Galaga. :-p

We had to stop here because soon after this interview it was time for the Gearbox Panel. During which, they made some new announcements. We covered them immediately:

Free Borderlands Patch Will Raise Level Cap to 69

Gearbox announces: “We Own Duke Nukem”

One other thing they talked about at the panel that you may not have known … the first two people outside of Gearbox to play Borderlands were George Broussard and Cliffy B. Apparently Cliff then said he was going to add RPG stuff to Gears of War . . . to which Gearbox replied, “Oh no you’re not motherfucker!”

During the panel, Mikey also said … “I got asked an interview question today … could this have happened any other way? . . . and it’s because of this guy right here man.” (points to Randy Pitchford)

At this point Randy starts to tear up and ends up getting a group hug from everyone on the panel.

Mikey then said, “Well, it’s a big fuckin’ deal.”

Mikey later said that it was me who had asked him that question (I didn’t ask it exactly like that, but I was glad to have made an impression anyway)

So, after a great panel, it was time to catch up with Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford. We spoke for a bit after the panel and then a bit more as I followed him and Mikey back the convention center.

<<<< GOTO PART IV | GOTO PART VI >>>>

Gearbox: Making Pigs Fly, Robots Dance, and Why They’re Just Getting Started (VI)

Dave Oshry — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:03:17 +0000

DO: I was speaking to Mikey before and I have to know … You will forever be known as the man who brought Duke Nukem back . . . what’s that like?

RP: I don’t know about that. To me, Duke Nukem is Allen Blum . . . I’m just doing the best I can, and I happen to be in a spot where I can help.

DO: But everyone around you says that it’s your passion and desire that brought this game and this franchise back. (Mikey nods)

RP: The reality is though, that it’s a lot of people’s passion, it’s a team effort man. I know I’m the face of Gearbox, so I get put out there, but the reality is, I wouldn’t even have a career if it wasn’t for Allen. So honestly, it feels like it’s undeserved.

DO: Really? I don’t agree. I think you’re gonna have to accept the praise and accept the fact that you made this happen. It’s ok to be the new face of Duke Nukem, it’s ok to carry the torch from 3DRealms. I think you’ve earned it man.

RP: Well, It’s gonna be hard for me to accept it, because I know so many of the guys that made it happen, they’re my friends, I didn’t make this happen alone.

DO: Well touching on that, what’s it like to have everyone’s blessing with this? With everyone saying yes Randy, yes Gearbox, go go go ?

Randy's Back Wall is Literally Made of Win.

RP: I think what’s happening is that people believe in Duke. They kinda need Duke to be triumphant. We happen to be in a spot where we can help . . . but we all kinda want Duke to make it through this and become the sort of triumphant hero. So, to me that feels great that people are behind us so much. But some guys have worked on this thing for over a dozen years . . .

Randy gets cut short as we’re approached by a homeless man begging for change . . . Randy reaches into his wallet and gives him a dollar.

DO: I mean, gamers and journalists are so critical. But when we all found out that you had taken on Duke, nobody said no. Nobody said, “Gearbox!? Ughhhh” What’s it like to have that kind of validation from the gaming community?

RP: Well, I appreciate that. It’s surreal. You just do the best you can. You want to reach people and you want to give them a good time. Honestly, I feel like I’m still getting started, I feel like I’ve still got so much to prove and so much to learn . . . but the support feels good and the support feels needed, and Duke needs the support.

DO: Definitely … so why do you think it is that Duke transcends all other action heroes and all other bad ass motherfuckers in the world?

RP: Haha, I don’t know man.

MN: You always bet on Duke, right?

RP: That’s a hard one to answer, I dunno man, he’s like this crazy action hero that kind of embodies this impossible character that we all wish we could be. I think George (Broussard) has kind of figured it out … He’s this personality that in some weird way we all wish we could be. All the girls love him, all the bad guys fear him, and he’s the savior of the earth, I mean . . . who wouldn’t want to be this guy?

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Duke Nukem Forever is coming when it’s done . . . in 2011. Get ready to Get Some!!

Want to know more or just talk Duke with me!? Email me at Dave@ripten.com

get @DaveOshry on Twitter

<<<< GOTO PART V | GOTO RIPTEN >>>>

3D Realms Dev Keeps Duke Nukem Forever Fans Holding On, Ten Years and Counting

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:48:47 +0000

The lights are still on, and we ain't admittin' to shit.

Duke Nukem Forever is like a really bad joke that people just can’t help themselves from telling on occasion, and considering the fact that 3D Realms Developer, George Broussard, wouldn’t confirm fan suspicions in a thread titled “DFN Cancelled?“on the company’s official forum, I’m unfortunately having to tell that joke to you right now.

Yes, it would seem that Duke Nukem Forever, is still alive and kicking. According to Broussard, fans should continue to hold on to hope (and their nearly ten year old pre-order slips), because of the “two facts” he shared in response:

“We haven’t said anything. This forum is still open.”

Well alright then! No official response and the ability to pay your hosting bill on time. That’s good enough for me. They just bought themselves another ten years!

Return of the King: Duke Nukem Forever Trailer [Video]

Cavin Smith — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:04:30 +0000

Why waste time pontificating when we could just deliver you the goods? Duke Nukem certainly wouldn’t. If you want to hear some thoughts on the long-awaited sequel, see our editorial below. For the trailer itself, just click on through!

[gamevideo 16775 nolink]

One-minute-eleven mostly of Duke pumping iron is a bit disappointing, but the fact that it looks real-time at least shows that the 3D Realms staff isn’t sitting around gazing at their navels all day. It’s nice to see the aliens and pigcops, too (even if only for a split second), but we just thought they’d have even more to show us after all these years. Of course, they could just be saving all the gameplay details for the PC Gamer cover issue, so it looks like we’ll have to wait until that hits shelves to get anything significant out of this.

Duke Nukem Forever: How Can it Blow Us Away?

Cavin Smith — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:49:10 +0000

Over ten years in the making, Duke Nukem Forever has the potential to be a bloated, confusing mess of worn-out ideas and half-hearted attempts. Overambition is the enemy of any game designer (just ask Peter Molyneux or Yasumi Matsuno). Yet, even when the main goal at this point is to just hurry up and get the product out the door, there are still a few ways that the game could capture our hearts and minds all over again.

The first thing they need to do is give us the most interactive environments this side of a Kojima game. Remember how we obsessed over the way ice cubes melted when the first hands-on previews of Metal Gear Solid 2 hit the web? With this much development time under their belts, Broussard and company better have a crazy amount of detail in their game.

It was always a hallmark of the series in the first place. Being able to go into a bathroom and flush the toilet (plus getting a health boost for it) was pretty crazy stuff back in the time of Duke Nukem 3D. Shadow Warrior continued the tradition.

What’s changed since then? Not as much as you’d think, to be honest. Many of the most high-profile first-person-shooters out there still feature remarkably static environments, save the odd exploding barrel or flipped vehicle. The rare exception would be, of course, Half-Life 2 and its unforgettable Gravity Gun, which allows you to pick up or manipulate almost any object in the world.

The reluctance to make more interactive environments might come from a fear of letting the player control too much of the experience, resulting in unforeseen glitches or ways to ruin the way the game is played . Even HL2 must occasionally fall into the trap of creating tight, scripted sequences intended to keep the player on track.

DNF will hopefully break this mold, but even if it doesn’t, we’d probably just settle for some tactile wackiness. Let us grab breasts, let us go gambling in the casino, let us tear down a building with our bare hands. That’s all we ask!

Broussard’s claimed before that Forever would be one of the best action games ever, and the only way to accomplish that is to either provide the player with the freedom to shape their environment or give them the most memorable set pieces they’ve ever experienced. Both would be nice, of course, but one could imagine the nightmare that would cause for play-balancing. Maybe that is what they’ve been doing all of these years…

Regardless, I hope 3D Realms lays it on thick. Just make the whole scenario as nutty as humanly possible. Duke Nukem doesn’t need a good story, but he needs a crazy one that’s going to allow for all sorts of over-the-top sequences nobody’s seen before. How about riding an atomic bomb Major Kong-style as it rockets towards the ground, all the while dual-wielding rocket launchers and blasting pigcops out of the sky as they attempt to thwart your effort to blow up a major alien stronghold.

There’s no need for rules or regulations to apply in Duke’s world, because he can do whatever the hell he wants.

Which is another thing I want from Duke Nukem Forever, just let Duke Nukem be as “Duke Nukem” as he wants to be. The more I look back at what I’ve written so far, the more I realize that what I’m asking for is a Duke Nukem game — everything that made the original game so much fun amped up to 11. Keep Duke’s ass-kicking, lack-of-bubble-gumming, wise-cracking attitude and all that it entails.

My concern is more about whether we’re going to be getting Duke Nukem Forever 2008, or if we’re merely getting Duke Nukem Forever ’97 in the year 2008. As great as the old tropes were, we don’t need similarly old concepts that ignore all of the advances and changes made to the genre (and, really, games in general) since the late nineties.

There have been impostors over the years (Serious Sam), but it’s time for the king to reclaim his throne. Duke Nukem Forever may end up being a pile of ass, but we should be willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. No amount of awesome graphics or multiplayer features are going to make DNF a great game. No, they’d merely make it a good one. What’ll make it great is the Duke’s style, and more than anything, that’s what needs to stay the same.