13 years of overhype, of course its not what you expected!
Thats the problem with Duke Nukem Forever. The "badass" formula (how I like to call it) is still in there, but its not 1996 anymore, and we've all grown up and have seen it all before. On top of that, those 13 years of waiting were highlighted by constant reminders of how 3D Realms was developing "the next great Duke Nukem". Gamers all around the world expected a masterpiece of epic proportions because they thought "hey, they've been working on it for so long, and I just LOVED Duke Nukem, you know its going to be good!"
In my opinion, critics and gamers alike have been too harsh with this. A game should not be rated according to what you THOUGHT it was going to be like but rather how it compares to similar titles of recent years or how it compares to the other installments of the series. With all the commercials, promotions, trailers and insights we see on games these days, its easy to get over excited about a release, and when the day finally comes, its even easier to say "thats it? thats all there is?". The trick is to NOT get overhyped about it and NOT fall for all the crummy commercials and sales ads, but instead just sit back, relax and enjoy the game when it hits the stores. I've done that with Duke Nukem Forever and I'm glad I did because I'm enjoying it now. Sure, its not the BEST GAME EVER by any means, buts it's still an all around solid, fun, refreshing and enjoyable game.