Recently lots of websites have been saying that Duke Nukem Forever is a completely terrible game. While I agree its not the best game ever made its not as bad as people have made it out to be. The game was made for a different time. A time when guns were far from realistic, when bad guys came from somewhere else other than the middle east and when boss fights resulted in more than who can pull the trigger faster. Its a 90's game.
People still recognize Duke Nukem 3D as a great game but in reality it has worse graphics and the same sort of game play as Duke Nukem Forever. What you need to keep in mind when you play the game is that its not trying to compete with Call of Duty of Halo. In fact it laughs at them 'Power armour is for pussies' as the Duke says. It's in the catagory along with Doom 1 and Wolfenstien 3D. The game is completely designed to poke fun at games and the culture surrounding it. Through out the game references are made to the Alien films, Team America: World Police and even previous Duke Nukem games.
Enough ranting. Duke Nukem Forever (or DNF for short) is set 13 years after the end of the last game. Duke is a world hero and playboy billionaire who can still bench press 600 pounds. That's when he's not busy running his casino, appearing on national television or entertaining his lady friends in his Las Vegas penthouse. Yet again aliens invade the earth and its up to Duke to thwart their plans for world domination. The story is relatively simple mostly because otherwise it would get too much in the way of all the ass kicking you need to do. As basic as the plot is I don't mind that because it is so simple there is lots of room to play around and have fun with it. After all isn't that what games are all about? The whole game is very lewd and rude with its focus being on kicking ass and getting laid so this is not one to give the 5 year old for Christmas.
The graphics look rather good given its been through several engine changes and about as many developers. Yeah its not the tip top super HD 3D need a permit to buy the Tv needed to play it kind of graphics but I wasn't disappointed. The hud disappears around the edge of the screen when not in use giving the game a cinematic feel and shows you more of the ass kicking. It was all at a decent standard. Although I think the menu looks a little bit rushed. As if that was the last thing they did before the game was shipped. Also some of the help tips are a bit to technical. 'Any object with wheel physics can be pushed.' Besides game developers and some of the hardcore audience a lot of people are going to be left bewildered at that sentence. It can just as easily be said that objects with wheels can be pushed around.
Gameplay is your classic FPS blow stuff to crap style. No mucking about, just point and shoot. I love it. I've heard people complain that the guns are inaccurate. Especially the pistol. I'm playing the xbox 360 version of the game and I've had no problems with it. In fact in some points of the game I've been able to take down pigcops at a fair distance with a shotgun. It took a few shots but I've done it. So I think that just comes down to the fact some reviewers are too used to all the help more modern games give you with special sights and aim assist. DNF does have an aim assist but the only scope you're going to see is the railguns sniper scope and its just a stock standard cross hair. What makes this game stand apart is its reliance on you fully exploring an area. Many objects can be interacted with and doing so increases your health. While other objects like the whiteboard are just there to have a laugh, and show how shocking Duke is with a pen.
The opening theme song is awesome. I love the guitar riff. The rest of the soundtrack though is fairly average. Not much to talk about. It just blends into the background and there isn't one song your going to have going round your head. Although that may be a good thing. One real complaint I do have is with the music that plays in Duke's penthouse in the multiplayer section of the game. It drives me up the wall and sounds like something my mother would listen to. Thankfully it doesn't stick in your head but while its on you may want to turn down the volume.
While on the subject of multiplayer this is another component that feels rushed. While comparing DNF to more modern titles sounds unfair given what I've said before but I know that the multiplayer was in development after Call of Duty 4 made waves in gaming so in this instance there is no excuse. I do enjoy that as you level up your penthouse gets more items and babes to fill it with but the gameplay lacks real replay value. So the odds of getting far enough to unlock some of the real cool stuff is slim.
At the end of the day I had fun playing DNF and me and my mates had a good laugh the whole way through the singleplayer campaign. If you're looking for the next Call of Duty or Halo its not here. If you want to play a game and have fun doing so then I recommend this game.
6 out of 10
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