Coming to you from 1997... Duke Nukem Forever
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Alessa Gillespie
a letter to my future self
- AKA
- Sansa Stark, Sweet Bro, Feferi, tentacleTherapist, Nin, Aki, Catwoman, Shinjiro Aragaki, Terezi, Princess Bubblegum
who wants to bet this guy had a reservation back in 97
Hisako
消えないひさ&#
- AKA
- Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
lol
ED: I find Serious Sam 3 to look far more promising than DNF as the gameplay looks genuinely hectic and fun and the trailer left a lasting impression (lol blatant Reaper silhouetting) that the gameplay itself would be both a throwback and a blast to play through
Which is ironic considering the point of Serious Sam
Super Mario
IT'S A ME!
- AKA
- Jesse McCree. I feel like a New Man
This game was not worth the wait :' (
X-SOLDIER
Harbinger O Great Justice
- AKA
- X
I have to agree with Inter on this one.
I'm not sure what some people were expecting, especially because it's very obviously built from the remnants of what 3D Realms managed to put together, stitched together in Unreal 2.5 and completed by Gearbox. It's nowhere near what the current games are putting out, or even a 'proper' sequel (like if Gearbox built a Duke Nukem game from the ground up), but that's not really what I was expecting from it. I have, so far, been enjoying myself quite a bit with the game but that's because it's meeting my expectations so far. That said, I only played a little way into Vegas last night, but I spent a lot of time dicking around on the optional elements, like winning a game of pool, and looking for / messing with all of the interactive elements I could find.
For anyone looking for the other side of opinions, this is one of the more positive reviews, although this is the review that I most agree with. There are also a few decent points in Kotaku's reader rebuttal.
X
Interslicery
.....
If anything, this gives Gearbox the opportunity to get DNF out of the way, and make a proper sequel since they purchased the franchise, not just DNF.
X-SOLDIER
Harbinger O Great Justice
- AKA
- X
That's what I've been thinking too while playing it. Inside all of the old graphics and gameplay mechanics, I think that they're looking for what the Duke Nukem fans start defending about the game. Using this game to see what the audience wants and what the critics bitch about is a good move if they do plan on continuing the franchise 'properly.' (And let's be honest, if they'd just left DNF by the roadside and hadn't finished it, it wouldn't have shown the same level of insane commitment that the older fans would be looking for by someone looking to make a new game).
Also - the Balls of Steel edition comic was pretty damn funny (SMART SHARKS), and apparently IDW is making more of them, so there's obviously an interest in bringing Duke back properly. There's a "making of" booklet that came with it as well (in addition to the dice, cards, poker chips, and other images), but I somehow forgot to look it over last night. I'm sure it's got some relevant information about what the development process of DNF actually consisted of, and I'll post about it when I look over it later, unless I can find a proper review of it online before then.
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Cthulhu
Administrator
- AKA
- Yop
The game sucks balls, imho, 
. Graphics are of a pre-Half-Life (2?) era, animations are shit, gameplay and shooting stuff is rather stiff, story can be ignored as there is none, one-liners are kinda dull (they were back then too), and I have to struggle to go ahead and finish it, if I can even motivate to go do that. It's a game from 2000, with graphics polished up to a few years later, but that's about it .
They could take the franchise up to the current level though. Spend two or three years on a DN game with modern gameplay (and, going against the trend, no shooting down sights ), take hints from Serious Sam, get someone to make a good story and jokes and the like, and go for it.
. Graphics are of a pre-Half-Life (2?) era, animations are shit, gameplay and shooting stuff is rather stiff, story can be ignored as there is none, one-liners are kinda dull (they were back then too), and I have to struggle to go ahead and finish it, if I can even motivate to go do that. It's a game from 2000, with graphics polished up to a few years later, but that's about it .They could take the franchise up to the current level though. Spend two or three years on a DN game with modern gameplay (and, going against the trend, no shooting down sights
), take hints from Serious Sam, get someone to make a good story and jokes and the like, and go for it.
Max Payne
Banned
- AKA
- Leon S. Kennedy,Terry Bogard, The Dark Knight, Dacon, John Marston, Teal'c
Serious Sam is guaranteed to be a better game than DNF. Fuck sake the HD remakes are better games.
Hisako
消えないひさ&#
- AKA
- Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
Funny Yop mentioned ironsights, though, since there seems to be gameplay involving aiming down a cookie-cutter holographic sight assault rifle in BFE.
Although then again there also seems to be gameplay involving straight-out punching things or sledgehammers to the face, sooooooo
Also, shooters need more destruction physics in games these days.
Although then again there also seems to be gameplay involving straight-out punching things or sledgehammers to the face, sooooooo
Also, shooters need more destruction physics in games these days.
Max Payne
Banned
- AKA
- Leon S. Kennedy,Terry Bogard, The Dark Knight, Dacon, John Marston, Teal'c
A shit game. Which is exactly what it is. A shitty game with a terrible sense of humor, mediocre level design, and terrible, terrible set pieces.
X-SOLDIER
Harbinger O Great Justice
- AKA
- X
So, in reading through the booklet on the making of the game, I actually learned quite a bit about the development process that it went through, that I didn't know about before, that will explain a bit about how I feel about the game.
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The game was being built on the Quake Engine, but when they started making the Hoover Dam level, they began to run into limitations, and on one oft he other Alien levels they actually maxed out the number of brushes that the engine could handle, and their option was either stop being so creative, or move to another engine that would do what they wanted. That was the beginning of the long series of delays.
Jump forward a long while up to when 3D Realms went under.
Even after that happened, there were 10 guys from the team, who made their own gaming studio out of one of their houses, and kept trying to finish the game to ensure that it got out at all. They're the "Triptych Studios" listed along with 3D Realms and Gearbox. Some time around then, Gearbox came in and picked them up and helped them get the game code ported to consoles, polished, and released.
Most of the parts from Randy Pitchford talk about how getting this game completed was first and foremost about releasing what had been created by their large group of friends. He makes a really nice analogy about a lot of the reason that they picked up the game, and really wanted it to get released. There are also a few small bits where he talks about some of his ideas, but how this isn't his Duke Nukem game, it's the game that everyone at 3D Realms and Triptych put together that Gearbox helped them to complete.
It's hard to say that properly without taking credit away from whichever studio contributed what, but that's the closest approximation that I can get to explaining it without the book on hand. Releasing this game was first and foremost a mission to complete something for their friends, and to make sure that they actually had something for all their work and dedication.
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I think that a lot of the reviewers were assuming that Gearbox was taking the game, and bringing everything up to be relevant / modern. The complaints about the jokes and much of the game feeling like it's from the late 90's, is because that's true. If you aren't expecting a game to be essentially torn out of that era with a few minor changes, you're going to be disappointed. Period. Likewise, if you're not into the type of humor in the game from the first few minutes (it's very obviously not everyone's thing), there's going to be a vast majority of the game you find to be seriously unfunny/offensive/boring. If both of these things make you not want to play the game - don't. It's really not a game that was made for you, and you more than likely won't enjoy it.
I think that Gearbox stepping in somehow set the expectation with a lot of folks that they were taking creative control, and making Duke Nukem Forever into a game, to really, properly bring Duke into 2011 up to par with all the current gen games and modernized, which isn't what happened at all. Duke Nukem Forever was released as the Duke Nukem Forever that was built by the people who worked on it, and did the most to keep their creative vision as intact and unchanged as possible, for better or worse. Personally, this game reminds me of being ~12, and my best friend's older brother had Duke 3D, and he'd let us play it when his/our parents weren't around. Playing DNF really feels like a shameless indulgence to my 13-year-old-self, and I'm ok with that.
Honestly, I'd really be interested in seeing what a truly modernized version of a Duke Nukem game would be, built from the ground up, with Gearbox 100% at the helm, especially given some of the ideas that seem to have been sparked by helping to finish this game. I think that this is something that most of the critics were looking for when playing DNF, and seems like it may have been an expectation that was set a little bit with the press releases, but it's tough to fault someone on writing a negative review for "not having the right expectations" of a game released along with other modern titles, especially when they're supposed to convince other people whether or not to get the game.
Really, if you were actually someone who was waiting for DNF, and are just expecting DNF, you probably won't be disappointed. If you're midly interested, maybe rent it, but don't expect to be blown away. That being said, if Gearbox does ever decide to make a proper Duke Nukem sequel in the future, they'll need to set the bar significantly higher to make it worth the purchase, because they have no reason not to be able to make it into a really well done game (and that's coming from someone who's currently enjoying DNF for what it is).
X
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The game was being built on the Quake Engine, but when they started making the Hoover Dam level, they began to run into limitations, and on one oft he other Alien levels they actually maxed out the number of brushes that the engine could handle, and their option was either stop being so creative, or move to another engine that would do what they wanted. That was the beginning of the long series of delays.
Jump forward a long while up to when 3D Realms went under.
Even after that happened, there were 10 guys from the team, who made their own gaming studio out of one of their houses, and kept trying to finish the game to ensure that it got out at all. They're the "Triptych Studios" listed along with 3D Realms and Gearbox. Some time around then, Gearbox came in and picked them up and helped them get the game code ported to consoles, polished, and released.
Most of the parts from Randy Pitchford talk about how getting this game completed was first and foremost about releasing what had been created by their large group of friends. He makes a really nice analogy about a lot of the reason that they picked up the game, and really wanted it to get released. There are also a few small bits where he talks about some of his ideas, but how this isn't his Duke Nukem game, it's the game that everyone at 3D Realms and Triptych put together that Gearbox helped them to complete.
It's hard to say that properly without taking credit away from whichever studio contributed what, but that's the closest approximation that I can get to explaining it without the book on hand. Releasing this game was first and foremost a mission to complete something for their friends, and to make sure that they actually had something for all their work and dedication.
--------------
I think that a lot of the reviewers were assuming that Gearbox was taking the game, and bringing everything up to be relevant / modern. The complaints about the jokes and much of the game feeling like it's from the late 90's, is because that's true. If you aren't expecting a game to be essentially torn out of that era with a few minor changes, you're going to be disappointed. Period. Likewise, if you're not into the type of humor in the game from the first few minutes (it's very obviously not everyone's thing), there's going to be a vast majority of the game you find to be seriously unfunny/offensive/boring. If both of these things make you not want to play the game - don't. It's really not a game that was made for you, and you more than likely won't enjoy it.
I think that Gearbox stepping in somehow set the expectation with a lot of folks that they were taking creative control, and making Duke Nukem Forever into a game, to really, properly bring Duke into 2011 up to par with all the current gen games and modernized, which isn't what happened at all. Duke Nukem Forever was released as the Duke Nukem Forever that was built by the people who worked on it, and did the most to keep their creative vision as intact and unchanged as possible, for better or worse. Personally, this game reminds me of being ~12, and my best friend's older brother had Duke 3D, and he'd let us play it when his/our parents weren't around. Playing DNF really feels like a shameless indulgence to my 13-year-old-self, and I'm ok with that.
Honestly, I'd really be interested in seeing what a truly modernized version of a Duke Nukem game would be, built from the ground up, with Gearbox 100% at the helm, especially given some of the ideas that seem to have been sparked by helping to finish this game. I think that this is something that most of the critics were looking for when playing DNF, and seems like it may have been an expectation that was set a little bit with the press releases, but it's tough to fault someone on writing a negative review for "not having the right expectations" of a game released along with other modern titles, especially when they're supposed to convince other people whether or not to get the game.
Really, if you were actually someone who was waiting for DNF, and are just expecting DNF, you probably won't be disappointed. If you're midly interested, maybe rent it, but don't expect to be blown away. That being said, if Gearbox does ever decide to make a proper Duke Nukem sequel in the future, they'll need to set the bar significantly higher to make it worth the purchase, because they have no reason not to be able to make it into a really well done game (and that's coming from someone who's currently enjoying DNF for what it is).
X
Hisako
消えないひさ&#
- AKA
- Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
To be honest, if there's an intellectual property that's been handed down through many... developers over the course of more than a decade, I'm pretty sure there are going to be some chinks in the armour and some good things about the game lost in translation
And yes, I'd probably be more inclined to view a 100% Gearbox Duke Nukem game more positively, for the sake of creative consistency if not anything else
And yes, I'd probably be more inclined to view a 100% Gearbox Duke Nukem game more positively, for the sake of creative consistency if not anything else
X-SOLDIER
Harbinger O Great Justice
- AKA
- X
So, I beat the game this weekend, and now feel that I can judge it more fairly. I quite enjoyed myself. It's far from perfect, in gameplay or graphics, and when looking at the PC version, it's absolutely beautiful in comparison to the console ports. Gameplay-wise, there were 1-2 parts that I ran into that felt really unfair / broken (Octaking boss fight being the absolute worst of them), but aside from that, I really didn't have any issues, and had fun playing it through.
I fail to see how the humor was overly offensive (given what was expected). I'm even more astonished as to why some people claimed the jokes were out of date. Continual one-liner-type humor aside, the only old one I noticed that was old was for The Princess Bride (RoUS's), but that's generally a timeless reference. There were jokes & other references to Portal, Borderlands, Halo, Gears of War, Dead Space, & even Inception, and I don't think any of those are really outdated.
There was the PR guy who got fired about his comment on Twitter about not sending preview copies to folks who gave negative reviews. He has a response in a new article where it's obvious that he was just bent about the reviews that are reviewed and scored ridiculously low for no reason.
Overall, I think that while it's far from a perfect game, it didn't deserve a score like 3/10 by a long shot, and especially not the superior PC version. There's a video rant that I'll embed here that's rather long and full of lots of swearing about game reviewers not being fair with the game. I think it's well worth a watch - not just because it's about DNF being unfairly rated by some sites, but also because it talks about other reviewers/sites who overly inflate rating scores of other games, and how they seemingly never compare scores that they're giving out for a game against ones that they've done for other titles that year so their numbered scores are totally arbitrary and come off as overly biased. I also appreciated that he coems out and says that as a fanboy he said that he's like to give the game a 7-8, but really knows that based on the other games he's reviewed that it deserves a 6.5.
X
I fail to see how the humor was overly offensive (given what was expected). I'm even more astonished as to why some people claimed the jokes were out of date. Continual one-liner-type humor aside, the only old one I noticed that was old was for The Princess Bride (RoUS's), but that's generally a timeless reference. There were jokes & other references to Portal, Borderlands, Halo, Gears of War, Dead Space, & even Inception, and I don't think any of those are really outdated.
There was the PR guy who got fired about his comment on Twitter about not sending preview copies to folks who gave negative reviews. He has a response in a new article where it's obvious that he was just bent about the reviews that are reviewed and scored ridiculously low for no reason.
Overall, I think that while it's far from a perfect game, it didn't deserve a score like 3/10 by a long shot, and especially not the superior PC version. There's a video rant that I'll embed here that's rather long and full of lots of swearing about game reviewers not being fair with the game. I think it's well worth a watch - not just because it's about DNF being unfairly rated by some sites, but also because it talks about other reviewers/sites who overly inflate rating scores of other games, and how they seemingly never compare scores that they're giving out for a game against ones that they've done for other titles that year so their numbered scores are totally arbitrary and come off as overly biased. I also appreciated that he coems out and says that as a fanboy he said that he's like to give the game a 7-8, but really knows that based on the other games he's reviewed that it deserves a 6.5.
X
Hisako
消えないひさ&#
- AKA
- Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
I think it's no surprise that on the other spectrum people are shit, and thus big-name reviewer sites like IGN are doubly so.
I guess it comes down to the parts in Duke Nukem Forever where the imagery is just plain grotesque and unnerving, whether or not it tries to be funny. We've all seen those bits posted up over the Internet, I don't really need to say anything else about that.
So I guess that what I'm trying to say is that between then and now, the entire industry has progressed, and we've left certain things behind for a reason. Stuff that doesn't translate well over the past decade (or two). As for the twitter, the guy overreacted in a butthurt way, and while he had a good reason to do it, the lack of self-control didn't reflect well on the PR. I'm not surprised 2K pulled his company off the PR list.
I guess it comes down to the parts in Duke Nukem Forever where the imagery is just plain grotesque and unnerving, whether or not it tries to be funny. We've all seen those bits posted up over the Internet, I don't really need to say anything else about that.
So I guess that what I'm trying to say is that between then and now, the entire industry has progressed, and we've left certain things behind for a reason. Stuff that doesn't translate well over the past decade (or two). As for the twitter, the guy overreacted in a butthurt way, and while he had a good reason to do it, the lack of self-control didn't reflect well on the PR. I'm not surprised 2K pulled his company off the PR list.