Platform: PC
Release Date: June 10th
Hail to the King, baby!
Finally, our favourite alien mashing hero is back – and he’s all out of gum.
Duke Nukem (men want to be him, women want to be with him, gag on him and are quite happy to lez up for him) is back on our console/pc screens in the much awaited game Duke Nukem Forever. Over 12 years in development, DNF is due for release on the 10th of June. The hype/exciteometer is cranked way over into the red and is popping rivets, ensuring that this will be a sure-fire blockbuster.
Anyone who grew up with the original Duke Nukem 3D game will be making the no brainer decision to buy the game on release, if they haven’t pre ordered it already. All those unlucky enough to have missed out on the first game will no doubt be intrigued into the purchase if only to find out why older gamers sometimes drop into a deep voice and tell them that they have “Balls of Steel”.
I’m lucky – I’m one of the older gamers. Yes, my balls are made of steel. I’m doubly lucky as Starburst got to play the DNF demo through Gearbox’s early access club, and I must say, we weren’t disappointed.
Right from the off, the first loading screen had me grinning. DNF has an 18 cert and takes full advantage of the fact. It is packed full of the adult humour we have come to love from the original.
I’m not going to fight you, I’m going to kick your ass.
The demo kicks off with you taking a pee into a urinal, giving the player no doubt as to the type of game that has just loaded and what they can expect in the coming levels. The first combat action comes inside a football stadium with the Duke blasting the hell out of a massive boss with rockets (clearly the alien bastard shot up his ride). Graphics are delivered via the Unreal 3 engine and they look great and run smooth.
The demo begins with an interactive urination simulator…
Damn! I’m Good.
Duke’s voice is once again provided by Jon St. John and fans will be glad to know that some of the old classic one liners have survived into this new game. As you would expect, dialogue from both the Duke and the other characters is adult and hilarious with the Duke verbally abusing his alien victims as he mows them down with his large arsenal of guns, bombs and grenades.
Who wants some?!
The game, at its heart, is an first person shooter but sadly wont be winning any awards for innovative leaps forward in the genre’s technology (after 12 years I was expecting a brand new engine at the very least) but what the demo did provide was real fun gun action and great interactive end scenes at the end of the two playable levels. These had me laughing and pointing at the screen shouting ‘hell yeah!’
The environment has loads of neat touches, many of which you can mess around with
I’m gonna get medieval on your asses.
So in short: We can tell by the demo that Duke Nukem Forever is an FPS for grownups who need to de-stress by shooting aliens and want to laugh while doing it. Will it be a success? Existing fan base and hype suggests it will. Will it achieve the cult status of the original? Ask me in 12 years when Duke Nukem 3 comes out. Should you buy it? For me, not owning this game would be like not having at least 2 copies of Bladerunner. Not a world I want to live in.
There are lots of nods to the past and fans of Duke Nukem 3D will recognise many moments such as this iconic boss fight
Its hard to judge a full game from a 15 minute demo, but from what I saw it looks like the developers have (finally) got a great sequel on their hands that will have fans shouting for more.
Expected 9
Actual…
So, 12 years wait. Was it worth it, what do you think? Let us know!
