"Hail To The King Baby!"
What began as one of the most memorable, and certainly most bad-ass lines in modern cinema with "Army Of Darkness", became one of the most legendary catchphrases in the world of games with the release of "Duke Nukem 3D" for the PC.
Duke Nukem 3D had everything a gamer could want, from awe-inspiring firepower that left guns in other games of the time shaking with feelings of fear and inadequacy, to scantily-clad women throwing themselves at you, simply for being the pinnacle of American Machismo that you are. Throw in a massive helping of kick-ass music and adrenaline-pumping gameplay, and you have the PC gaming equivalent of a Molotov cocktail filled to the brim with rocket fuel.
14 years later...
Duke is back, with better graphics, bigger guns, and even more alien butt in need of serious kicking! Only now, Duke finds himself alone in a world full of gamers raised on Halo and Call Of Duty, which may prove to be his greatest challenge yet.
You've all read the reviews. You've seen the scores on IGN, and Gamespot, and all those other big-time 'zines and sites. You know that pretty much everyone in the game critic community has blasted (more like immolated) "Duke Nukem Forever", citing everything from bad graphics, to outdated humor, to boring level design as their reasons for heaping so much hate upon the good name of Duke.
Obviously, these critics missed the point of the series.
The charm of Duke Nukem has always been the crass humor, the big guns, and busty broads; in fact that's ALL the game is about, really. If you want complex, thought-provoking gameplay, pick up Portal 2. If you want mind-blowing graphics that leave your eyes begging for more, play Crysis. But if you want to relive the glory days of LAN parties and twelve-packs of Surge, then forget what everybody else had to say, and give "DNF" a go!
Sure, Duke Nukem Forever may not be as flashy and smooth as games like Killzone 3 or Gears Of War, but let's not forget that back in 1996, Duke had to compete with the then-graphically superior "Quake", released by id Software, a company who had formerly worked with Apogee Software, aka 3D Realms, to create the timeless masterpiece known as Wolfenstein 3D.
Certainly, Quake had better graphics, higher quality sound, more detailed levels, and a pre-installed fan-base courtesy of its predecessor, Doom, but Duke Nukem had something else...
Something much more valuable to a game franchise than graphics, or a well-made multiplayer mode...
Duke Nukem had character. And plenty of it.
And it still does.
If you're a true lover of games, and are willing to live a little and ignore what the mainstream reviewing media has to say, then do yourself a massive favor and buy this game.
I personally guarantee it will be the best 8 bucks you ever spend.