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