PAX Prime ’10: Duke Nukem Forever Impressions

No really, they’re working on Duke Nukem Forever again.

I couldn’t believe it. I was meandering my way through the show floor, killing time between a couple of panels and there is was: the Duke Nukem Forever booth. Didn’t they kill that game a year and a half ago, I thought. And as I found out during yesterday’s preview, yes they did.

3D Realms was essentially dead and everyone was suing everyone else. After months of legal wrangling an negotiations, Nukem‘s fate now rests in the hands of Gearbox Software, creators of Borderlands and the Brothers in Arms series.

After the short history lesson in the closed door preview room, it became abundantly clear why they weren’t just playing the trailer on a TV facing the crowd. Gratuitous violence, nudity and swearing make up the majority of the video, to a level that’s at least a little surprising even today.

At the end of the trailer (and at the end of the first hands-on level I got to play shortly thereafter) the camera pans out from a screen and Duke is holding a 360 controller. One of his girlfriends asks him what he thinks of the game.

“Pretty good, but after 12 fucking years it better be!”

The two demo levels I was able to play show that whilst much has changed over the years, much of what set Duke Nukem 3D apart back in the mid-90s remains intact. The high level of interactivity with the environment is still here for starters. Whether it’s drawing up battle plans on a white board or taking a leek, the game lets you play around with just about anything you see.

There have been a few changes to the world of gaming during the last decade though, and Gearbox looks to be keeping up with them. For example, gone are the days of Duke carrying eight or nine weapons. Now we have the two-weapon swapping system popularized by the Halo series. At least it does away with the questions on where exactly he’s keeping all those guns.

Another big addition is vehicular gameplay. Duke fans who have been following the game’s long and arduous journey will remember 3D Realms had been working on incorporating driving into the game, so it’s not much of a surprise. There was only a short drive through a canyon in a monster truck in the demo, but the controls felt solid, so hopefully in the final game it turns out to be a fun change of pace more than an annoying mini-game.

It’s hard not to bring up analogies to abusive relationships with this game and its long and troubled history for Duke’s fans, but it looks they really mean it this time.

Look for Duke Nukem Forever next April on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.