So I played Duke Nukem Forever...

[Sega Uranus]

...And I really do not understand the massive amount of hate the game is getting. I played the worst version of it, the Xbox 360 demo (the demo is a build from last year) and was shocked to see that it is largely a decent to good game on almost every account.

The graphics being outdated is the most obvious flaw because it was supposed to be released in like 2007, but even then they are not that bad. The only other BIG issues I saw were loading times (ones that come up after you die no less... ugh) and laggy controls which is obviously not an issue on the PC version and can be tweaked to be fully usable on console anyways.

So what am I missing here? The humor is largely the same (which is a very good thing in my opinion), the action is perfect for this style of game and has dashes of concepts from all kinds of games from the past 15 years, even Shenmue!

I can understand people not liking a few "Modern" alterations, but otherwise the game seems good to me. What do you guys think?

[MadeManG74]

I acquired a copy of the game for 360 and played a bit of it. First things first, the opening movie is incredibly awesome:
[youtube:6nou3kwq]wNvhPV5LnXs[/youtube:6nou3kwq]

Apart from that I've only really played a bit, but I thought it was okay. Not great, but not too bad either.

I think the biggest thing is it doesn't really have an identity. They didn't go with balls to the wall old-school Duke Nukem which is what everyone wanted. I wanted carrying 12 guns at once, no reloading, and huge levels that forced you to explore and search everything. I didn't want linear levels and regenerating health.

For what it's worth, I thought the humour was still good too.

[segaismysavior]

I wanted carrying 12 guns at once, no reloading, and huge levels that forced you to explore and search everything. I didn't want linear levels and regenerating health.

Same here! The two gun limit really holds it back from being a true "throwback" game that it should've embraced far more than it does.

It's not as terrible as the hate-spewing internet wants everyone to think it is.
My brother bought it for 360 and I've played his copy more than he has. The load times are awful, but only really become a problem sitting through when you die A LOT. I'm also not fond of the ton of stiff-animating, plastic NPCs and you can see a lot of awkward 1990s-early 2000s design choices/glitches that stand out in an otherwise decently polished game.

It's still a fun experience, though it could've been better. The biggest flaw is the $60 price tag... they should've made it $40.

[George]

Wait....

People cared about this game?

[tarpmortar]

Tried the demo, I'd rather play it than COD or Gears of War. For whatever that is worth.

[cube_b3]

In school they taught us brain storming and making an outline, before writing an essay.

Unfortunately for DNF the creators didn't follow that procedure, they developed a game and started plagarising every new feature an FPS introduced rather than concentrating on their own damn product.

The end result is a wanna be instead of a parody.

That said, the game is above average and the hate is merely directed at the 15 year long development time and all the plagarized stuff (and then some towards the exploitive, offensive nature off the game).

[MadeManG74]

^I agree with you on that point cube, they seemed to try and shoe-horn in a lot of shit they didn't need when they should have just built on what Duke 3D gave us.

[cube_b3]

I really liked the Playstation games he had.

Time to Kill
Land of the Babes

Both games were a lot of fun, Land of the Babe showed a side of him for the first time which was more then a shovernist. Their was no flirting or any cheeky lines when he was communicating with the head of the female resistance... It was a really long time ago.

Recently (which is probably like 5 years back or so) I played Manhattan Project which was another great game and the 2nd game I beat on the PC (the first being Max Payne).

[CosmicCastaway]

I'm totally with you on this one Uranus. I don't understand why there is such venomous hatred towards some game titles in the last year or so like Metroid: Other M, Dragon Age II and now Duke Nukem Forever. I too have played the demo for Duke Nukem Forever and I truly enjoyed it. It's the most fun I've had playing a first-person game since Mirror's Edge came out. I really would be interested in owning the game once the price comes down a little.

[cube_b3]

Moving on...

4 games were actually created in the name of Duke Nukem Forever.

The first one was something like the first 2 and was scrapped quite quickly.
Then they made the immediate successor which looked very similar to DN3D with better graphics and a female Duke Nukem called Bomb Shell, this one looked to be really far into development.
Then they made the one with the unreal engine:
[youtube:1c1y2frj]iPX_y7wP_ko[/youtube:1c1y2frj]

And finally the one we have now.

It was later revealed very little off what was shown in the 2001 trailer was actually in game, unfortunately I think it was the best version.

I made Duke Nukem theme sung by Donkey and then the King riding a Donkey, now that was something.
If you look in the trailer at 1:30 you see a soldier taunting Duke, at 1:50 the very soldier appears to have turned into Dr. Evil.

It appears a Resident Evil ish theme of people turning in to monsters was taking place.

So I wanted to know from those who have played the game, how much of the 2001 build actually made it?

I know the classic Duke Bike is gone, and your certainly not going to be riding a donkey in the game but it would've been awesome if you could, a donkey just seems perfect for Duke. It meshes well with the tone of DN3D for some reason.

[segaismysavior]

The only thing I recognize from the old trailer that made it into the released version is the pinball game.

[Sega Uranus]

People who worked at 3D Realms at the time said that nothing in that trailer was actually in game. The team had literally nothing to show of the game and just made that as quick as possible. The game was restarted three or more times, there are tons of stuff like an evil clone of Duke or a sidekick that is a gay robot that were cut that might be in future games.

I do not see what is so unbelievable about Duke riding a donkey in a newer game though. There is a section in DNF where you can hop onto a scanner to scan your ass while inside a house trailer while pigcops tip it over.

I am pretty sure we can expect the next FPS Duke Nukem game in a few years honestly. I bet it will be really good because a team who knows how to finish a 3D game will be able to just sit down and make the game. I doubt the style will be much different either, just hope they keep the ego system. Screw the haters, the concept is awesome.

[cube_b3]

What a shame, the end product was dated.

They kept scrapping cause they wanted to be cutting edge.

We could have received 4 solid games instead.

@ Sanus: While the trailer may have been fake, months later 3D realms regularly showed screen shots that looked on par with Unreal on PS2/Dreamcast which was fine, I loved unreal.

[CrazyT]

I got the pc version

I really liked it and thought the same thing Uranus. The game is delibiratly made the way it is, and you know what? That's exactly the charm I found in it. I seriously laughed at some points and the simple gameplay just kept me enjoyed for the time it lasted.

[Autosaver]

Duke Nukem actually got another game that was released before the console version. It was called Duke Nukem: Critical Mass.

The games announced to be included in the trilogy are Duke Nukem: Critical Mass, Duke Nukem: Chain Reaction, and Duke Nukem: Proving Grounds.

Two more games are supposed to come so that does bring Duke Nukem to 4 games. Although, you aren't going to get 4 solid games. :p
(However, these 4 games are not made by the original company)