Some of us in the Maxim office quite like to lead our lives based around the exploits of Duke. None of us manage to pull it off (HEH) but that doesn't stop us from trying.
It's been a long, long wait since Duke Nukem 3D to the release of Duke Nukem: Forever. The need for Duke's next outing to be perfect was largely what held him up... shortly followed by a lack of money, but then a shimmering light named Randy Pitchford came down from the skies and brought Dukester back from the dead.
A huge chunk of our inner beings have been quite... nervous about Duke Nukem: Forever. Can a game that has been in development for 12 years live up to the hype? Can Duke come out on top (HEH)? Can you really bet on Duke?
If you look at things from that perspective, the short answer is quite simple. Not really, no.
But if you look at Duke for what he is, what he stands for, and what's expected of him, then yes, Duke does triumph.
Sort of.
The graphics are a bit lacking, the controls are quite clunky, sometimes you will be wandering around in one of the many corridors not really being sure of where to go, but IT'S DUKE GOD DAMNIT!
Aliens have come back to earth (again), taken our babes (again), only one man can save them and kick the alien's butts back into space (again), with his arsenal of (the same original) weapons assisting him in doing so. Incase you still aren't getting it, it's very much the same Duke. Near enough identical in fact... yet we can't help but love him.
Multiplayer modes are good for a laugh, with Dukematch, Team Dukematch, Hail to the King and lastly Capture the Babe. Capture the Babe obviously being Duke's take on Capture the Flag, where a Babe is the flag, and you have to smack her on the botty to keep her in check should she get upset about being a flag.
Not that we condone taking part in such things.
We still can't forgive him for some of the bigger problems in the game though. The horrendous loading times, the uninspired and frustrating as hell boss encounters and the often total lack of direction that plagues your progress.
All in all, Duke Nukem: Forever is not the game many were hoping it to be, but it does feel like the game it's supposed to be, bar with some highly irritating bits that shouldn't be there. Despite those, Duke will keep you smiling with his ever present humour (it also helps if you enjoy flinging poop), and the babes will keep you kicking alien ass to make sure you can save the f*cking day.
All games for Maxim.co.uk are reviewed using the Mad Catz Tritton series of headsets!
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