Are you excited about the impeding release of Duke Nukem Forever? No? Well commenter Williagr thinks you should be, and heās going to tell you why in todayās Speak Up on Kotaku.
Why Iām excited for Duke Nukem Forever, and why you should be tooā¦
On a different forum someone has posed the question, āDo you think that [DNF] will bomb?ā Itās an easy question in theory, simple yes or no, yet I sat at the empty text box of my āReplyā page for a good 10 minutes before I started typing. For the record, no, I donāt think itās going to bomb. With preorder guarantees selling out everywhere, I think itās pretty clear that financially (for Gearbox at least), this game will be a success. Instead I tried to answer the much tougher question, āDo you think DNF will disappoint?ā
Thatās a much tougher question, and with game forums everywhere it seems the vocal majority are a little more than skeptical. Ever since news first broke the criticisms have hit just about everything. The gameplay looks boring, crappy graphics, regenerating healthā¦ these are just a few of the criticisms Iām sure weāve all seen. None of these address or relate to what Duke Nukem is really all about.
First and foremost, Duke Nukem has always been about the character. Donāt get me wrong, I still feel that Duke 3D did some fantastic things with gameplay that even today some developers are having trouble with in their shooters: nonlinear level design, exciting and FUN weapons to shoot, and tight controls. Everything else, however, has been expanded upon and made better in the years of Dukeās R&R. Everything else, except the character. Think about it, the younger generation of gamers have characters like Master Chief, Soap McTavish, and Altair to relate their gaming experiences to. THESE are the benchmarks for character creation in video games. Thatās sad. Love him or hate him, Duke has a personality a mile wide, and one that stomps all over the relatively cookie-cutter main characters that weāve been controlling the past couple years
If Gearbox has made anything clear without repeatedly stating it, itās that they took on this project as a labor of love. Anyone with a hobby knows that you do your best work when youāre working on something you love doing. And given the videos Iāve seen, the attitude that Gearbox is taking with this, and all the promotional material put out since DNFās revival, Iām confident that Gearbox is giving Duke fans what they expect from a Duke game. I only pray that it doesnāt go overlooked by the newer generation of gamers (assuming theyāre of age to play this game, of course). To say that Duke is an icon in this industry is no overstatement, he represents so much more than dirty jokes and an over-the-top masculine persona. He represents video games that donāt have to worry about being politically correct to be fun. He represents a game that keeps you playing solely because itās fun to play, not to unlock your next weapon upgrade or perk. He represents a game that, unlike most shooters today, simply canāt be mistaken for anything else. In short, he represents video games, and personally I canāt wait to strap on the Mighty Boots again. Welcome back Duke, itās been too long. Now, whereās my bubblegum?ā¦
About Speak Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes what they have to say has nothing to do with the stories we run. Thatās why we have a forum on Kotaku called Speak Up. Thatās the place to post anecdotes, photos, game tips and hints, and anything you want to share with Kotaku at large. Every weekday weāll pull one of the best Speak Up posts we can find and highlight it here.
