PAX First Look: Duke Nukem Forever

Yes it’s real, and yes we’ve played it! And I think I saw some pigs flying past my window the other day. It was definitely a big surprise to hear that Duke Nukem Forever was on the floor at PAX, but to then hear that they had a playable demo for people was astounding. From day one, the lines for DNF were probably the longest to wait in, and with good reason. Twelve or more years of teasing this game have seemed to finally come true, and we’ve been told to expect it to release in 2011. Luckily myself and @violetzombie were able to make it into the secretive booth to get a look at Duke Nukem.

“I was half convinced they were going to take us into the room, pull out a Devastator Canon, and shoot us all in the face instead of giving up the goods,” says Manda. “Thankfully, I was wrong, and the worst we had to sit through was their awesome presentation. And the game trailer.”

“… and then we were given the chance to go into a room filled with shiny Xbox 360s, Triton headsets, and the playable demo. Yes, playable. After thirteen years, I was finally going to be able to play a non-vapourware version of the game. How I loved 3DRealms for releasing a DNF demo… and oh how I love Gearbox and 2K Games for producing a demo that lived up to my unrealistically high expectations.”

It lived up to mine as well. The mechanics of the game were smooth (though I didn’t like the controls for driving a vehicle) and the story is over-the-top and hilarious. The graphics for characters and environments are rendered nicely and all-in-all the game looks really good. I’ve read some people saying that the game feels “old” or “retro” but I think that’s okay for a series as old as Duke Nukem. It adds a sort of charm to the game. I don’t think I would want it too modernized. Now I just only hope that after this most epic of teases the game actually is released next year.