Duke Nukem Forever was one of "those" games. Production for it began all the way back in 1997, and after about 15 years of development hell, the game finally arrived on consoles. Now, you'd think that 15 years of work would amount to an utterly stellar game, but this just wasn't the case. Among other things, it's been called:
- "shittiest game of 2011"
- "the most disappointing game of 2011"
- "bad, boring, bargain bin kind of game"
So as a developer, and your game is critically panned as little more than an expensive paper weight, what are your options? Make a sequel, obviously. At least, that's the thoughts of Gearbox president Randy Pitchford.
Speaking with IGN, Pitchford stated that he "willingly and lovingly acquired the brand. When I did that, I wasn’t thinking that the only goal is just to make sure everyone could play Duke Nukem Forever...The real goal for me is I’d like to build a Duke Nukem game again.”
Yikes.
As much as I loved shooters of the '90's, that time unfortunately is where they belong. If Forever proved anything, it's that Duke as we know him has no place in today's shooter genre. Not without a few changes at least. During his 15 years of development, the FPS genre underwent a lot of changes with games like Halo and Call of Duty. Health packs and keycard collecting were long gone, replaced by regenerative health and serious story telling. The shock value and mix of sex and violence of Duke telling a stripper to "shake it baby" before blasting a pig cop was quickly replaced when Grand Theft Auto 3 let us pick up a hooker and run down pedestrians, or when Kratos ripped off minotaur heads and entered into a threesome in the various God of Wars.
Pitchford has taken the critiques to heart though, saying that if he and Gearbox were to do a sequel, "I think what I would do and what Gearbox would do would be a little different” and that “it would be amazing, and I look forward to that.”
I don't know. Personally, I think I'll still get more entertainment by watching Duke Nukem's voice actor John St. John read "50 Shades of Gray."
