Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever

2K Games announces the North American release of Duke Nukem Forever, the first-person shooter with one of the longest (if not the longest, period) development cycles in videogame history. The game was released in Europe last week, is now on North American store shelves, and can also be had through the magic of digital distribution from Direct2Drive, GamersGate (save 10%), Green Man Gaming (save 27%), and Steam, and is also available for 20% off through Woot with the code "EMCKDJF85" (thanks nin). According to their possibly biased assessment, the saga behind the game's creation is a story of heroes and legends:
From the game’s inception, the legendary George Broussard and his team of immensely talented and passionate designers, artists and programmers at 3DRealms devoted themselves to bringing Duke Nukem Forever to market. When all appeared lost, a small team of dedicated developers, known as Triptych Studios, saved Duke Nukem Forever from what seemed like vaporware death and resurrected the King. Their heroic efforts alongside Gearbox Software, Piranha Games and many other contributors finalized the legacy by bringing the full-featured triple-A title to retail.

Apologizing to no one, Duke Nukem Forever is the high-octane video game equivalent of a Hollywood summer blockbuster. Starring the legendary lady killer and alien slayer, Duke Nukem Forever introduces gamers to a blastastic time filled with head-popping, bone-rattling action, brazenly crude humor, impossibly statuesque women dying for affection, and catchy one-liners that will have you laughing out loud.
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67.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 15, 2011, 18:44
67.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 15, 2011, 18:44
Jun 15, 2011, 18:44
 
Blood 3 would be awesome, yes. Hopefully more like the first game and less like the second.
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66.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 15, 2011, 17:26
66.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 15, 2011, 17:26
Jun 15, 2011, 17:26
 
Jerykk wrote on Jun 15, 2011, 00:49:
You really can't pick a sub-genre (or worse, sub-sub-genre in modern day military shooters) that is, in it's very nature restricted to realistic locales for conflict and then complain in any justifiable manner that there's not enough variety in that sub-genre.

The problem is that the modern military sub-genre is dominating the shooter genre as a whole. Even when games are made that have different settings (whether it be WW2 or sci-fi), the actual gameplay mechanics and level design generally remain unchanged. Killzone, for example, is basically CoD with space Nazis. We occasionally get a shooter that introduces new gameplay mechanics or design approaches, like Bioshock or Bulletstorm, but these are sadly few and far between.

I guess my biggest issue with modern shooters is that the gameplay is almost always the same. Cover-based, hitscan weapons, pseudorealistic damage models (i.e. headshots). I'd love to see more shooters with run 'n gun gameplay and a variety of genuinely unique weapons that require completely different skillsets to master. More interesting traversal mechanics would be nice too. TF2 is really the only game that fills that role right now, though Prey 2 has potential.


So you want Blood III ? I swear Blood 1's gore and guns pack more punch then DNF. I feel like the guns Caleb uses actually are blowing shit up, not making polys dissappear into 2 blood particles.

Loved Blood + Shadow Warrior
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65.
 
Public demo?
Jun 15, 2011, 13:52
Ant
 
65.
Public demo? Jun 15, 2011, 13:52
Jun 15, 2011, 13:52
 Ant
 
So, when does the public demo be released?
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64.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 15, 2011, 09:28
64.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 15, 2011, 09:28
Jun 15, 2011, 09:28
 
xXBatmanXx wrote on Jun 15, 2011, 00:26:
A general complaint, but this describes it best:
http://static.arstechnica.com/Gaming/leveldesignclassic.jpg

Loved that, and so true.

My advise, when this games is priced the same as other games from 4-5 years ago it might be worth picking up.
The graphics for me looked dated ( Doom3 / Prey )
So many bits reminded me of smaller sections of the original Duke game ( but more on rails ).
Animations as mentioned range from okay to terrible.
Sounds and voice acting is okayish, some the other characters are acted so badly I'm guessing they did it on intentionally to sound like a bad B movie.
The one liners are over used, most are okay the 1st time and make you smile the 2nd time and then just annoy the hell out of you from then on.
Puzzles are really lame and simple and have no real 'fun' or 'satisfaction' levels.
Weapon limit makes no sense for this type of game.
I'm used to health regeneration now.
Interactive items are fun for a diversion for a few minutes, but nothing that special - did any of you see the doom1 in doom3 mod - basically you could walk up to a console in a Doom3 map and play doom1 on the console - now that was cool!

I guess if we want a FPS that's more evolved than a game from 14 years ago with a graphics engine from 4-5 years ago then I guess we'll have to wait for Rage to come out.
63.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 15, 2011, 08:30
63.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 15, 2011, 08:30
Jun 15, 2011, 08:30
 
I have to agree here... the thing I like most about DNF is most enemies are not hitscan. you dont hit a magical cover button, you have to dodge. Missed that in shooters I missed that so much I forgive the game most of its shortcomings.
note: as far as the halo 2x weapons regen options, these are there because they save a lot of playtesting time for devs. no people complaining you put too little or too much health in a level. just run back and its full. Most people seem to prefer this or at least not to mind enough to affect buying decisions
62.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 15, 2011, 00:49
62.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 15, 2011, 00:49
Jun 15, 2011, 00:49
 
You really can't pick a sub-genre (or worse, sub-sub-genre in modern day military shooters) that is, in it's very nature restricted to realistic locales for conflict and then complain in any justifiable manner that there's not enough variety in that sub-genre.

The problem is that the modern military sub-genre is dominating the shooter genre as a whole. Even when games are made that have different settings (whether it be WW2 or sci-fi), the actual gameplay mechanics and level design generally remain unchanged. Killzone, for example, is basically CoD with space Nazis. We occasionally get a shooter that introduces new gameplay mechanics or design approaches, like Bioshock or Bulletstorm, but these are sadly few and far between.

I guess my biggest issue with modern shooters is that the gameplay is almost always the same. Cover-based, hitscan weapons, pseudorealistic damage models (i.e. headshots). I'd love to see more shooters with run 'n gun gameplay and a variety of genuinely unique weapons that require completely different skillsets to master. More interesting traversal mechanics would be nice too. TF2 is really the only game that fills that role right now, though Prey 2 has potential.
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61.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 15, 2011, 00:26
61.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 15, 2011, 00:26
Jun 15, 2011, 00:26
 
A general complaint, but this describes it best:

http://static.arstechnica.com/Gaming/leveldesignclassic.jpg
60.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 15, 2011, 00:13
60.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 15, 2011, 00:13
Jun 15, 2011, 00:13
 
Edited the first sentence for clarity after you started your reply, evidently. Nonetheless, my point is, people are claiming it's not evolution because THEY don't like the way things changed. That's what I'm arguing against.

Admittedly they are a bit rare, but at last check at E3, there were 2 major new WW2 title shown, 2 futuristic titles, 1 post-apocalyptic title, and 2 modern day titles. (Major titles only, I mean)

That's a fair amount of variety in the shooter genre. You really can't pick a sub-genre (or worse, sub-sub-genre in modern day military shooters) that is, in it's very nature restricted to realistic locales for conflict and then complain in any justifiable manner that there's not enough variety in that sub-genre. Of course there's not a great deal of variety in enemies or weaponry. If there was, it wouldn't be a modern day military shooter.

I'm with you that since it's the dominant form of shooter at the moment, things have stalled somewhat, but that's more a function of the fact that everyone jumped on the bandwagon and the teams that were really skilled in making shooters didn't really step outside of the box for financial reasons.

There's some change on the horizon though. Respawn is making a sci-fi shooter, Red Orchestra is set for release, that weird looking WW2 game from Gearbox (I think) is something different.

My biggest hope for modern day shooters lies with the Rainbow Six series, if they ever decide to make a decent one again. Since they're not restricted to engagements based on nationality, they could easily bring some other conflicts into gaming light. Rescuing hostages in the Burmese jungle? Interceding in civillian massacres in Darfur? Clandestine operation in Rwanda? Or yes, even good old, stop the terrorists in the Met. It has the same weapons for the most part, but can place itself in the widest array of terrain and locales on a mission by mission basis.

I don't see it happening, since it would mean they'd have to forego the 'cinematic linear campaign' in favor of a variety of disconnected missions, each with their own small storyline, rather than one overarching thing. It's a dream, but one I still hold to.
59.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 23:48
59.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 23:48
Jun 14, 2011, 23:48
 
Evolution has never meant "better". People liked to attribute that term to it, they like to believe it means that things have changed in a way that THEY wanted them to. Evolution simply means different, the same base with some alteration. Cover mechanics are an evolution of the genre. So is regenerating health. So is the 'cinematic' nature of the games lately.

Actually, evolution does mean "better." That's the whole point of evolution; to become better suited to your environment and thus more likely to survive. The evolution of gaming is no different. In order to survive in a market where games routinely have $20 million development budgets and $50 million marketing budgets, games are designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Hence the emphasis on accessibility and cinematic presentation over depth, challenge and innovation. Every modern gameplay mechanic, whether it be regenerating health, cover systems or QTEs, is designed to serve these two purposes.

As for the final statement, I'll agree that military shooters have more in common than most genres (which isn't surprising since it's really a sub-genre in itself), I have to disagree with your final bit.
The enemies are generally the same, in that they're always soldiers, occasionally from different countries or made up collectives. The weapons are only the same if you are looking at modern day military shooters only. Taking into account, WW2, Vietnam, and Modern day, then you can't rightfully say the weapons and vehicles are the same, nor the settings. From desert terrain, to middle east villages/cities, to jungles in vietnam, to first world cities in games like Homefront or Rainbow Six Vegas 1/2.

WW2 and Vietnam shooters are pretty rare these days. Modern military shooters are a dime a dozen. Every modern military shooter takes place in some war-torn environment, usually in the Middle-East or Eastern Europe. Newer military shooters have started changing the setting to first-world countries but in the end, it's a pretty superficial change. It's still a war-torn urban environment with completely linear and scripted levels, you're still using the same weapons and vehicles, you're still playing as an American soldier and you're still fighting Communists and/or terrorists who want to destroy western, Democratic society. The modern military shooter genre completely dominates the market right now and we're seeing lots of stagnation as a result.
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58.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 23:36
58.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 23:36
Jun 14, 2011, 23:36
 
Kajetan wrote on Jun 14, 2011, 13:42:
Just make Duke Nukem (!) game, goddammit, and not just a Duke Nukem mod for Halo or Call of Duty. I've got me plenty of this kind of shooter. Give us some classic, oldschool gameplay.

This.

What developers have done is they have added in all the current console crap of today's games and put it in our virgin Duke PC game.

Turning it into a same old modern FPS experience albeit with witty dialog.

Duke, you've gone all ADHD trans-sexual on us. <snif>
57.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 23:34
57.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 23:34
Jun 14, 2011, 23:34
 
Jerykk wrote on Jun 14, 2011, 23:14:
I would argue that there's been several evolutions since HL2. Cover mechanics, and regenerating health among them. They may not be to your liking, but they are changes from the time of HL. You can't call it stagnation if it's changing, just because you don't like what FPS' have evolved (or devolved) into.

It depends on what you consider evolution. Games have "evolved" into accessible and cinematic experiences rather than deep or challenging ones. While this is certainly good for business, it's not so good for hardcore gamers.

In recent years, the shooter genre has completely stagnated. Everybody is copying CoD. It's like the stagnation that was seen in the early 90's when everybody was copying Doom, except at least the Doom clones were slightly different from one another. Military shooters are the second least creative genre out there (second only to sports games). They all have the same enemies, weapons, vehicles, settings, etc.

Evolution has never meant "better for me". People liked to attribute that term to it, they like to believe it means that things have changed in a way that THEY wanted them to. Evolution simply means different, the same base with some alteration. Cover mechanics are an evolution of the genre. So is regenerating health. So is the 'cinematic' nature of the games lately.

It doesn't matter whether it's what I want or not. Denying evolution because you don't like the result is silly. Deny progress if you like on some sort of esoteric level, but then I'd counter with the fact that the games that people like to point at and say how terrible all the mechanics in them are, still end up being amoung the highest selling titles of all time. If evolution means changes to the base of something that remain when they are successful, then yes, FPS games have very much evolved since the time of Half-life.

I agree they've become stagnant since the most recent changes, (cover system in single player and unlocks in multiplayer). But there are some changes on the horizon. Larger scale and more detailed destruction in BF3 and the two examples I provided in the previous post. Whether or not they prove successful, and thus don't vanish into history is another matter entirely, but the possibility for change in a positive direction is there.

As for the final statement, I'll agree that military shooters have more in common than most genres (which isn't surprising since it's really a sub-genre in itself), I have to disagree with your final bit.
The enemies are generally the same, in that they're always soldiers, occasionally from different countries or made up collectives. The weapons are only the same if you are looking at modern day military shooters only. Taking into account, WW2, Vietnam, and Modern day, then you can't rightfully say the weapons and vehicles are the same, nor the settings. From desert terrain, to middle east villages/cities, to jungles in vietnam, to first world cities in games like Homefront or Rainbow Six Vegas 1/2.

The variety is there in all those things. Of course it's not as varied as games where you can create your own world to fit the game you want to make, but that's the expectation in a sub-genre like this.

This comment was edited on Jun 14, 2011, 23:41.
56.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 23:14
56.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 23:14
Jun 14, 2011, 23:14
 
I would argue that there's been several evolutions since HL2. Cover mechanics, and regenerating health among them. They may not be to your liking, but they are changes from the time of HL. You can't call it stagnation if it's changing, just because you don't like what FPS' have evolved (or devolved) into.

It depends on what you consider evolution. Games have "evolved" into accessible and cinematic experiences rather than deep or challenging ones. While this is certainly good for business, it's not so good for hardcore gamers.

In recent years, the shooter genre has completely stagnated. Everybody is copying CoD. It's like the stagnation that was seen in the early 90's when everybody was copying Doom, except at least the Doom clones were slightly different from one another. Military shooters are the second least creative genre out there (second only to sports games). They all have the same enemies, weapons, vehicles, settings, etc.

As for Bulletstorm multiplayer, I'm not sure how well that would have worked. The leash mechanic was a fundamental part of the gameplay and that simply wouldn't work well in multiplayer. Nobody likes having their control taken away and that would happen whenever you get leashed.
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55.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 22:59
55.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 22:59
Jun 14, 2011, 22:59
 
Lorcin wrote on Jun 14, 2011, 19:24:

The FPS genre hasn't advanced since hl1/2 it's developed into a state of hyper-stagnation. Every new mainstream title is easier, more samey and more generic than the last.

I would argue that there's been several evolutions since HL2. Cover mechanics, and regenerating health among them. They may not be to your liking, but they are changes from the time of HL. You can't call it stagnation if it's changing, just because you don't like what FPS' have evolved (or devolved) into.

That said, there hasn't been any significant changes (to single player shooters) since the cover mechanics started showing up. Not that I can think of anyways.

I'm hoping the next real change will be something akin to Mirror's Edge / Brink style fluid movement enhancements. It's a good idea, it just needs someone to pull it off well in a popular title. Brink handled the mechanic fairly well with the lightweight charactger model, but the rest of the game fell flat on it's face.

Bulletstorm TRIED something different with a reward system for varied ways of killing enemies, but much like Brink, they relied too much on the mechanic to sell the game. They even failed to deliver a competitive multiplayer option, which done properly WITH the skill/kill system in place could have been some solid fun (assuming they removed the constant slow-mo bits with the leash).

Imagine the chaotic fun that could be had combining the two mechanics in even a simple DM style multiplayer.
54.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 22:35
54.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 22:35
Jun 14, 2011, 22:35
 
StingingVelvet wrote on Jun 14, 2011, 19:10:
I don't mind the recharging health as much as I thought I would, I guess because the idea of an ego shield is amusing and finding ego-boosting things in the environment is fun. Checkpoints I have gotten used to for linear games and it doesn't really bother me anymore to be honest. It does make it more of a game than quicksaving, as there are consequences to failing at a battle.

QTEs and weapon limits I agree with though... massively irritating, and the second one has NO place in a game like this.

I don't necessarily mind regenerating health in SOME games. This is one that it stands out as a TERRIBLE idea. All it does is force you to cower in a corner when your health is low. The problem is, that's completely contrary to what the character and game are all about.

Health packs often forced you to barrel through danger to get to them, with the risk of death at a single wrong move if you were low on health already. THAT is more in line with what Duke is supposed to be. Calling your health 'ego' was a cute gimmick, but that's all it really is.

The only part of the game I've actually legitimately enjoyed thus far is the monster truck sequence and the surrounding mayhem. Everything up to that point was pretty ho-hum for me.
53.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 21:25
53.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 21:25
Jun 14, 2011, 21:25
 
I've been playing for around 4 hours now and all I have to say is Duke Nukem Forever is the "Saint Anger" of video games... Wow what a joke this game is! No wonder why they never wanted to release it!
"When all thats left is console gaming, I will game no more."
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52.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 21:19
52.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 21:19
Jun 14, 2011, 21:19
 
On people using "linear" as a criticism - I think that's unfair and makes no sense. Video games are mainly linear, you move from one level to another, until you beat the game. Did you think Mario 1 was linear back in the day? If you were 8 yeard old and your friend called a game linear, would you remotely care about what that meant if you were having fun playing it?
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51.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 20:36
51.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 20:36
Jun 14, 2011, 20:36
 
Ratty wrote on Jun 14, 2011, 20:29:
I chose Thief because of the cool rhombus-shaped box and cover art. It was a good decision as I still love Thief to death and have gotten more joy out of it than any other game. But when I finally got around to Half Life I realized I should have just bought them both.

Nice!! I never got into Thief but it was always one of those games I WANTED to get into. Only surprise franchise I can name recently that was like that was the witcher - the games are really tough to get into but SO rewarding.
50.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 20:29
50.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 20:29
Jun 14, 2011, 20:29
 
Lorcin wrote on Jun 14, 2011, 19:24:
Oh actually I just placed it. The same time Half Life 1 came out over here Sin came out the same week. I bought Sin because......the box art, I have no idea why I went for it - except half life wasn't actually very well advertised and the internet will still only just getting to full saturation.
Ha! I just have to comment that the same thing happened to me. Except it was Thief and Half Life and I chose Thief because of the cool rhombus-shaped box and cover art. It was a good decision as I still love Thief to death and have gotten more joy out of it than any other game. But when I finally got around to Half Life I realized I should have just bought them both.

That was a great time, going to the computer store and picking up whatever looked interesting and chances were you'd end up with something fun.
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49.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 19:24
49.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 19:24
Jun 14, 2011, 19:24
 
Agent.X7 wrote on Jun 14, 2011, 18:53:
They would be blasted for ignoring all of the advancements in the genre

Like what???? hiding behind walls - having infinite recharging health and only being able to carry two guns (btw in real life i might stagger a bit with two rocket launchers - but I think I'd be a tad more sprightly with 3 handguns). Having the entire world made from greys and browns?

The FPS genre hasn't advanced since hl1/2 it's developed into a state of hyper-stagnation. Every new mainstream title is easier, more samey and more generic than the last.

I swear to god I fully expect to see a remake of the old Dragon32/TSR-80 fps Phantom Maze before long.

Aside from that DNF is a tricky game to internally review - there are good bits (the driving sections for an fps are 1st class aside from the first one) clever but not working bits (barrels down the stairs near the end) and of course the weird graphics (a blend of 10 years tech and a drunk animator for the most part but with some extras trying to bring it up to date).

It's not bad - in fact it's bloody unique, like an evoling time capsule of a game. If you can rent it go ahead. It's about 6 hours long on PC ( double that on console due to increased loading times and shitty controller aiming).


Oh actually I just placed it. The same time Half Life 1 came out over here Sin came out the same week. I bought Sin because......the box art, I have no idea why I went for it - except half life wasn't actually very well advertised and the internet will still only just getting to full saturation. Anyway I bought Sin and loved it - then about a year later got around to playing HL and it blew my mind. I really hope DNF is going to be the counter point to a new game soon which will come from nowhere and explode the genre again.

This comment was edited on Jun 14, 2011, 19:33.
48.
 
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever
Jun 14, 2011, 19:13
48.
Re: Ships Ahoy - Duke Nukem Forever Jun 14, 2011, 19:13
Jun 14, 2011, 19:13
 
Ill be a monkeys uncle.
DON'T LIKE MY COMMENTS?!? THEN STOP RELEASING GARBAGE.
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67 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 1.
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