Duke Nukem Forever Preview

[Jeremy]

Duke Nukem Forever Preview by Jeremy

PALGN Preview: Return of the King. Seriously.

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[RWS]

I got to play a 20 minute demo of the single player mode at Supanova Melbourne, and any doubt that I had about this game not being as good as the hype were tossed to the wayside.

While I read a lot of video game websites that post news and trailers for DNF content and trailers, it's hard to miss the amount of negative comments complaining about how the textures and quality makes it "look like a PS2 game".

Let me say first and foremost that this game IS the Duke Nukem Forever everyone has been waiting for. I congratulate what Gearbox has done to revive this project, there's no doubt that in my mind that Gearbox did some serious thinking about how that would tackle an IP like this. Do you make another Duke Nukem 3D-like game with up-to-date graphics, or do you get an up-to-date FPS and give it Duke Nukem 3D-like graphics. Whilst it might sound like it's the same question, but realistically it's like asking: do you want a slice of cheese between two slices of bread, or do you want a slice of bread between two slices of cheese?

I've seen the demos and the trailers, and none of them actually do justice to the graphics of Duke Nukem Forever, so don't judge the game based on the trailers. The fact of the matter is is that Duke Nukem Forever is a lot of fun, if I were to compare it's engine to any other FPS on the market, I'd draw it closer to Halo 3/Reach, but you don't feel like you're playing another Halo game, you feel like you're playing Duke Nukem, and that's what struck me the most when I played this game.

As for the "dated" graphics, I can kind of see where people are coming from, but I don't think it's as bad as people seem to say. The graphics don't look dated, it just looks like old graphics mixed with modern renderers. And to be honest, playing Duke Nukem games in my childhood, this does more in terms of nostalgia than in does in terms of cheapness. But that isn't to say you should avoid the big pixels heading your way, this game looks absolutely stunning and phenominal when played on a high-definition TV. The character modelling and scenery are absolutely fantastic, the slightly "cartoonish" nature of explosions and weapon-fire only compliments the nature of Duke's humour.

As for gameplay, this game sets itself apart from any other FPS so far (maybe Brink will change this), but this game doesn't feel like the kind of FPS you would duck and hide as you slowly pick off the bad guys one at a time, this is the game that is so action-packed, you can't help but kick down a door, guns blazing, shoot every bad guy in sight and chew some bubblegum while your health regenerates. Alternatively, you could hide behind something and pick off the bad guys one at a time, but you might need to pause the game once in a while to go change your tampon.

I should foreword by saying that dispite this game being in the making for 14 years, it's not a revolutionary game that will change how we think about FPS games. It does however feel like it's a game that has had a lot of love and care put into it to make it the best game a Duke Nukem game could possibly be, and it most definitely shows.

For all those naysayers out there who are dissing this game before it's even released, prepare to be surprised. And to all those who are eagerly waiting and anticipating this games release, you will not be disappointed.
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[sobriquet835]

Oh how I hope PSN is up when this is released.

[grim-one]

I wonder if they'll release modding tools?

The old Build3D engine used to be great fun for tooling around in. Some pretty crazy levels came out of it as well.
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Steam:grim_one | PSN/Live:najakh | Flickr

[mikezilla2]

[grim-one]

[Benza]

check youtube mike

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[Ken_Gooner]

i'll wait for the reviews before I'm sold, but it certainly looks good and seems like a light, funny game that I've been waiting for.
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Oh to, oh to be, oh to be a gooner