If you are a Duke fan, it feels good to finally be able to put the shades on and save the world all over again.

User Rating: 7 | Duke Nukem Forever PS3
Upon its release in 1996 on PCs, Duke Nukem 3D was an influential first person shooter, combining interactive game environments with its unique mix of enemies and outrageous weapons, and injecting personality and humor with its memorable one-liner wisecracking protagonist. It was hugely popular and unsurprisingly, a sequel was announced in 1997, titled Duke Nukem Forever. It took over a decade, but the game was finally released in 2011 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Twelve years after Duke saved the world in Duke Nukem 3D, aliens have returned, apparently with peaceful intentions, and the President of the United States is trying to negotiate peace with them. Duke knows better, and his suspicions are confirmed after he encounters hostile aliens in his hideout. The story starts out in Las Vegas and ends up at the Hoover Dam. Along the way, you'll play through levels such as the Duke Dome, an underground alien hive, the Duke Cave, and Duke Burger. The single player campaign is about ten hours in length, and in between shooting aliens, there's quite a lot of variety in the levels and objectives. There are driving levels, miniature Duke levels where Duke is shrunk and everything is giant sized, and underwater levels.

There are many things in the levels to interact with, and one of the joys of the game is discovering interactive objects. Duke can admire himself in mirrors, grab feces from toilets and throw it at walls, drink from water fountains, eat food from vending machines, draw on whiteboards, lift weights, and much more. Midway through the campaign, Duke finds himself in his strip club, which serves as a showcase for all of the mini games. There's pool, air hockey, pinball, whack-a-mole, vending machines, slot machines, and video poker, all which are all fully functional.

Duke Nukem 3D's health system has been replaced by the now common regenerating health approach in modern shooters, and is called Ego. Not only is interacting with objects fun, some bestow Duke with ego boosts, which permanently extend his health meter. Some of these miscellaneous activities are required in order to advance the campaign, such as operating a crane, forklift, or even a huge Duke statue to get to a higher platform, using a wrecking ball to smash an opening in a building, pushing objects into a fan to destroy it, or piling heavy barrels in a shipping container to create a ramp. These sequences aren't as brain taxing as those in Portal, but certainly feels different than the unmotivated "reach objective, press a button" progression of Halo.

Duke Nukem 3D had some of the most creative and fun weapons ever in a first person shooter, and thankfully, they all make a return in Duke Nukem Forever. Duke's arsenal is a throwback to 90's shooters, where weapon balance wasn't an issue. You don't even need to reload the more powerful weapons! Old favorites return, like the Ripper, RPG, Devastator, Shrink Ray, Freeze Ray, Trip Mines, and Pipe Bombs, as well as powerups like Steroids and the Holoduke. There are some new weapons, like the Railgun, AT Laser, Captain Laser, and Enforcer Gun. It's too bad there's no Portal-like gravity gun or a Half-Life alien weapon, which would fit right in.

The shooting itself is enjoyable and has its thrills, such as the resounding sound of the shotgun up close against Octabrains, and the glee after hitting a tough enemy with the Shrink Ray and scrambling over to stomp it. Freezing enemies with the Freeze Ray allows you to shatter them and if up close, to execute them, which instantly refills your ego. Memorable enemies from Duke Nukem 3D return, including the Pig Cops, Assault Troopers, Octabrains, and the Cycloid Emperor. There are several boss battles during the campaign, and some of these consist of multiple phases and require a bit of strategy, but others are more straightforward, simply avoiding attacks and blasting away.

Unlike its predecessor, Duke Nukem Forever limits the player to carrying two primary weapons. This restriction really cuts down on the fun (though the PC version has a patch that allows you to optionally carry four weapons). While the game provides ample ammunition, and always has a refill crate at boss battles, weapon management should not be something you need to think about in Duke Nukem Forever, especially since the weapons are so much fun to use, and each are useful in different situations. The Shotgun is best for close quarters, RPG for inflicting heavy damage, Railgun/Ripper for long distance, Shrink Ray to get you out of tight spots, and Freeze Ray just for fun. Throughout the game, I was faced with choosing between my favorite weapons, and the game would have been more enjoyable if the player was allowed to carry all the weapons.

The campaign does have its problems, as it feels unfocused, and there are pacing issues. There are some adrenaline pumping moments in the game, such as late in the campaign when Duke rushes to escape a flooding dam, but there are extremely tedious and dull sections as well that interrupt the excitement. In particular are the awful driving segments, which are mundane and uninspired. There are two of them in the game, the first near the beginning when Duke is shrunk in a RC car, and the other is a lengthy segment in the middle of the game in Duke's monster truck. This second sequence is particularly boring, and has you driving through stretches of bland and uninteresting desert on the way to the Hoover Dam. For a brief moment, you encounter Pig Cops throwing explosive barrels on the highway, but avoiding them takes little effort. This section of the game is also accompanied by incredibly tedious mini-quests where you search for gas cans to refuel your monster truck.

Generally, platform puzzles that require precise jumps have no place in a first person shooter, but unfortunately, Duke Nukem Forever has a few that result in falling to your death if you fail, particularly in the Duke Burger level where you have have to jump across hazardous gas stoves and avoid electrified water. There's a notably horrible part of the game where you need to cross a section of gears moving in opposite directions and different speeds. There's also a puzzle where you need to manipulate a set of valves, and these kinds of puzzles feel out of place in this type of game.

The game has its style of humor, which depending on your view, is either sophomoric or plain laugh out loud for its absurdity. You can pick up rats, and microwave or crush them. You'll punch bosses in the groin or urinate in their eye after defeating them. You'll meet colorful characters, and Duke himself has a collection of one-liners he'll use at points in the campaign, some of which are hilarious. Using the Holoduke generates a trash talking image of Duke. Like in Duke Nukem 3D, explore enough, and you'll discover Easter eggs and references to other video games and pop culture.

Duke Nukem fans will find references to earlier games in the series, from the opening boss battle that recreates the final battle in Duke Nukem 3D, and the museum in Duke's casino that depicts his previous adventures. Completing the campaign unlocks the highest difficulty setting, miscellaneous game options, as well as extras for Duke fans, like concept art, development photos, and old Duke Nukem Forever trailers.

The multiplayer component of Duke Nukem Forever is completely separate from the single player campaign, and contains ten maps and standard modes with a Duke twist, such as Duke Match, Capture the Babe, and Hail to the King. There's a leveling up system, with challenges to gain XP and unlock multiplayer titles, costumes, and other items. The My Digs section showcases the awards you've unlocked in Duke's penthouse.

It's worth mentioning that the PC version is by far the best version of the game. Load times are significantly reduced, the controls are better, the graphics are higher resolution than the console versions, and the latest patch enables the optional Expanded Inventory option, which allows Duke to carry four weapons instead of two. The PC version also takes advantage of the G15 keyboard's screen to show miscellaneous info.

Duke Nukem Forever is an ambitious game, and seems like an amalgamation of ideas with some parts that don't really work well. The game suffers perhaps from trying to do too much, but if you can set aside expectations and overlook some issues, the game can be satisfying. If you are a Duke fan, it feels good to finally be able to put the shades on and save the world all over again.