oh....... wut?!?
PRODUCTION VALUES:
Under this section I`ll summarize graphics, sounds and all that together.
First, game look fine on max settings. It also supports anti-aliasing. Most recent games are just console ports and does not look any better. In fact, I like graphics very much because of its slick response and old school feel that`s left. Since they started on project so many years ago, we can consider it primary PC title and it does feel so(expect they added some QTE probably later during development which was not good idea IMO). Left 4 Dead series with its old engine also look dated so what?
Sounds are ok, music is thankfully classic one with some new tunes that fit into game well. Am happy that they retained old theme and would be disappointed if otherwise.
Not only main theme, but also voice acting is excellent. Don`t know if its same person but duke feels same voiced to me as many years ago which is important.
Overall, game looks and sounds good enough especially for such an old project and is not much worse if any than most of those modern, primary console focused games. Game was also stable on my system without any gameplay bugs/stoppers which is usually typical for too-long-taking projects. I had some minor graphical glitches in few levels but nothing game breaking.
FUN FACTOR:
There are some very good one-liners as well as dialogs that honestly are up to standard. It is different but comparable in quality to, for example Bulletstorm which I found amazing. Duke is foremost about muscle and its fitting personality not intellectual jokes. It was really good and am not one who laugh on silly cheap jokes in games.
GAMEPLAY:
This is unbelievable. Game was marked as "boring", "bland" and with "dated" gameplay by many. I wonder how much will get next Call of Duty again. First of all, most of those modern FPS games don`t have ANY interaction with its world at all. Although game is linear like other modern games and doesn`t resolve around finding keys/keycards like old Duke3D used to, many levels have various environmental puzzles you need to solve before proceeding. This thing alone put it above any other shooter released in recent years. Puzzles are not hard but are cool enough and add into making game look more than just dumb shooter. Guess this is that "dated" gameplay I saw mentioned elsewhere.
Enemies don`t spawn just like that without meaning anywhere as in many games(Red Faction Armageddon), they appear in believable way, never in too may spawn batches. Often they come from a dropship which you can also destroy, they never gave me feel of stupid spawnfest. Which also means you will shoot less enemies than in other shooters but you will also solve some little puzzles as compensation. In fact, this add to game`s own substance and thinking about other shooters(CoD) now, they do look cheap.
This doesn`t end here, gameplay is *extremely* varied. You will drive remote toy car, you get shrunk and will have to proceed through room in very different way, you drive a cool car, man a turret on helicopter, you will look for a condom in a night club among other things and more, much more.
Even more, every level is unique and distinct, most of them very cool. No copy>paste. Game have 23 chapters/levels, most of them divided into 2-3 parts. Still, its a short game probably because of its linearity and easier puzzles but thats about any other FPS game today.
Weapons are all there, most important ones we knew from Duke3D, but you can carry only 2 and limited ammo. This may look bad but considering number of enemies and style of gameplay I think it was necessary to maintain balance.
AI is alright, not worse than any other modern shooter.
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Now you see, after all I wrote especially in gameplay and fun factor sections, I cannot believe game was marked as boring, bland and got scored this low. There is really nothing wrong with DNF. If it is its what all other modern games have, like short campaign, linear levels, health meter regeneration etc. Then you can give 3.5 to just about any of them. And actually, what others complain about like "dated" gameplay or "if it were released years ago..." is what give this game more substance over others. How much fun is there to shoot ever so respawning mobs in batches, then proceed a bit and repeat till you reach end of level, without any interactivity at all? I just finished Red Faction Armageddon before this and had way more fun with Duke. RF:A was already reviewed by GS on console with score 8.
I did not expect anything from DNF before I started. I did suspect it will be linear to maintain this retarded modern "standard" and all that. No keycards, no map. I also kept my nostalgia at bay and had look at it for what it is. And this score, as well as my review is based on unbiased neutral opinion(at least as much as I could pull out). DNF is very good game on its own and that little of its "old-school" gameplay that was left from "modernizing" made it even bigger satisfaction than I expected. If there was anything hurting it, it was these modern elements(linearity, QTE....).
Bravo and thank you devs for actually make it happen. As for you GS as well as other "professional" revs out there, go get your gamepads and enjoy your dumb spawnfests.