Will Duke Nukem Forever hold up in todays gaming market?

Duke Nukem Forever is almost here, but will it still hold up after all these years?

So we all know the on again off again story behind Duke Nukem Forever. However when it was announced that Gearbox was going to pick up the remains of Duke Nukem Forever and actually release the game no one thought would ever come out, I was pretty excited, and so were most gamers. With the games release on the horizon, I have noticed a trend amongst other gaming sites and message boards, and that trend is the constant “can this game compete with Call of Duty etc” blabber that’s been going around. Can Duke compete with Call of Duty, or even Medal of Honor or Battlefield? Absolutely not, why should it?. Duke Nukem forever isn’t being released with the hopes of dethroning Call of Duty as the premier FPS on consoles. Call of Duty or the other big franchises have nothing to worry about with Duke Nukem Forever on the way. The reason for that is simple, Randy Pitchford (one of Gearbox’s founders) didn’t buy the rights to finish Duke Nukem from 3D Realms in hopes of taking over the FPS genre, he did it because he loves the franchise, that incidentally he helped become a landmark in gaming, as Pitchford, as well as other members of the Gearbox staff worked on Duke Nukem 3D which was released in 1996.

So am I saying the game won’t be any good? Not at all. A game that’s been repeatedly cancelled and delayed for more than 10 years isn’t likely to burst onto the scene and revolutionize the genre, but to assume Gearbox will release anything but an acceptable tribute to the game that took the world by storm 15 years ago would be foolish. This game is being released as a tribute to the fans of the series and to a character that the developers love. In a market full of military shooters Duke is not likely to be a record setting financial success, but it’s a labour of love, something not seen often in an industry dominated by re-hashed concepts and lackluster sequels. Duke’s one liners and toilet humour may not be as funny to you as they once were, but that’s because when you first heard them you were 10 or 12 years old and you couldn’t believe you heard them in a video game. The shooting mechanics may not feature rail sights or ultra realistic weapons but that was never what Duke was about, it was about blowing the living crap out of everything in sight. I honestly think we’ve gotten so accustomed to “realism” and military shooters that all start to look the same after a while, that we forgot about the times when booting up a video game was about having a great time. I like systematically taking down an enemy squad, or using my environment to sneak up on some terrorist as much as the next guy, but with Duke Nukem and Epic’s Bullet Storm on the way this year, we may see a brief return of the balls out action shooters we used to love. If that doesn’t sound like something you’d like to take part in that’s your choice, I however will look forward to taking a break from shooting terrorists to punch a giant alien in the testicles, save some babes and bench press some weights. Will Duke Nukem Forever hold up against todays gaming giants? Probably not. It’s silly it’s over the top and it’s coming back, and for a game more than 10 years in the making, that’s more than enough.

Check out the trailer here