The Duke, The Whole Duke, and Nothing But The Duke.Duke Nukem Forever has been getting its balls punched by critics. I am confused by this, as
DNF is one of the most fun FPS games I've ever played. The game isn't a perfect triple A masterpiece, but it's a great gameplay experience that a lot of people are going to miss out on because of the negative press. It should be kept in mind that I am reviewing the PC version of the game, as well as I am no Duke Nukem fanboy.
The HumorMost games aren't that funny. They might have funny moments. They might have stupid dialogue that is meant to be funny. But more importantly, there aren't any games where humor is an underlying law of design, possibly excluding a few games that are probably rated E and the "humor" is on par with a Muppets sketch. Duke Nukem Forever is sketched with humor in mind. It isn't always laugh out loud funny, but the levity is there. And it often did make me laugh. I will withhold examples, but the game is about having a good time and laughing, when you aren't busy shooting. The only game I've ever played that approaches the camp and humor of
DNF is the PSN game
Pain. The action in the game, the set pieces, the character of Duke, and almost everything about the game is suffuse with subtle humor and fun, and I love it for that.
InteractionThis game is full of various interactive moments of a number and detail that you don't see in games much. Again, difficult to describe without examples, but it is a big reason for why I enjoy the game. There is often no purpose to these interactions Duke has with the environment, except for a random Ego (health/shield) boost. It is a necessary key to the tone of this game. One example you'll find rather early in the game is urinating in the toilet/urinal. I found myself doing this multiple times throughout the game, even though no benefit arises from multiple whizzes. The game has a few decent puzzles and many cool action sequences that aren't running and gunning.
GraphicsNot the best looking game I've ever played, but it's okay. I did notice one odd thing about the visuals though. With my computer, it is customary for me to max out the video settings of any game I might be playing. Unfortunately,
DNF has a few options that you "turn on" that make the game
look worse. Specifically the "Post Special Effects" and the "Depth of Field" option. I pray that console owners are able to toggle this setting off, but it seems unlikely. The graphics seem a little unpolished, and reminiscent of a game made maybe a few years earlier, but they aren't dated to the point of adversely affecting the game.
CriticismsDuke Nukem Forever is far from perfect, and I have three major criticisms:
- Some offensive material: I'm not easily offended, in fact, I don't ever really get offended at all. But there was one element, present in a smallish section of the game, that kind of made me say "Really, developer guys? Come on." I felt the game crossed the boundary from "playful sexism" to "full blown misogyny."
- There weren't enough action set pieces that let you go to town with the Steroids. Sounds trivial, but I feel like that particular power-up should have had a lot more room to shine because it's lots of fun.
- Once again, it seems silly for me to make this point, given the goofy, light-hearted nature of the game, but there is a particular plot turn that I feel is missing from the story. In most action... anything there is a moment when the main character(s) get into particularly dangerous territory. This can be labeled as the "Descent into Hades" that is featured in Greek mythological works, one example being The Odyssey by Homer. Duke Nukem Forever is missing this particular piece of action as a climax or a build up to the climax of the game. In Star Wars, Luke entered the Death Star trenches. In Ghostbusters, the guys climbed to the penthouse of Spook Central. In God of War, Kratos ... descended into Hades. This set piece is either missing, put in the wrong part of the game (too early), or isn't built up enough to provide the dramatic tension necessary for the moment.
The Whole HogOverall, from a gameplay point of view, I've played better games. The FPS mechanics are great, the non-FPS oriented actions sequences are fun, but I've seen a lot more amazing things in other games.
Duke Nukem Forever doesn't break any kind of gameplay boundaries or push the standards of excellence in game design. It could use some refining, some polish in certain places (I'd say a few months for a normal game, maybe 5 years in
DNF time) The point I must emphasize is that the game has humor and an emphasis on having fun; these are the real reasons that Duke is A-#1 in my heart.