Duke Nukem forever plays like a bad list of chiches and fads from the last decade. Like the devs, each time a new game came out, picked up on some new gameplay gimmick and hurried up to add it to the game. It's a boring mess with poor pacing that barely resembles its precursors. From Half Life 2-esque "walk around and talk with someone" parts with no shooting at all, to driving segments, platformer levels, regenerating health, limited weapon loadouts, etc... Pick a FPS mechanic that has appeared in a game in the last decade, odds are you will find it in DNF. And here lies the problem: DNF does not feel like a single game or a unified vision, but a collection of levels, gimmick and designs lifted from other popular games (Half Life and Halo in particular) and re-branded as Duke Nukem before being haphazardly assembled into one confused game with no identity.
The game is a disjointed mess with poor pacing. From levels where you do no shooting, to long, repetitive (and frankly, bad) driving segments that might as well have been designed years ago. It's a game that shows the eternity it took to develop it. Alot of the gameplay feels dated in their execution. The shooting, for example, has little depth. Enemies don't react to bullet impacts, only falling over limply when they finally die like a ragdoll.
Even some of the trademark elements that make Duke who he is feel forced. In Duke Nukem 3 D, Duke would only deliver his trademark one liners at specific point in the levels, or if one did a serious overkill. Here, Duke never shuts the **** up. What was before an irregular occurrence that added some color and tone to the game here becomes an annoyance. The sheer volume of dialogue just diminishes the impact of any good line might have because they are lost in the noise of the endless action hero dialogue. In Duke 3D, Duke's lines worked and carried his particular attitude because they were spaced out. Here, it's like hanging out with a perverted uncle who is also drunk and ogles the neighbor.
It's not a terrible game. It has some enjoyable moment, but would this game be called anything else than Duke Nukem Forever, it would be imminently forgettable and no one would talk about it. It is not worth the full price however, because it is a dated mess whose long, confused development history with no endgame visions shines with the game's disjointed feel.
Like a Checklist of Every FPS Fad From The Last Decade.
Duke Nukem forever plays like a bad list of chiches and fads from the last decade. Like the devs, each time a new game came out, picked up on some new gameplay gimmick and hurried up to add it to the game. It's a boring mess with poor pacing that barely resembles its precursors. From Half Life 2-esque "walk around and talk with someone" parts with no shooting at all, to driving segments, platformer levels, regenerating health, limited weapon loadouts, etc... Pick a FPS mechanic that has appeared in a game in the last decade, odds are you will find it in DNF. And here lies the problem: DNF does not feel like a single game or a unified vision, but a collection of levels, gimmick and designs lifted from other popular games (Half Life and Halo in particular) and re-branded as Duke Nukem before being haphazardly assembled into one confused game with no identity.
The game is a disjointed mess with poor pacing. From levels where you do no shooting, to long, repetitive (and frankly, bad) driving segments that might as well have been designed years ago. It's a game that shows the eternity it took to develop it. Alot of the gameplay feels dated in their execution. The shooting, for example, has little depth. Enemies don't react to bullet impacts, only falling over limply when they finally die like a ragdoll.
Even some of the trademark elements that make Duke who he is feel forced. In Duke Nukem 3 D, Duke would only deliver his trademark one liners at specific point in the levels, or if one did a serious overkill. Here, Duke never shuts the **** up. What was before an irregular occurrence that added some color and tone to the game here becomes an annoyance. The sheer volume of dialogue just diminishes the impact of any good line might have because they are lost in the noise of the endless action hero dialogue. In Duke 3D, Duke's lines worked and carried his particular attitude because they were spaced out. Here, it's like hanging out with a perverted uncle who is also drunk and ogles the neighbor.
It's not a terrible game. It has some enjoyable moment, but would this game be called anything else than Duke Nukem Forever, it would be imminently forgettable and no one would talk about it. It is not worth the full price however, because it is a dated mess whose long, confused development history with no endgame visions shines with the game's disjointed feel.