So, I got Duke Nukem Forever a few days ago. Before I got it, I saw a lot of negative reviews for it from sites like GameSpot and IGN and such. But, I had already completely paid off the Balls of Steel edition months in advance, so I decided to take a chance and go for it anyway.
And I'm very glad I did. It seems as if all of the things that critics are complaining about with this game just so happen to be the things that I think make it a fun, one-of-a-kind experience. People seem to hate the platforming, or at least the amount of it. I think it's awesome. It adds a nice bit of fun to be had in between all of the crazy gun fights you get into. People say that the abundance of "side-missions" (make popcorn for strippers, drive an R/C car around a room to retrieve a battery, etc.) make the game feel like it's trying to add gameplay length with no real substance, when I think that they are genuinely enjoyable individual experiences that make the game diverse. There are so many moments in this game that made me say "I could only do this in a Duke Nukem game." and it's really an all-around enjoyable experience for me. The weapons are all fun, that seems to be the one thing that everybody can agree on. It's like the sequel to Duke Nukem 3D that we never got. And, I think that the similarity between the two is what turns modern gamers off, and makes me like it even more at the same time. Critics are saying the game feels "dated" and "un-polished". Of course, being the type of gamer who still plays Atari games, calling something "dated" is completely irrelevant to me, but I can see what they mean. It feels almost as if 3D Realms created a highly advanced FPS game (by 1998's standards), locked that game up in a time capsule, and then allowed Gearbox to publish it. This game is, by no means, a typical modern day FPS game. "Duke Nukem Forever" is not "Call of Duty: Modern Whorefare", like (it seems) people wanted. It sticks very close to it's classic roots, and doesn't revolve 100% around non-stop shooting and killing. There's plenty of (relatively simple) puzzles to solve, side-games to play, and some very interesting and, at times, genuinely difficult, platforming involved as well. I believe that this focus on other activities aside from bloodshed keep the shooting segments feeling fresh and exciting. It's for this reason, actually, that I don't enjoy 90% of modern shooters. All you do is turn your brain off, run down hallways/paths and kill stuff for 6 hours, then it's game over. Duke Nukem Forever really brings back the side-activities, platforming, and infrequent puzzle-solving that I think most critics forgot about in Duke Nukem 3D.
Then again, maybe I'm biased and blinded by my excitement to see my favorite childhood anti-hero in a current-gen game. I played every Duke game, the good and the bad. Sure, the graphics aren't off the charts, and the game isn't non-stop killing, and the loading times are pretty brutal (hint: don't die so much), but I have had an awesome experience with it so far. (I haven't even gotten to the online multiplayer, which most people are saying is the best part of the game.) I feel like this game is very much worthy of being called a sequel to Duke Nukem 3D. I feel like if this game came out a few years ago, on the PS2, it would have been a huge hit and considered a great game. But, amongst today's shooters, and today's gaming audience, the game does feel slightly dated. But, I think that the feeling of being dated adds a lot of charm to the game. It makes it feel like a shooter that has already withstood the test of time, like Duke Nukem 3D.
In short, I think the mainstream gaming audience will dislike this game, and I feel like it might sell poorly unless it's notorious development history sparks a lot of people's interests. But, at the same time, I feel like 3D Realms and Gearbox delivered a perfect love letter to classic Duke fans, and I predict that this game will have a cult-classic following that will only become apparent after a few years. I think this game is pretty excellent, although I might suggest playing through Duke Nukem 3D first, just so you can comparatively tell just how graciously the series has aged.
Anyway, enough of my opinion. How do you guys feel about it? The Duke seems to be getting a lot of unfortunate hate, but this forum has the most diverse group of gamers that I know of, so I wanted to catch everybody's opinion here. Love it? Hate it? Discuss!
