Early Duke Nukem Forever access bundled with Borderlands GOTY edition

Next week, Gearbox is releasing the Game of the Year edition of Borderlands, its critically acclaimed "role-playing shooter" from last year. Like many GOTY editions, it will come bundled with all previously released downloadable content for the game, including the Zombie Island or Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, and Claptrap's New Robot Revolution. (The DLC will be available via vouchers that come with the game, and must be downloaded.)

Also, the Borderlands bundle will come with one item of great interest to Duke Nukem fans. Inside the box will be an access key to what Gearbox is calling the Duke Nukem Forever First Access Club. Members of the "club" will receive several items related to the flattop-sporting, bubble-gum-chewing macho hero, including the "earliest possible admittance to the Duke Nukem Forever playable demo and more." The game is due out next year on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

For those following the development of Duke Nukem Forever for the past 13 years, the demo cannot come soon enough. In May 2009, the game was presumed dead after its developer all but shut down when publisher Take-Two Interactive declined to provide more funding. A nasty legal spat ensued but was apparently resolved prior to Gearbox president Randy Pitchford announcing at PAX Prime in September that his studio had taken over the game. Several days later, Gearbox revealed that it had bought the Duke Nukem intellectual property outright.