Duke Nukem: Forever; Forever young.

Duke Nukem Forever

The Duke was never a huge part of my childhood, though I can still remember huddling with a group of friends around a computer when we found the “Easter Eggs” in the night club level of Duke Nukem 3d. I still thought the game was brilliant; aliens, freeze rays, boobs… what more did an eleven year old need?  It was a simpler time and Duke 3d was a great game.  Although I missed the initial release earlier this year Duke Nukem: Forever was one of the most anticipated games and with the longest development time of any game, it was a must play title.  After getting it for PC, what I found was surprising, and although at first my reaction mirrored many reviews in the end I came away with a different opinion. 

Let’s take a look at it. The controls on my computer respond smoothly and cleanly. The interactions are easy and the art design is consistent. It wasn’t overly buggy and the game has good level design (I mean it’s better than Halo Combat Evolved.)  The whole time I was playing it, I kept thinking, “I feel old school!”  It felt like eating at a great dive restaurant, the kind of place where you go and you get the same thing every time because it’s just that good. It felt simple: in a world of super-realistic cover shooters, 4 player co-ops and 120 hour RPGs, here comes a cozy little shooter as if it was right out of the 90s. That is why I liked it. Aliens, freeze rays and… well, let’s just say the duke hasn’t changed much in the last 14 years.

However refreshing it was, it is also the major complaint about the game.  The content was deemed inappropriate, the graphics were not great, and the game play was much less complex than the modern first-person shooters that people have come to expect.  In short, they were expecting Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and received… Well, Duke Nukem.

  To me, the biggest tragedy was not how long it took the game to come out but was how it was received by the gaming community.  I enjoyed Duke Nukem immensely; it was heartening to play a game made like the Half-lifes and Dooms of the past.  All in all, I’m glad I played this game and will probably play it again.

Macade Vineyard

Nerd credentials: 3; Upheld (nothing special but you could have some fun)
(reviewed on PC)