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Thread: Duke Nukem Forever - A Year or so Later

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    Default Duke Nukem Forever - A Year or so Later

    After a year or so since this game was released, I finally plopped it into my system. Quick background - I had pre-ordered two of the Balls of Steel edition when it was originally going to be only like 500 of them, and then cancelled the day before release when I saw a box opening that showed the number in it being in the hundreds of thousands. I ended up snagging the Balls of Steel version like three months later for about $20 for the PS3. After hearing all the negative reviews though, I figured it was good for the cool goodies and that was about it...

    Wow, I was wrong. The reviews on this thing were so absolutely abysmal, I figured I would play it for a few minutes and give up. I'm not much of a FPS fan, although I forced myself through one of the Halo titles recently and honestly didn't care for it, but I used to be and had really enjoyed Duke Nukem 3D. I went in really not knowing what to expect...

    It's *way* better than what I expected. Sure, the graphics look pretty bad in places, but I can't say I play games for graphics. The humor is extremely tasteless -- it's Duke Nukem. Even the stuff that I had heard others complain about being over the line actually seems to fit this game. It definitely isn't for those easily offended, but if you are and you bought Duke Nukem, you're an idiot and I really can't say that I feel sorry for you. As for the gameplay, it reminds me a lot of a late N64 era platformer / FPS title. A lot of the time, you need to figure out exactly what to do, and then execute it in a way to beat that particular section. I don't find that bad at all. In fact, I find it to be more varied than just about anything I found in Halo Reach. The story, for as crude as it is, is a lot more connected to the gameplay than a lot of similar titles.

    Finally, I find the attention to detail to just be absolutely amazing. It's what I think makes this stand out to me -- I have spent a lot of time in various places just walking up to each of the items and reading them, giggling at their goofy puns. Everything, and I mean *everything* has some sort of story and background to it.

    I guess I want to know two things -- for those of you that are more 'old school' gamers, do you agree that the hate for DNF is way overblown, and has anyone else revisited it recently and found it to be a breath of fresh, old school air?
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    I just recently played and finished Duke Nukem Forever. The game is sucks, sure, but it's not nearly as bad as people were making it out to be. Now, while Unreal Tournament is my favorite FPS, I'm really not a big FPS fan, so playing this I didn't see what all the fuss was about it being so bad. The guns were fine to me and it worked fine as a run and gun first person shooter.

    Now as someone who doesn't like FPS titles too much, one thing that I liked because it broke up the monotony was the things you could do for the ego boosts. They were fun diversions. The Duke Nukem pinball machine took me awhile to get two million, but I passed that score and got quite a bit over four million. After awhile though, the ego boost things seemed to just drop off. It's like, wtf?

    I also liked the monster truck parts. Out of the three games I've played with this style of vehicles in the world, Borderlands, Brutal Legend, and Duke Nukem Forever, I actually liked the Duke Nukem Forever monster trucks parts the best.

    Now what I didn't like about the game is that there aren't really enough run and gun parts. Most of the time you were going through to new locations, you were doing some really stupid shit. It was a puzzle almost every two seconds with a few enemies. Less puzzles and more shooting, monster trucking, or ego boost stuff would have been good. There were a few parts where there were a lot of enemies, and the very end of the game was the best part because it was the most hectic, but that's the biggest problem with the game.

    So there were a lot that this game did right, but also a bit that it did just plain bad. The game sucks, but I finished it, so it wasn't that bad.
    Everything in the above post is opinion unless stated otherwise.

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    I would have to say no on both counts. This is a bad game and the humour in DNF is a shallow imitation of what we got in the previous game.

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    I like that I waited until now to buy it at a cheap price.

    $5 for the PS3, and $20 for the 360 in the Balls of Steel Edition, both new.

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    I really thought the criticism of the game was unfair. I had a good time with it and aside from some newer conventions creeping in a'la the two weapons at a time thing. I thought it was a nice throwback to the days of old.

    But then again, I really enjoyed Splatterhouse '10 and that got murdered by the press.
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    The FPS mechanics are limited, dated and the humor is pretty aggressively sexist/misogynistic in a completely non-ironic way.

    That aside, the biggest hurdle that our 2011 OTTO winner for worst game of the year faced was 13 years of expectations.

    Arguably Duke Nukem 3D was head and shoulders above other FPS offerings when it originally dropped and still holds up against games of its era. This game doesn't even come close to some of the mid-tier FPS product on the market and will only look/feel worse as time marches on.

    However, I think the game is worth the current MSRP of $9.99 (For fans of Duke, if for nothing else to experience what's there.)

    Anybody who is a huge fan of Duke Nukem can afford to add it to their collection at >$10 play it, get whatever enjoyment there is to have and feel bad for anybody who payed $59.99 at launch.

    Hopefully whatever Gearbox has in store next will be better. I have faith in Duke as a property.
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    I beat it this past February. I stand by my comments then...

    Finished Duke Nukem Forever on "Normal" today. Hardest FPS normal difficulty I've ever played. Jesus. DNF is essentially a game full of cheap, one-hit deaths, "put-Skyrim-to-shame" loading times, and frustratingly annoying FPS puzzles. That being said...it's not a terrible game overall (better than the reviews would lead you to believe), just one that I have no interest in playing again. I can't even imagine how infuriating this game would be on the hardest two difficulty levels. Ugh.

    I still think it's worth the $10 or whatever it's going for now. In the end though it's just another forgettable, mediocre FPS.
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    I actually liked it.. I am a classic Duke Nukem 3d fan. I love that tasteless crude humor.
    The old school feel of it is a much needed break away from the call of duty's and battlefields and ect ect ect.

    Alot of the critism that i saw over this game was people were complaining it didn't bring anything new to the table like as if it was suppose to top call of duty or something. Which i wanted to just smack them upside the head and go. of course it didn't .... its a throw back title. back when we didn't give a shit if world war 3 was going on or whatever basically was you against a monster race or aliens. Back what it use to be like. Unrealistic guns and deaths. One liners around every corner thats what i wanted.
    This game provided that. Sure it did have some long load times. Sure the graphics aren't exactly call of duty standard but they are still not bad.

    Some times when a new fps comes out i wish people would just forget call of duty and battlefield even exists and just review the game that way cause to me it almost feels like they are expecting a rehash knock off title.

    and thanks to this horrible catastrophe of bashing on this game pretty we are guaranteed we will never see another duke nukem title ever again.

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    I personally loved the game, and yes I'm an old Duke fan as well, dating back to the original VGA game. Hell, I've purchased it three times over. Bought the PS3 Balls of Steel Edition (Pre-ordered first day! $100, and worth every penny), sold it because I needed the cash. Then bought the PC version, and the 360 version for a friend of mine. Also, I'm trying to support it as much as I can, as I want more Duke.

    I view it as a game from 1999 with prettier graphics, which it essentially is. The game we got is basically just the same game from 1999, just with Unreal Engine 3. Though I personally hated the two gun limit and the ego meter, the game was how things should be: Just blow everything to hell! People wonder why I still can't move on from Doom, Quake, Quake II, Duke3D, Blood, and Daikatana. (Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed Daikatana), they were simple shooters, though Daikatana had the mission objectives and all that (Thanks GoldenEye!), it was still just blow everything up in those games.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Collector_Gaming View Post
    ...and thanks to this horrible catastrophe of bashing on this game pretty we are guaranteed we will never see another duke nukem title ever again.
    I think that we'll see more of Duke. Gearbox still owns the IP, they had the unfortunate duty of taking over whatever was done before, but if they want to they can start clean now and build something good from the ground up.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frankie_Says_Relax View Post
    The FPS mechanics are limited, dated
    Yeah, but maybe this is where I'm different than other people - I guess those old limited and dated mechanics were what I liked most about old-school FPS titles. I've played and beat a number of them hoping to like one or two here or there because I used to love the genre, and I always felt like something was missing. DNF, with it's quick transitions between shooting and simple puzzles and so on with the diversions thrown in is the sort of thing that I feel like used to be more in FPS games (the stupid find the blue card, open the blue door type stuff... go figure, I liked that sort of thing). The few things that they brought in - recharging 'ego', two guns at once - I feel like actually worked a lot better than I expected them to. It gives me some options on how to play.

    So yeah, it's limited -- but I'm okay with that.

    and the humor is pretty aggressively sexist/misogynistic in a completely non-ironic way.
    I guess it depends on how you look at it. I see it as more of a fantasy world where you're living in Duke's alternate reality / dreams. I mean, what dude doesn't as some point wish he was totally macho, could get all the chicks, and be awesome at absolutely everything he comes into contact with? I guess what seals that vision for me is that when you drink a beer -- ONE beer -- your vision blurs. Sure, you become more powerful, but really -- if this dude is so macho, shouldn't he need to drink a case?

    Because of that, I feel like it's more like this particular dude who you happen to be playing as is completely sexist and you're living in his fantasy world come to life. Again, I can see how the humor would turn a lot of people off, but I don't find it as offensive as I thought it would be.

    I don't know -- I'm getting a kick out of the dated FPS style and the fact that the storyline is both so simple I know exactly what is going on, while also being so deep that I keep finding new little details. It ain't perfect by any stretch, and the load times can definitely be a bear, but it really isn't half as bad as everyone said it was... at least in my opinion
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    Quote Originally Posted by goatdan View Post
    Yeah, but maybe this is where I'm different than other people - I guess those old limited and dated mechanics were what I liked most about old-school FPS titles. I've played and beat a number of them hoping to like one or two here or there because I used to love the genre, and I always felt like something was missing. DNF, with it's quick transitions between shooting and simple puzzles and so on with the diversions thrown in is the sort of thing that I feel like used to be more in FPS games (the stupid find the blue card, open the blue door type stuff... go figure, I liked that sort of thing). The few things that they brought in - recharging 'ego', two guns at once - I feel like actually worked a lot better than I expected them to. It gives me some options on how to play.

    So yeah, it's limited -- but I'm okay with that.



    I guess it depends on how you look at it. I see it as more of a fantasy world where you're living in Duke's alternate reality / dreams. I mean, what dude doesn't as some point wish he was totally macho, could get all the chicks, and be awesome at absolutely everything he comes into contact with? I guess what seals that vision for me is that when you drink a beer -- ONE beer -- your vision blurs. Sure, you become more powerful, but really -- if this dude is so macho, shouldn't he need to drink a case?

    Because of that, I feel like it's more like this particular dude who you happen to be playing as is completely sexist and you're living in his fantasy world come to life. Again, I can see how the humor would turn a lot of people off, but I don't find it as offensive as I thought it would be.

    I don't know -- I'm getting a kick out of the dated FPS style and the fact that the storyline is both so simple I know exactly what is going on, while also being so deep that I keep finding new little details. It ain't perfect by any stretch, and the load times can definitely be a bear, but it really isn't half as bad as everyone said it was... at least in my opinion
    I think that as far as the humor goes, it could have served with TOUCH of somebody in that game acting like Duke was living in a fantasy world. While I don't claim to know exactly where the line is drawn, I do believe that there's a line where sexist/misogynistic humor crosses and becomes downright hurtful. I think this game strays pretty close to crossing that line, and just comes off as nasty and humorless to me.

    I would have preferred a bit of irony, if Duke was a ultra-macho throwback to 80s/90s games/movies but he was a man-out-of-time and the world had moved on from that, it would have possibly come off funnier to me and made more sense in the context of the wait that we all endured for this game, but even with that there's no guarantees that it would have been better than what they gave us.

    Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Duke in general, but I'd just like to see him played a bit smarter than they did in Forever.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frankie_Says_Relax View Post
    While I don't claim to know exactly where the line is drawn, I do believe that there's a line where sexist/misogynistic humor crosses and becomes downright hurtful. I think this game strays pretty close to crossing that line, and just comes off as nasty and humorless to me.
    While I will fully admit that I really didn't laugh at any of the sexual humor in the game (the stuff like what is on the cans at the burger place is much funnier), here's the thing -- Duke himself is presented as a giant idiot too. He goes in balls to the wall, kills first asks questions later, loves to check himself out in the mirror, and needs beer and steroids to keep him at his best. He's presented as a giant moron.

    The game isn't by any stretch going, "All guys are awesome, all girls are sex objects and nothing else." It's making them both look bad, and so because of that I guess that the crass humor sort of falls into line on what I would expect. It isn't funny - don't get me wrong on that, it isn't like I'm giggling at just about anything that is overt - but it isn't like they didn't make it equally mean to everyone.
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    I didn't think the game was terrible. I played on PC so I didn't have to put up with load times or framerate issues. The game has problems but I thought it was ok. Not as good as Duke 3D.

    It sure didn't feel like they spent 14 years on it.

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    Loved the game but the loading times killed it for me. Completely unacceptable for 2011 standards.

    Quote Originally Posted by goatdan View Post
    While I will fully admit that I really didn't laugh at any of the sexual humor in the game (the stuff like what is on the cans at the burger place is much funnier), here's the thing -- Duke himself is presented as a giant idiot too. He goes in balls to the wall, kills first asks questions later, loves to check himself out in the mirror, and needs beer and steroids to keep him at his best. He's presented as a giant moron.

    The game isn't by any stretch going, "All guys are awesome, all girls are sex objects and nothing else." It's making them both look bad, and so because of that I guess that the crass humor sort of falls into line on what I would expect. It isn't funny - don't get me wrong on that, it isn't like I'm giggling at just about anything that is overt - but it isn't like they didn't make it equally mean to everyone.
    I felt they could have went further but I found the humor to be hilarious. Duke crossed lines back in the day and I was surprised and disappointed that lines weren't crossed with last year's game.

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    Things like that throughout the game almost made me forget the loading issues.

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    I got what i expected from this game, average shooter with highschool shit can humor..was not disapointed one bit...it was a ok game..not near as bad as a lot of people said it was.

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    I didn't think it was as bad as everyone said it was. I was hoping for an "updated" Duke Nukem 3D as it were. That's exactly what I got. It felt the same to me. Crude humor, fun shooter, it played exactly like Duke Nukem ported to the 360. I liked it. I think it got a lot of negative reviews because everyone was expecting "Duke Nukem: Modern Warfare" and didn't get it. I was kind of dissappointed with the 2 weapons system, but hey, overall, I'd play it again.

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    sure its mediocre and certainly outdated but then again the originals were mediocre but still fun I have fond memories of playing and that goes for this one. I'd rate it a 5=5.5 out of ten well worth a low admission price glad it finally saw release

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    I thought it was great. I hate modern FPS titles, but I used to love games like Doom and Duke 3D -- and it's alot like them. The graphics aren't nearly as bad as the reviews said, and I didn't have much of an issue with load times (PS3 version).

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