Duke Nukem Forever

[PressBot]

By Neil Schneider

Introduction
General Game Review
Nvidia Stereoscopic 3D Findings
DDD Stereoscopic 3D Findings
iZ3D Stereoscopic 3D Findings
Conclusion
Introduction

About fifteen years since Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem Forever is the much anticipated sequel by 3D Realms.  On again, off again, it really wasn’t clear to anyone if Duke Nukem Forever would actually make it to store shelves!  It finally has, and today we learn how this muscle bound alien fighter ranks in stereoscopic 3D, and whether or not it's a worthy follow-up.


General Game Review


How can I put you into the mind and lifestyle of this character?  You are Duke Nukem!  You are cool and full of muscles!  You are Duke Nukem!  Everybody wants you!  Everybody wants to be you!  You are Duke Nukem!  You have saved the world a million times over!  You are God’s gift to women!  You are Duke Nukem!  Braziers and women’s clothing are turned to itching cream around you!  You are Duke Nukem!  Every day of your life is lived as though you are the last man on earth.  You are Neil Schneider!  Oh wait…the game, the game!

Duke Nukem Forever takes place about twelve years after your character last saved the world.  Your success has become a Las Vegas joke.  I mean, how else should the man who saved the world live?  Your character gets sexually pleasured while playing video games (twins!), you live in a Vegas tower, you have your own TV show (about you), and your name and image have been franchised left, right, and center!

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[Synexious]

The warning about the mature content is advisable, but in the future, please leave personal opinions about who should be playing what at which age out of reviews. I started playing Mature-rated videogames before I was ten, as did many of my friends, and they didn't harm me at all, despite my alarmist parents' irrational horror whenever they saw the big 'M'.

[Neil]

Hi Aphradonis,

Thanks for your feedback. It's a review, and I think I have as much a right to share an opinion as anyone else. That's the whole purpose of writing a review.

Parents reading it can agree or disagree with me all they want, and there is nothing written there that will prevent them from making their own buying decisions for their kids. I could see how I would be criticized if I was taking the game off store shelves or restricting game developers on what they can and can't put in their games - that would be censorship. This is just an opinion to fellow parents out there.

Regards,
Neil

[Synexious]

Personally, I find it unfortunate that gamers propagate the myth that under no circumstances should anyone under 17 play a Mature-rated game. I agree that parents should be informed, which is why I supported your warning about the mature content, but disagreed with what seemed to me to be a blanket statement of fact that no under 17 should play this game. Different children have different maturity levels. I've watched Gamestop employees tell clueless parents that Call of Duty and Halo are equivalent to R-rated films, when really, M is (usually) more like PG-13. Besides, in other countries, a 17+ game is a 15+ game. The age numbers are arbitrary and ultimately meaningless. And certainly, GTA (or Duke Nukem) is not equivalent to Halo. When I was a freshman in high school I wrote a paper (which, incidentally, got me an "A") advocating the creation of ESRB T15, inspired by ESRB E10.

Years of having to go to friends' houses to play M-rated games has made me a staunch advocate of letting children decide for themselves what they should be playing, which I'm aware is a highly controversial position to take, but I think most parents would be shocked to know what their children are really exposed to on a daily basis - online, at friends' houses, and even at school. Officially, I wasn't allowed to see R-rated films until I was 17, yet I saw GoldenEye at a sleepover when I was 11 .

[Chiefwinston]

Aphradonis
This is not barbarion land. Dispite what kids think they know. They don't know squat. Parents have every right to restrict there childs exposure to barbarian land, as they see fit. Many of todays games give me pause. Do we really need interactive realistic violence , sex and sexual innuendo- Probably not. But the games are there. And many are not appropriate. That why I feel the Wii has been sucessful. I think a reviewer speaking to a broad demographic should point out the area's that proactive parent would want to know about. Its just being a good parent.

Welcome to barbarian land
cheers

[Neil]

Hi Aphradonis,

Ok, I'm guessing you haven't actually played Duke Nukem Forever. I mean, once you are comparing it to James Bond Golden Eye, it speaks volumes!

The ESRB has a firm process on defining appropriate age groups for games:

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't think I've done anything out of the ordinary, and there are pretty firm descriptions here.

Regards,
Neil

[Synexious]

I haven't played DNF, but I played the older games - on console and PC - as a kid. I'm aware that DNF has every Mature content descriptor (intentionally!). My main point is that, and we agree, GoldenEye and DNF are very different games, despite having the same rating, yet some parents simply see "M" and say "no way!" I mistakenly assumed that's the position you hold; my apologies.

[Synexious]

Aphradonis
This is not barbarion land. Dispite what kids think they know. They don't know squat.

Lol, I can personally attest that I knew far more than my parents thought I knew about "realistic violence , sex and sexual innuendo" from a young age, and most of it I learned from word of mouth at school, not media.

And many are not appropriate.

A subjective statement, of course. What one parent finds appropriate another will not, and what one child finds appropriate a parent will not. I think that many of today's games "give you pause" is simply yet another repeat in the inevitable generation gap - comics were harmful to children, then rock and roll, and now violent videogames. There's a constant evolution here

Welcome to barbarian land

majQa'

[Chiefwinston]

Thanks for the review Neil. This is one game I will be playing at some point. Me and the Duke are old pales. The original game is the first FPS that I played all the way through. Its a shame it took so long for this to come to completion. I hope this is a franchise that gets resurrected. I like games that are outragous and very humorous.

cheers everyone

[cybereality]

Well I haven't played DNF yet but I've seen some screenshots and the game certain deserves a "Mature" rating, maybe it should even be "Adults Only". Seriously, its bordering on straight-up porn. Not that I have a problem with that personally (and for me, its actually a selling-point), but people should know what they are getting into when they buy this title.

[android78]

I think anyone arguing about the advice to parents really needs to play the game.
Thank you Neil for (finally) a review of this game that I can get behind. This is a very controversial game and I can understand that there are a lot of reviewers who are getting their backs up because of the humor that appears to be aimed at a 12yo boy (yes, sexist, but I think apt given the content) and graphics that are neither hyper-real (COD/Battlefield) or modern. But, if you are able to get past the immaturity of it, some lines that will make even the most devout duke fan cringe a little, and graphics that should have been released 7 years ago, you can really have some fun with this game.
BTW. When I say 'humor that appears to be aimed at 12yo boy' I mean that it is of the same level of sophistication, not that I think it should be a 12yo that should be playing this game given that it's very adult content.
I have to say that this game won't appeal to everyone. So if you are very put of by crude, immature and sometimes puerile humor, I have to suggest that it's not for you. If you (like me) are still able to pretend you are that 12yo boy and just mess about, then you will be in for something different.
Please be aware that I am not one for censorship to the point of content such as this being held from everyone under the age of 17, I agree that this is something that a parent needs to decide. Given the wide range of material that is available under the same rating, I think letting parents know that this is above normal in regards to the pornographic/drug references/suggestive language/etc, is a good idea. If a parent thinks their kid can handle it, then fine... but they should be informed first.

All up, good review. I just wish I had a PC that could handle this now so I could try it in 3D. The XBox version is ok, but no 3d option and quite dated graphics.

[Neil]

The following is an excerpt of a blog article.  Read Full Article

By Neil Schneider IntroductionGeneral Game ReviewNvidia Stereoscopic 3D FindingsDDD Stereoscopic 3D FindingsiZ3D Stereoscopic 3D FindingsConclusion Introduction About fifteen years since Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem Forever is the much anticipated sequel by 3D Realms.  On again, off again, it really wasn’t clear to anyone if Duke Nukem Forever would actually make it to store shelves!  It finally has, and today we learn how this muscle bound alien fighter ranks in stereoscopic 3D, and whether or not it's a worthy follow-up. General Game Review DDD TriDef Ignition 3.2.59 Beta How can I put you into the mind and lifestyle of ...