My Duke Nukem Forever Review
August 16th, 2012 
gunsage 
August 16th, 2012 gunsage 
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August 16th, 2012 gunsage
This was a case of a game that was better left to our nostalgia. When word first broke that Gearbox had the license I was curious if it would hold up after so long. Turns out it didn't. Again some things should be left in the past.
The funny part is it's almost comparable to Alan Wake or Brutal Legend. If it was released a few years or even several years prior, it may not have been great, but it wouldn't have been terrible. Especially when you consider Zero Hour, Land of the Babes, Time to Kill, and Manhattan Project, it was obvious Duke was on a decline. I knew something was up when 3D Realms closed its doors, however.
I was just hoping for something at least satisfactory and don't get me wrong, it definitely has its moments..but you have to eat shit for a while to get those few moments. What it feels like is either the Xenosaga or Devil May Cry anime…it's almost as if the final product of DNF was headed by someone who absolutely did not know anything at all about Duke Nukem 3D and just slapped together what he had and called it a day.
Not only is it a disjointed mess, but Duke comes off as more unlikable than crude…not even as a relic, but more like a jerk. The only reason to play this game is to see what the original studios were going for. You can see hints of brilliance here and there that would have been great in the late 90s, but don't really work in 2012.
Played the demo and it was bad by 2012 standards. But, I didnt hate on it because I knew most if it was made many years before. It would be a decent 10 dollar XBLA title at this stage, nothing more. This does not mean that a new Duke Nukem could not be done, with the right team and the right changes.