Duke Nukem Forever is actually a great game (for oldschool fans)

how do the levels stack up next to Hollywood Holocaust?

They don't. They're not distinctly setup and self-contained like the Duke 3D levels are. They're largely singular paths that take you through the campaign with a side attraction or two on the way (like picking a turd out of a toilet or playing a stationary turret segment) and little to no free-form exploration, only exploration where it is allowed (pretty much nowhere). I don't recall if the game even had any secrets...
 
It's terrible.

Yes I played the whole thing. Small sections show promise, and then it goes to shit repeatedly. It's a bad Half Life 2 clone, a decade late.

The gun play is completely hampered by the weapon limit.

The cool things to play with in levels just repeat after the first two hours.

I have never seen a game as uneven as DNF. Never. When you walk outside of the Casino... my god. The dip in graphical quality is utterly shocking. SHOCKING.

As for the humour or satire? It's like an impressionist that still just does DeNiro, Schwarzeneggar, Clinton and Pacino. Get some remotely current material. This ground was already much better covered by the original, which remains a much more enjoyable game.
 
OP is right, I loved every bit of the game & I admired everything there was to see.
It was a great experience.
 
Breaking news, modern gamers have trouble with humor.
But it wasn't funny, it's just... there. It just happens.

"Looks like you're... fucked."

"But it was our first time... with an alien."

"Duke, we'll get the weight off in like a week, we swear!"

*girls explode*



YEAH THATS FUCKIN HILARIOUS!
 
It's weird, I know this game kinda sucks in a lot of ways, but I don't care. I went in with low expectations and just wanted to play a new Duke game, and considering that, I had fun with it. Yeah, the hive scene was a little tasteless, but it didn't phase me personally. It's still just a video game after all, and there are plenty of games with tasteless immature content that I still enjoy.

I actually beat the damn game, and I kinda enjoyed it, mostly. The 2 weapon limit was weird as fuck though (4 weapon patch improved it, but still).

OP I enjoyed it, but yeah, it's definitely not an old school shooter.
 
yeeeaaah, I'm going to have say that if you didn't have a problem with The Hive, you probably have more problems than just bad taste.

I liked aspects of the game, but that level I could have done without.
 
I played Doom and Doom 2 for the first time recently and I'd love to see more new releases with the design sensibilities of those games.

Are there any modern day FPS games that focus on labyrinthine navigation as well as shooting stuff in the face with an emphasis on solid level design? Am I insane for asking this?
 
Are there any modern day FPS games that focus on labyrinthine navigation as well as shooting stuff in the face with an emphasis on solid level design? Am I insane for asking this?

Rise of the Triad (2013), Serious Sam series (sorta)

Hard Reset and Shadow Warrior (2013) are close but are still very linear especially when compared to the original Shadow Warrior and games like Doom 1 & 2.
 
This game desperately needs a documentary, I know I would buy one. Really, a detailed history of this game possibly showcasing builds with levels, bosses, characters, etc we didn't get to see with the story as to how they got from the initial version of the game spanning all the way until the final product would be extremely cool. It sounds like they had some great ideas with this game that just... got cut or homogenized in some way for one reason or another. I'd really love to read or see people discuss its history.
 
Breaking news, modern gamers have trouble with humor.

I read this as "modern games have trouble with humour" and thought that was quite a good observation. There aren't very many funny games released.

While I've not played DNF I have seen footage of the hive and didn't find it remotely funny. I'm not sure who would.
 
The paradoxically simultaneous loss and double-down of self-awareness and subsequent filling of gross stuff

This. DNF also has the most jarring tonal shift of any game I've ever played. If it were not for Colonial Marines, I would also label it the worst game I've ever played. Duke Nukem Forever is completely abysmal on every level.
 
Both the meaningless interactivity and cheesy cultural zeitgeist in D3D were the window dressing on a game already full of brilliant ideas and perfect design. In DNF they made the window dressing the entire game, making the fun interactivity a pace-destroying exercise in tedium, and the cheesy humor evolved into something crude, mean-spirited and a little repulsive. And you can blame all of the terrible 'console' trappings like weapon limits and regenerating health on Broussard, whose grand vision of the ultimate fps is to steal everything from everyone and cram it into his unholy Frankenstein's monster game.

That said, as much as the game is utterly frustrating and disappointing in nearly every way, I didn't hate it, not enough to keep me from finishing it at least. There were a handful of neat fights and the weapons weren't terrible
the air hockey was pretty fun too...
. It could just be that even 3 years later I'm still desperate to convince myself that my devotion to this game since my early years of high school hasn't been a total bust. :(

Also no, there is nothing 'old school' about it and even suggesting it is an insult to those games and the people that like them. :P

This game desperately needs a documentary, I know I would buy one. Really, a detailed history of this game possibly showcasing builds with levels, bosses, characters, etc we didn't get to see with the story as to how they got from the initial version of the game spanning all the way until the final product would be extremely cool. It sounds like they had some great ideas with this game that just... got cut or homogenized in some way for one reason or another. I'd really love to read or see people discuss its history.

Going by some of the disgruntled dev posts that surfaced in the last few years, it would be a pretty grim and depressing documentary.

I'd love to see more of the 1998 build of the game with Bombshell though. That was back when the game seemed to have the most solid vision and direction before Broussard went batshit insane.
 
I've been playing FPS games since Wolfenstein 3D. This game was pure shit. Terrible level design and some of the most unsatisfying shooting ever, complete with the most lame gimmick levels I've ever had to grind my teeth though. Pick any other FPS at random, and there's a 99% chance it's better than this.
 
There's nothing old-school about it, it's a modern shooter at its absolute worst. Wrack is an old school shooter, this is a piece of shit.

Are there any modern day FPS games that focus on labyrinthine navigation as well as shooting stuff in the face with an emphasis on solid level design? Am I insane for asking this?

Yes, Wrack and to a lesser extent RoTT2013 (though that game was severely hamstrung by checkpoint saves).
 
To give the game credit... I did play it to the end. There's plenty of better games that has failed to hold my interest that long.

Not that this was a particularity long game.

Also, the game was pretty "interactive". The shrink/grow stuff I haven't seen anywhere else, and there were a few memorable puzzles.

Picked it up for $2, and couldn't stomach it for more than 10 minutes. My coworker offered to buy it off me for $2, and regretted it soon after.
Terrible game in every way.

The first hour was the worst. IIRC it took that long before you got things to shoot.

I got the Steam version though. =/

Oh! You're talking about in the game itself.

I LOLed.
 
But Doom is also a linear game?

lol?

Because the levels had ONE exit?

S75BvyN.jpg


The review by Acorn Films was the best one for this turd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=845qGSY8dIA Nails all the flaws.
 
One day I'll buy this for two dollars, I'm way too curious about it. As someone who doesn't play FPS and has never played Duke Nukem. The train wreck nature of this game is somehow alluring.
 
I just recalled that there's DLC for this game. I've heard the DLC is more like the original, I'm going to have to try it out.

Here's my original 'review' for DNF:

I've played for 99 minutes now (according to steam). It's boring. Just plain dull and boring. Lame graphics, poor animations and dull gunplay. The most intense part involved teleporting enemies, a flying fat guy and a few pig cops running around… That after 99 minutes.

I can't quite get into words how booooring this game is, so check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Yngipvz6M

USAians, do yourself a favor and cancel your preorders.

It's odd that they released DNF in Europe first. Wonder if any Americans dodged this game thanks to that.
 
Better shooters:

Time Shift, Jericho, Quake 4, Far Cry Classic, Metro, Deadfall Adventures, Crysis 1,2,3, halo 3, reach, odst, Halo anniversery, Halo 4, rage, medal of honor airborne, warfigher, serious sam 1, 2, 3,

Theres really SO many shooters that are unique and underrated enough that you can give them your time.
 
It's okay liking it for whatever reason, but a great game it is not. It isn't even mediocre, it is pure trash. Graphics and story aside (which were so damn terrible), the gameplay is weak. How come Halo CE got it right in 2001 but Duke Nukem couldn't even match that? It came out 10 years later, but played worse.

Fucking shit game. Shit, shit, shit, shit fucking shit. Disgraceful game. When it does everything you expect from an FPS but at such a piss-poor standard, it makes it terrible.

Aliasing galore, terrible loading times, terrible gameplay, stupid plot and lame ass jokes that a retarded 8 year old could come up with, super linear, stupid remote control car sections and a fuckass game.

It wouldn't have been a good game 10 years ago.

EDIT:

Oh yeah I forgot; Hi Randy! Nice knowing ya!
 
I enjoyed myself. I never expected it to live up to it's lofty expectations, because let's face it, even if it was a good game back in 2002, it still would feel rather dated.

Which ironically enough was the allure for me. Playing a "lost" game from a different era was pretty cool.
 
I own the game but haven't played it yet. Based on others' impressions I thought that the game wasn't actually that old school. A lot of people compared it to HL2 more than DN3D or Doom in terms of level design. Isn't it a very linear corridor shooter with regenerating health?
It feels like a weird mix of a late 90s fps (like SiN) mixed with mid-2000 design elements to me.
 
DNF is weaksauce.

Play Hard Reset, Shadow Warrior, and Rise of the Triad.

I love old school games, but seriously, Hard Reset is dull as shit, the same coupel of enemies and the same locations over and over, with weak ass gunplay. And ROTT 2013 was just awful. People just refused to admit it sucked because they were afraid to look not hardcore enough or something. I grew up with the maze like maps of Doom and Duke, and even i had to admit after 4 hours of ROTT, that it was absolute garbage. The only good game there is Shadow Warrior
 
I love old school games, but seriously, Hard Reset is dull as shit, the same coupel of enemies and the same locations over and over, with weak ass gunplay. And ROTT 2013 was just awful. People just refused to admit it sucked because they were afraid to look not hardcore enough or something. I grew up with the maze like maps of Doom and Duke, and even i had to admit after 4 hours of ROTT, that it was absolute garbage. The only good game there is Shadow Warrior
I absolutely hate Hard Reset as well (Duke Forever is a better game as far as I'm concerned), but ROTT 2013?

It has its issues but I had a blast with it and found that it was one of the only modern shooters I've played that actually nailed old school level design. Shadow Warrior certainly did not (it's just a linear romp with constant action most of the time). ROTT is very much designed in the style of Doom and it works great.
 
After 4 hours of ROTT, i had seen approximately one type of enemy, suffered with one of, if not the worst boss fights ive ever come across in a game (the end of chapter one, the guy in the crane thing), found the weapons to be boring, puny feeling pea shooters, with none of the feedback or feel of power you get from say Killing Floor, awful, awful voice work, repetitive as shit areas, poor performance regardless of settings, irritating faux-metal soundtrack, and some of the worst checkpointing ive seen since 'all dat juice' in Gears 1.
Seriously, ROTT 2013 is a straight up poor game, and all the maze like level design in the world cant save it.
 
I think it was very unsatisfying, sadly.
I feel it has the worst of both worlds, modern and classic shooters, and I'm sure I had much more fun with some classic shooters like quake, duke3d and some modern shooters like crysis.

shadow warrior got the better remake
 
Hard Reset and ROTT 2013 are both great games IMO. ROTT 2013 is the definition of a remake, it's very much like the old ROTT game (with a few changes) and that was their aim. It's also been patched and now has quick save/load which works well, performance is great now too.

Shadow Warrior is the best game from that lot I agree, but I certainly don't agree about ROTT 2013 and Hard Reset being bad games, far from it.
 
I bought Duke Nukem Forever day one, with the full expectation of it being dreadful. I was open to being proven wrong; after all, I'd been waiting to play it for nearly a decade.

I wasn't proven wrong.

It ended up being the nastiest, ugliest mix of new and old possible. Things like weapon limits and regenerative health were slapped on while the "humour" played like a clueless attempt to up-the-ante on what Duke 3D did by just making it "edgier" (read: less charming, more unpleasant).

It picked up every stupid, worthless idea of what made Duke Nukem great and milked them dry. I'm not sure at which point along the journey people decided that strippers and sex were critical parts of the franchise, but I found myself wishing they hadn't around the time I was fetch-questing for a dildo.

Perhaps the biggest crime of all was that it just played like sludge. I'm playing the Forever mod for Duke Nukem 3D at the moment, and it's a blast. Fast, responsive action with tons of weapons, interesting environments and plenty of enemies. It's a world away from Duke Nukem Forever.
 
For old school gamers?

That was the main reason why I disliked it. It was too torn between appealing to the old school crowd and the new generation of FPS fans that it was some weird amalgamation of both that failed to satisfy either. Game wasn't cinematic and had good enough characterization and characters for the new generation, the game was too plodding slow, had a weapon limit, boring weapons, linear level design, cover based shooting which turned off old school gamers wanting something that makes Duke Nukem 3D look shit in comparison.

Serious Sam 3 BFE despite all of its failings and attempts at doing similar thing to Duke Nukem Forever was the infinitely better game.
 
I personally thought it was a fine game. The DLC really did shine though compared to vanilla DNF.

As far as the hive scene, I'm not sure why people are getting in a huff over it. People had the same reactions to DN3D when it came out too, and hell, even my fiance didn't find the humor to be 'offensive'.
 
It's not a great game, but it's a lot better than critics claimed. Had some bad graphics and load times is all. Comedy was good and the stupid stuff you could do was satisfying.
 
OP might have lost his memory if he grew up with Doom and Unreal? Remember the semi-open level design of the time? Exploration? Searching for items? Hunting for secrets?
If you call this game oldschool you are insulting an entire generation of shooters.
 
Hard Reset and ROTT 2013 are both great games IMO. ROTT 2013 is the definition of a remake, it's very much like the old ROTT game (with a few changes) and that was their aim. It's also been patched and now has quick save/load which works well, performance is great now too.

Shadow Warrior is the best game from that lot I agree, but I certainly don't agree about ROTT 2013 and Hard Reset being bad games, far from it.

Its better than DNF at least :D
I just didnt get on with it, i liked it at first but by the time i got to that boss id had enough. Kinda the same with Hard Reset, i loved the look of it at first, but it just went nowhere. Just the same locations and enemies over and over.
Loved, loved Shadow Warrior tho. One of my favourites from last year for sure.
 
I enjoyed it simply so I could say that I played it and found a few sections pretty enjoyable and enjoyed the variety in gameplay as well, but I can't really recommend it to anyone.

Someone made a mod of the game (Or is it a DN3D mod?) that takes what was seen in what seems like all of the trailers and leaked gameplay and puts it in one package as to what they thought the final product might have looked like. With Duke 3D visuals of course. Definitely worth a look for any Duke fans who might want to try a better version of the game if they were disappointed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C3SKDwFh-8

Be warned though, it's a Let's Play with an annoying voice over the entire thing. Lame jokes abound.

Is that Duke Nukem Forever 2011 remade, or what we know exists of DNF 2001? Because it actually looks pretty good.

If nothing else, this thread reminded me of DN3D Megaton Edition coming to Vita soon. I'll definitely pick that up; looking forward to playing it again.
 
Is that Duke Nukem Forever 2011 remade, or what we know exists of DNF 2001? Because it actually looks pretty good.

It's heavily based on the 2001 trailer. I'm not certain what the main sources of inspiration were besides that, but it seems pretty faithful to the vibe the trailer gave off.
 
This shit isnt like old school doomlikes at all. And worse, unlike the fast paced violence of Serious Sam types pretending to be doom clones, its a piece of shit with boring linear levels, subpar shooting and enemies, a weapon limit and misses the mark so much on the corny offensive humor I wonder if the people behind the project even played Duke Nukem 3D.
 
OP might have lost his memory if he grew up with Doom and Unreal? Remember the semi-open level design of the time? Exploration? Searching for items? Hunting for secrets?
If you call this game oldschool you are insulting an entire generation of shooters.

semi-open level design and hunting for secrets doesn't make games oldschool
 
Top Bottom