Development Hell. It’s a place no game should be in, somewhere between limbo and complete. Sadly this is where Duke Nukem Forever has resided for the last thirteen years. The sequel to Duke Nukem 3D was the pet project of George Broussard, possibly the person to blame for its lengthy development. It is commonly joked that after thirteen years, most gamers haven’t heard or know of the Duke Nukem series. However it’s no joke. It is just the sad truth.

With constant engine changes, publishers going bankrupt, the feud between Take-Two CEO Jeffery Lapin and George Broussard, and finally the laying off of 3D Realms developers, it was unforeseeable that DNF would be playable at the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo. Not too mention seemingly done, complete with a classy, double-oral sex sequence.

Growing up, I was no PC gamer. So you can assume at six years old I wasn’t shooting stripers in Duke Nukem 3D. In fact, I hadn’t heard of the game until many years later, following the controversy between 3D Realms and Take-Two. I’m not alone in my ignorance. Many of my friends are unaware of the 1996 FPS (or any other installment). To say the least, the game will have as much difficulty winning over gamers as a new IP would, but that is the least of its problems.

It is hard to imagine DNF  will have much success at all. Not only is it an unknown entity, but it is being release at a time that the market is overflowing with first-person shooters. A recent argument was brought up claiming the long development will not have any effect on its intendend audience. This is true, they won’t look at the game and think, “Oh that’s that game that took way too long to make.” They’re going to look at it and say, “I bet it’s not better than COD: Black Ops.” Its release date isn’t near that of Black Ops or Reach’s, but it is hard to expect the average consumer to buy a Duke Nukem game over one of those blockbusters. This may, as Karri mentions, bring life to the franchise. 

When DNF was first imagined, the FPS genre was still in its infantile state. The slightest of changes could be deemed revolutionary. It’s upsetting, but the Duke Nukem Forever’s style of play will just be deemed antiquated.

Even players that have been following the game’s progression, and very much enjoyed the previous installments of the game, may be jaded by its development history. Starcraft 2 was released with a similar time gap to its predecessor, but the difference is Duke Nukem 3D has not had patches, or a multiplayer that will remain active until DMF is released. The biggest reason it is irrelevant today is because it was announced thirteen years ago. Fans have been on a constant roller-coaster ride of building and demolishing hype. Some have moved on.

If there is any hope for the game, it’s that gamers will grow tired of the usual shooter, and go for something off the beaten path. Duke Nukem has very crude humor, and is very referential and self aware. It’s a game that surpasses Grand Theft Auto in “adult” content. This is something many gamers find appealing, and when done well, I do too. Games like Borderlands have shown that bringing a new IP into the market isn’t impossible. They took the shooter mechanic and added something a little unusual; the added RPG elements brought in sales. From what I have seen so far, DNF doesn’t add anything uncommon.

I will be giving the game a try but the same cannot be said of the mainstream audience. The fans of the game will buy it and, most likely, love it. Others, like me, will give in to curiosity and try it out. Ironically, the frat boy at college -- who would love this game -- is going to be too busy worrying about his KDR in Call of Duty.