canadian crowe said:
The consensus seems to be all over the place for this. Is it worth getting for $40? I haven't played an fps since killzone 3, and I just want an entertaining game that will last more than 4 hours and that might be fun to play through certain levels over again.
It's probably an 8 hour game, and I though some of the levels were pretty good. I think it's worth $40, but going in you should know that:
1) DNF looks and plays like a Xbox1-era FPS. It is more or less a Half Life 2/Halo knock-off set in the Duke universe (characters, enemies, weapons, locations).
The game is all about variety in the gameplay, even if some of it isn't particularly well designed or implemented. For example, early on the game requires you to pull a safety-brake and stop a free-falling elevator. There's a woman on the elevator screaming for you to pull the brake the entire time, but if you pull too soon the brake overheats and you'll probably die. This section is easy once you figure out when to pull the brake, but the game doesn't explain anything except for which button pulls the brake. You might die a couple of times figuring it out. The game is full of sequences like that: platforming, driving, swimming, puzzles, and minigames of variable quality that are there to break up the combat.
The combat itself is probably the most 90's thing about DNF's gameplay since the weapons, items, and enemies are straight out of DN3D. The shotgun sends aliens flying, the steroids act like Doom's berserk powerup, the shrinker preps enemies for stomping, and the devestator is a classic room-clearing mega weapon. Don't forget to aim for the exploding barrels! I wish the game gave access to the more interesting weapons earlier than it does, but I quite liked the combat in DNF anyway.
2) The game has some technical issues on consoles. 30 second load times between levels and after each death for both PS3 and 360. Both versions have some blurry textures. 360 version has issues with tearing. PS3 performs pretty well other than the loading. PC version is the way to go if you have the option. I played the PS3 version and was fine with everything except the loading.
3) The game revels in gross situations, machismo, and silliness. Juvenile, low-brow humor abounds. I got a kick out of all the cheese. Your mileage may vary.