[callum89]

Duke Nukem Forever



15 years in development, 3 developers later and a whole lot of waiting and we finally have it now that 3D Realms and Gearbox studios have it completed and published, the infamous Duke Nukem Forever was finally released for us all to enjoy. So how did it stack up now we finally get to play it.



Just look at the difference between how the game appeared in 1998 to 2010 in E3



This really shows just how far the game has come along since its initial steps.

So then, if you know anything about Duke Nukem then you know this isn't exactly going to be an intellectual or a story driven game so if you go into the game wanting toilet humour and boobs, then you will be richly rewarded since the very first thing you do in the whole game, is pee in a urinal and then a few minutes later you receive the latter, but don't think that it's all the game has to offer because i was happily surprised at the amount of parodies, easter eggs and just general wit that appeared without me even having to go looking for it. Yes it's a very "in your face" feeling, but that's what the game is all about.



If you are thinking of buying this then it will mainly be because of the campaign so lets start with that. It's a very linear story so not to much chance of exploring and finding your own way but all the levels do feel different so you won't get that horrible feeling of thinking you walked through the same corridor a hundred times. I don't want to spoil the very first twist because it's a funny one but the game essentially starts with Duke Nukem living off the fame from saving the Earth in Duke Nukem 3D and living it in some extravagant style, but the aliens are back for apparent "diplomatic" purposes. Of course the peaceful purposes don't last long and Duke has to start cleaning up the mess pretty quickly. After some initial surprises right at the beginning there isn't really any twists in the game you won't see from a mile away but it does have it's charms regardless. One of the positives about the campaign is during times you will find yourself miniaturised, which turns the whole game world into a place where a bucket can become a huge obstacle and the easiest enemy becomes a boss, these puzzle based sections are pretty fun and are probably some of the best and well thought out parts of the game so make sure you don't dismiss them. When it comes to the characters most of them are pretty funny and blown out of proportion but are genuinely likeable and you will find yourself going over to everyone just to see what they have to say to you, just for the laughs. 3D Realms and Gearbox have also packed the game full of easter eggs and even more jokes, which while not hard to find or subtle, are some great additions and had me looking round each level to make sure i didn't miss any since no game, developer or film was safe (Even Christian Bale found himself mocked)

Since it is a shooter one of the most important things is the weapons it throws you to use, so apart from the obvious ones like a pistol, shotgun and a machine gun (albeit triple barreled), the game also has some more creative toys to play with. First off you have the shrink ray, which will shrink any enemy you shoot to a size you can step on, which is a laugh to use although suffers from small ammo capacity, and the freeze ray, which does what it says on the tin, point and fire and turn any enemy into an ice cube, which you get to smash anyway you want. The game isn't all about shooting though because it actually has some surprisingly good driving sections which although the controls aren't perfect, it is pretty well paced and short enough for you to not get bored of them.



plus the fact that most the time your driving it is in a monster truck, only adds good things to the driving sections.


For those achievement whores, it isn't hard to get them so you will find yourself getting at least 600 GP on your first play through without trying to hard, although one of the achievements requires you to steal a turd from a toilet, so only you can judge if you can bring yourself to get them all. The game also has some nice extras after you get through the campaign like a time line of the games development and it's history, which due to the length of time the game took, is worth a look.



Once you are finished with the campaign and if you still want some more Nukem-
ness then the multiplayer is worth a play which does have a very big "arcade shooter" feel towards it and any skill towards it since it doesn't take much to make you die or to kill anyone. (First couple play throughs i just ran round spraying and praying and finished in the top 2 for both). The ranking mode is pretty good, with as you progress you unlock items and people for your house (Girls, games. trophies and pictures) so that does give it some replay value but might not be enough to hold most. One of the negatives is the fact everyone is Duke Nukem so as you can see in the screen shot above, it gets a bit weird.

So to sum up the game is a good laugh, but you will probably spend the majority of time on the campaign and not the multiplayer. I wouldn't say it is worth the full retail price and the development time really was a joke but it is definitely worth a rent or to wait till it goes down a little bit in price, and with a hopeful sequel in the works i do hope it doesn't take over another decade for it to come out again.



6.8

This post has been promoted to an article