Is "Duke Nukem Forever" worth your time?
(CBS) - Duke Nukem is a character who has grown to legendary status thanks to his macho posturing, sophomoric sense of humor and an insatiable amount of anticipation that has built over a decade-long development cycle.
He promised he would return in glorious fashion to save Earth's babes from aliens, deliver over-the-top excitement and turn the FPS genre on its ear. He does save Earth's babes.
Unfortunately, the release of "Duke Nukem Forever" was met with less than stellar reactions from critics and fans alike. The game was criticized for its poorly paced level design, uninspired gameplay, and outdated graphics. Putting it less delicately, Duke got panned.
"Forever" feels like an unfinished product that has been haphazardly slapped together. There are overly long first-person platforming segments, boring driving stages and aggravatingly tedious underwater sections. All of these levels are only occasionally peppered with any actual combat, which itself feels bland and repetitive.
The game also does nothing to distinguish itself from other shooters. While Duke may flippantly express his distaste for power armor and valve puzzles, he certainly borrows very heavily from the same games he satirizes.
Despite what flaws the game may have, its saving grace should have been Duke's humor. Duke is a sunglass-wearing, monster truck-driving, girl chasing, rocket launcher-toting id. He is the embodiment of every 80s action star times 100.
The game's slow pacing and stale delivery, however, cause much of the game's humor to fall flat. Instead of seeming ironic and over the top, Duke just comes across as childish and sad.
To be fair, the game's long and tumultuous development should be considered when examining its flaws. "Forever" suffered many birthing pains as it changed developers and was faced with one delay after another. While these issues may be the root cause for many of the game's shortcomings, they don't excuse the final result.
"Duke Nukem Forever" is as forgettable as is it dull. Fans of "Duke Nukem 3D" will find no nostalgic joy in this shameful successor. Perhaps with a less turbulent development process and a stronger focus on fun action and humor, Duke may yet return in a sequel more deserving of his legacy.
"Duke Nukem Forever" is available now for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. It is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.