Duke Nukem Forever: Review Round-up

You know, I’m still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Duke Nukem Forever is actually out. Like, you could go to your local retailer right now and pick yourself up a copy if you were so inclined. Doesn’t that just blow your mind?

As surprised as I am that the game is finally out, I admittedly didn’t have much faith in the game to begin with. The bits and pieces that were shown over the years never looked all that impressive, so when 3D Realms passed the torch over to Gearbox, they clearly had a lot of work to do to fix the game up and get it out the door.

The question, then, is did Gearbox succeed? Let’s find out!

PC Gamer – 80/100 (Read full review)

I’m sure that years of anticipation will spoil Duke Nukem Forever for some—there’s no getting around that at the end of that long road is only a good game and not an amazing one. It is what it is. He may not be at the top of his game, but even after all this time, Duke still knows how to party.

IGN – 5.5/10 (Read full review)

Duke Nukem Forever isn’t a revitalization of the early days of the first-person shooter genre or a middle-finger to the increasingly complex and sophisticated nature of videogame entertainment. It’s a muddled, hypocritical exercise in irritation with solid shooting mechanics and decent encounter design. There’s some dumb fun to be had in Duke Nukem Forever, but the game tries hard to ensure it’s only fleeting.

The Guardian – 2/5 (Read full review)

A mark for nostalgia then – it’s the Duke, after all – and one for the game. If this was 15 years in the making, it makes you wonder what they did for the other 14 years and 10 months.

Joystiq – 2/5 (Read full review)

Still, in a world where games like Bulletstorm have managed to blend humor with first-person action in innovative and mature ways, and others like Section 8: Prejudice deliver far better multiplayer experiences for a fraction of the price, DNF remains a sort of relic – a reminder of how things used to be and how, thankfully, the genre and the people who enjoy it have grown up and moved on.

Eurogamer – 3/10 (Read full review)

For all his muscle and bravado, Duke Nukem is actually a fragile creature. His legacy is based on a specific combination of time and technology and a mercurial element of fun that simply doesn’t lend itself to repetition, especially after so long in limbo.