Why I Like Duke Nukem Forever

Duke Nukem Forever is probably one of the biggest gaming disappointments in the past two decades.  After 15 years in development, how could it not be?  Part of what made it so disappointing, I think, is that people remembered how incredibly awesome Duke Nukem 3D was and expected the same feeling without realizing how different the world had become.  In the mid-90s, there just weren't that many games that had just blatantly crude and sexual humor.  These days, between Leisure Suit Larry and Grand Theft Auto, sex in video games isn't nearly as shocking as it once was.  Even games that don't appeal to that kind of humor or interest have sex; just look at Fable, The Sims, and Fallout: New Vegas for examples.  I wasn't nearly disappointed with Duke Nukem Forever as most people, though.  On the contrary, I quite enjoyed the game.  The single player (which I'm sure few gamers played more than a level or two of because they're online-obsessed noobs) was very reminiscent of older shooters in that it didn't go for realism; it went for absurdity.  Absurdity is what made the old shooters great.  I mean, look at Wolfenstein 3D; how many "realistic" games would have Adolf Hitler in a mechanized battle suit with four chainguns?  Duke Nukem 3D was the same way - trying to save the world's babes from aliens while saving humanity just ended up being a nice plus - and Duke Nukem Forever held on to that.  Whether it was intentional or not to style the game as an "old fashioned" shooter instead of a "modern" shooter, that got it some major points in my book.  One last side note about how sex isn't anything unique in games anymore - having acquiring a vibrator as one of the objectives and having a level actually titled "Duke Nukem's Titty City" while showing several fully exposed boobs was still pretty damn awesome, even for today.

Now I'll address the part most people spend most of their time playing - online multiplayer.  This was another part of the game that I found quite satisfying.  There aren't teams like "Americans vs Russians" or "Allies vs Nazis" or "Humans vs Aliens" in this game.  Nope, it went back to the good old "Red vs Blue" with no difference between the two except for color, and that's how I like it.  Maybe I'm too nostalgic, but whatever the reason, I truly enjoy seeing random red guys fighting random blue guys for no reason except that reds hate blues.  Halo was the last great game that did this, and while the original Halo was the iconic "Red vs Blue" game for most people (hence the machinima series of the same name), I was most reminded of the old Quake and Unreal Tournament games, and because of my fond memories of those games, Duke Nukem Forever's online multiplayer is okay in my book.

I know I'm in a small minority of gamers who were truly satisfied with Duke Nukem Forever, and by not means am I implying that it's 2k Games' masterpiece.  I'm just trying to say that it actually is quite a good game, and to brush it aside because of bad reviews would be a mistake (especially since I got my copy for only $4 at GameStop; a large coffee from Starbucks is more expensive than that).  If you have a gaming PC, a 360, or a PS3 (which is what I have), I definitely suggest at least giving Duke Nukem Forever a fair chance.  The campaign is a lot of fun, and the online multiplayer, at least in my opinion, doesn't really disappoint.