When Duke Nukem Forever was first announced, Bill Clinton had just begun his second term as US president, Britain was about to hand over Hong Kong to China, and 'New Labour' was a sparkling political dream, rather than an offensive term of derision. It was another world. It was 1997. It was 13 years ago.
Since then, the cigar-chomping hero, who starred in a series of foul-mouthed but highly entertaining shooters in the early '90s, has had more failed comback attempts than an army of eighties hair metal bands. Original developer 3D Realms was on the case at first, but a series of publisher takeovers, legal fall-outs and tech re-starts kept the project in limbo for over a decade, winning the brand a string Vaporware awards.
But now, Texan developer Gearbox Software has picked up the rights and actually revealed a playable demo of the game at last week's Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. The title is now due out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 – although the vague release date of '2011' won't inspire many hardened Duke watchers with much confidence.
Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox Software, certainly has all the talk. In the press release for the game, he seems to be channeling Duke himself when he stated, "All gamers deserve a happy ending and after all of us gamers feeling the full range of emotions about Duke Nukem Forever, I am thrilled to be in a position with the trust, power and means to make it happen. Am I crazy? Balls of steel, baby, balls of steel!"
He does at least know what he's getting himself into – Pitchford worked at 3D Realms in the mid-Nineties, when Duke was an ongoing series, rather than a byword for undeliverable gaming promises.
As for the content – well, how do you follow a collection of games famed for their low-brow wit, intense violence and daft one-liners? With more of the same, naturally. From the release:
The alien hordes are back and only Duke can save the world, again. Pig cops, alien shrink rays and enormous alien bosses won't stop our hero from accomplishing his one and only goal: to save the world, save the babes and to be a bad-ass while doing it. The King of All Shooters is back with over-the-top weapons, massive aliens and unprecedented levels of interactivity.This game puts pedal to the metal and tongue firmly in cheek, among other places. Shoot hoops, lift weights, read adult magazines, draw crude messages on whiteboards or ogle one of the many beautiful women that populate Duke's life; that is if you can pull yourself away long enough from kicking ass and taking names. Duke Nukem was and will forever be immortalized in gaming history, and this is his legend.
So are you ready to hail to the king (baby) at last? Or have the intervening years somewhat lessened your appetite? Do you even know what we're writing about here?
