That is the question that's been on my mind ever since I bought the game from day 1.
After 12 years in development, and a record sum of money that was used in that development process(details of which remain unknown to this day) Duke Nukem Forever has seen the light of day. From the looks of it, it's a fun game to play and has the attitude and action that made Duke famous since his first 3D outing.
But sadly this is where the game reaches it's peak in awesomeness. While that game does offers some very nice and creative action-set pieces, they are too few and far between. In Duke Nukem 3D, it was straight-up balls-to-the-wall action that never skips a beat; even when pummeling pixel aliens and bosses. That with the exploration of secret rooms and levels with quips to popular culture made the game a classic and more enjoyable.. In DNF however, there's very little of that in the game. You never get the sense that the levels are grand in scope and clever sophistication. That is one of many of the problems that plague this game, which I will get into in more detail.
The first sign that this game isn't going to live up to the hype is it's infamous development cycle. As a direct sequel to DN3D, the game is undeniably average looking; both in it's content and overall design. Unlike the original game, where often the puzzles became more complex, intuitive, and creative; giving you the satisfaction of completing them, DNF's puzzle sections feel too simplistic and generic. It's a terrible waste because not only does the game suffer for it, but the player as well who likes a stiff challenge on a mental level. It's like the developers didn't have a clear sense on how to immerse players in the game like several other games of this caliber does and afterwords, the player is left with barely anything to chew on.
Another one of DNF's weaknesses is how cheap it looks. For all the time spent on development, DNF looks painfully average. I'm not talking just the visuals(which in some spots look really nice)but also some of the animation. Some of the animation is really impressive; especially the boss characters, but the character animation on the aliens and shockingly, humans, is robotic and stiff. It is simply inconceivable that a game such as DNF could be of this poor quality;even by today's standards where cutting edge game design and smooth game-play is the rule. Add to the fact that characters barely interact with the main protagonist, let alone in an entertaining and clever way, and you have characters that are equally lifeless as the game's atmosphere.
The most important aspect of any game's success is it's playability. DNF does not have this nailed down in any way. It takes forever(pardon the pun) to perform an action; particularly in interacting with the games environment. Why you have to press a button to open a door, flip a switch, pick up a weapon is beyond me. DN3D didn't have any of that so why was it not implemented in this latest release of the titular hero? Even the driving sections are generic. There's no real tension or sense of excitement when mowing down aliens with a monster truck. It would'v been more exciting if Duke was able to take a vehicle(be it land, sea, or air) in the game and use it against his enemies in much more creative ways. THAT is the biggest problem with DNF. There's too little ingenuity and creativity. Bulletstorm, Crysis, and to a greater extent, Halo, gave you the option of engaging your enemies in creative and exciting ways that were never before seen in gaming. In DNF where there are few moments of creativity here and there, it's too little and too late in immersing the player in the game's environment and as a result, the end experience leaves the player cold.
One thing that this game has right is the multi-player. All the modes are there from Capture the Flag, Dukematch, etc. There is a neat twist where(I kid you not) you slap a babe on the rear end. A tasteless treat for the raunchy side of things, but it does little to save what is at best an average game.
Honestly, this game was not worth the wait. There was simply no way the game could live up to the hype. 12 years of development and this is the end result? Instead of trying to build on such outdated game design, they should'v started over from scratch or at the very least, strive for innovation that some games have done in this day and age of gaming. For such an anticipated game that was decades behind in design, DNF disappoints on every level. I admit I enjoyed some parts of it but in the end I have no choice but to give my grade for this game and it's a C.
A shame. Such potential utterly wasted.
After 12 years in development, and a record sum of money that was used in that development process(details of which remain unknown to this day) Duke Nukem Forever has seen the light of day. From the looks of it, it's a fun game to play and has the attitude and action that made Duke famous since his first 3D outing.
But sadly this is where the game reaches it's peak in awesomeness. While that game does offers some very nice and creative action-set pieces, they are too few and far between. In Duke Nukem 3D, it was straight-up balls-to-the-wall action that never skips a beat; even when pummeling pixel aliens and bosses. That with the exploration of secret rooms and levels with quips to popular culture made the game a classic and more enjoyable.. In DNF however, there's very little of that in the game. You never get the sense that the levels are grand in scope and clever sophistication. That is one of many of the problems that plague this game, which I will get into in more detail.
The first sign that this game isn't going to live up to the hype is it's infamous development cycle. As a direct sequel to DN3D, the game is undeniably average looking; both in it's content and overall design. Unlike the original game, where often the puzzles became more complex, intuitive, and creative; giving you the satisfaction of completing them, DNF's puzzle sections feel too simplistic and generic. It's a terrible waste because not only does the game suffer for it, but the player as well who likes a stiff challenge on a mental level. It's like the developers didn't have a clear sense on how to immerse players in the game like several other games of this caliber does and afterwords, the player is left with barely anything to chew on.
Another one of DNF's weaknesses is how cheap it looks. For all the time spent on development, DNF looks painfully average. I'm not talking just the visuals(which in some spots look really nice)but also some of the animation. Some of the animation is really impressive; especially the boss characters, but the character animation on the aliens and shockingly, humans, is robotic and stiff. It is simply inconceivable that a game such as DNF could be of this poor quality;even by today's standards where cutting edge game design and smooth game-play is the rule. Add to the fact that characters barely interact with the main protagonist, let alone in an entertaining and clever way, and you have characters that are equally lifeless as the game's atmosphere.
The most important aspect of any game's success is it's playability. DNF does not have this nailed down in any way. It takes forever(pardon the pun) to perform an action; particularly in interacting with the games environment. Why you have to press a button to open a door, flip a switch, pick up a weapon is beyond me. DN3D didn't have any of that so why was it not implemented in this latest release of the titular hero? Even the driving sections are generic. There's no real tension or sense of excitement when mowing down aliens with a monster truck. It would'v been more exciting if Duke was able to take a vehicle(be it land, sea, or air) in the game and use it against his enemies in much more creative ways. THAT is the biggest problem with DNF. There's too little ingenuity and creativity. Bulletstorm, Crysis, and to a greater extent, Halo, gave you the option of engaging your enemies in creative and exciting ways that were never before seen in gaming. In DNF where there are few moments of creativity here and there, it's too little and too late in immersing the player in the game's environment and as a result, the end experience leaves the player cold.
One thing that this game has right is the multi-player. All the modes are there from Capture the Flag, Dukematch, etc. There is a neat twist where(I kid you not) you slap a babe on the rear end. A tasteless treat for the raunchy side of things, but it does little to save what is at best an average game.
Honestly, this game was not worth the wait. There was simply no way the game could live up to the hype. 12 years of development and this is the end result? Instead of trying to build on such outdated game design, they should'v started over from scratch or at the very least, strive for innovation that some games have done in this day and age of gaming. For such an anticipated game that was decades behind in design, DNF disappoints on every level. I admit I enjoyed some parts of it but in the end I have no choice but to give my grade for this game and it's a C.
A shame. Such potential utterly wasted.