Duke Nukem Forever

Posted 12 years ago by myetvmedia

7/10

THE VISUALS

Duke is old, it looks old, it feels old and it would have done a lot better had it been released six years ago. Duke is not an ugly game for the most part, its just dated. Character models look like they popped right out of Doom 3, textures are low res and the water effects are some of the ugliest I have ever seen. Despite all this the game looks alright, in an ultra modern call of duty this would be a problem but DNF is the cheeseburger to that games filet mignon, the pace and humor of the game allow for a looser esthetic value. Artistically the game fails, the paper cutout characters of Duke3d were over the top and cool, the odd balance that DNF tries to strike between this ultra un-realism and the graphical expectations the public has for modern video games does not work. The game lacks polish and nearly forgets where its roots lay. The most unappealing aspect of the visual presentation is the lack of variety in the environments, the game has duke traveling from Las Vegas to the Hoover dam and thats it, Duke 3d took you from LA to outer space and everything in between. The later levels in DNF are particularly depressing as you will be playing through the Hoover dam which we have all seen before in games and it is particularly drab this time around. Don’t get DNF if you want something pretty the entire game has this strange haze in the outdoor environments which almost makes sense seeing as how its set in the desert but is probably there to hide the poopy sky boxes. The good news is that the game will run really well on a PC (though load times are really bad), the bad news is that it runs like crap and looks really god awful on consoles. If you have a PC spare your eyes the console visuals and your wallet the extra ten dollars.

 

THE SOUND

Duke sounds alright, the man himself voiced by veteran Duke actor John st John is fantastic and is easily the best thing you will hear from DNF. The music is really terribly average, a lot of classic tracks have been remixed and these sound good but all of the new tracks (a mix of electronic and metal guitar) are same-ish and do nothing to stand out. Effects are a low point unfortunately as weapons, enemies and environmental noise just sound a little weak, many people have complained that the weapons lack punch and I attribute this to weak sound design. The film “HEAT” has some amazing fire fights that feel explosive and real and a lot of that has to do with director Michael Mann’s use of really loud piercing gun effects. Weak sounding guns in a shooter is unforgiveable. The voice work from the supporting characters is over the top and does the trick but this also feels old, like something we have seen in shooters way too much.


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Duke Nukem Forever

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Duke Nukem Forever Trailer

Duke Nukem Forever

  • Gonna Stomp You
  • Come Get Some
  • We Were Promised Jetpacks
  • Up Close
  • minetownstand
  • minecave
  • forklift
  • The Duke
  • dam

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