Duke Nukem Forever, Finally [PC]

Hail to the King, baby! After 12+ years Duke is back to save us from the aliens again. The single player campaign is filled with raunchy toilet humor that probably smoking the ganj can only make funny. Duke Nukem Forever also brings back some nostalgic things like the freeze and shrink rays, as well as strippers and their money makers. The unfortunate thing about Duke is it was finished 2 years ago, so the graphics engine and shooting mechanics are dated for this day and age of shooters like Crysis.

Duke Nukem Forever starts with Duke draining his Nukem in a stadium’s locker room, and proceeds to kick some alien ass in a scene that reminds me of Inception. This is where shit hits the fan and the aliens start to move in. The setting in the beginning is a ruined Las Vegas, a nice change of pace from the NYC’s and Washington D.C.’s we see in games too often. The two big goals of the campaign is to “save the chicks,” in Duke’s own words, from the Duke Dome in which the aliens have taken over and converted into a freaky sex/reproduction site…I almost wish this game was made in Japan because of this scenario. The other is to stop the invasion portal the aliens have set up over the Hoover Dam, and of course there’s some time for R&R in a strip club in between these important missions.

As mentioned above, the graphics are dated and shooting seems clunky and some weapons just don’t seem to have the power they should be letting out. One of the most enjoyable parts of the game was messing with the white board in the beginning, which shouldn’t be the case, I signed up for a FPS, not MS Paint. There is some bad ass cinematic moments that make the game worth a rental at least, but those moment come too few and far between the endless corridors and puzzles that had me kicking myself in the ass after I wasted too much time on them.

It is this humble Barbarian’s opinion that 2K Games published this 2 years too late, it would have gotten a better reception me thinks. Though one feature I though cool was after I beat the game they have a section to view trailers they have released since 1998, seeing all the graphic engines they use and how the game evolved. If you are one that enjoys toilet humor, and what stoner doesn’t, right? Duke will be entertaining if you can look past the bugs and linear game play. Duke, we waited so long for you, but you let us down, I’ve got to give the King…

7.8 out of 12