It seems like forever since Duke Nukem Forever was announced all the way back in April 1997. Before the recent closure of 3D Realms, many gamers no doubt gave up on the game, or even forgot about it altogether. Now, with any hope of the project’s completion gone, we get this unprecedented deluge of footage, renders and screen shots. The question is “why now?” Well, the first question is “what happened these last twelve years?” but if that question ever gets answered, it will likely result in people shaking their heads, laughing, crying, or a combination of all those reactions.
Nice ass.
Obviously, many of these renders are being snatched up off the websites of various former 3D Realms employees. However, why would they want to associate themselves with this project, especially if they weren’t there from the very beginning? Barring what this says about the ability of certain people to keep to anything resembling a schedule, the shots aren’t that spectacular. They are not bad by any means, but it is impossible to fathom people looking at these models, watching these videos, and thinking anything other than “that’s it?” The game does not look nearly as good as many of the more recent games that have been released on the PC and current generation consoles. After all this time, all this new footage and imagery only serves to pop the balloon that many Duke fans had been holding on to.
Charlie's Angels
However, one has to wonder whether this game would have done well had it been released now. The day of silly, one-dimensional macho bad-asses has passed long ago. Even in shooters such as Halo or Gears of War, there’s at least some pressure to make a character that’s more than a caricature spewing stupid one-liners. As meat-headed as the crew of Gears of War is, there are some genuinely touching moments in the series if one is willing to put aside their own biases against the genre or the character’s looks. Also, while the game-play of Duke Nukem 3D was fine for its time, it just wouldn’t stand up today. The first-person-shooter genre has moved far beyond key card hunting and basic weapons. Levels are expected to be large and expansive, with a large variety of enemies and weapons. However, video released suggests that Duke Nukem Forever was going to be very much a throwback to the old days of first-person-shooters. It was a project doomed to failure as soon as soon as Halo and Call of Duty redefined the genre.
We hardly knew ye
So, after twelve long years, what is the final verdict? At the end of it all, Duke Nukem Forever is a testament to legendary inefficiency, and a cautionary tale against the “when it’s done” philosophy. One or two delays is fine, but at some point, a game has to be done before the target audience moves on. Without a doubt, Duke Nukem Forever could have been a mega hit had it been released in 1997 or 1998, and could have kept the character relevant, if not exactly a major name. It’s always sad to see potential tossed away. Let us hope no one else repeats this mistake.
