Folks, the 15 year wait has finally come to a close. The day we’ve all been waiting for has arrived. Duke Nukem Forever has BEEN RELEASED!! It’s a miracle! What’s better, it’s now available on Steam for $50. And there’s also a free demo so you know what you’re getting into before you pay for the full game. I’d never thought I would see the day, but there it is, black and white.
This was announced a half a week ago, about a DNF demo being available for download in my email. But I read nothing about it being on Steam, or even about it being released, until today. This is NOT a pre-order! It’s NOW! Already I’m downloading the demo to see how well it works on my computer.
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And I just got done playing the Demo. And from what I’ve seen, it was worth the wait. There’s four parts to this demo. First part, is a video of Duke3D revisited. Showing what Duke did during it, including the Atomic edition version that included the two EPs. Also includes an ass-kicking music score. John St John never sounded so awesome.
Second part, you see a “Piss” option while facing a urinal, and you got to hold down the ‘Use’ key or Duke will raise a fit how he’s not getting his big thing in action. This is the part from E3 that they showed of Duke screwing up the chalkboard, and killing what was the final boss in Duke3D. The guy on E3 failed on his first try, but I got it. Was easy. At the end, it was irony with Duke playing as himself with an Xbox 360 controller.
I also learned about the new EGO bar. It’s Duke’s health bar, and it’s similar to Mass Effect, as in it regenerates when not in combat. Other words, I don’t think I’ll need a trainer for this thing.
Also learned about the new “Dukevision”, which is actually Nightvision.
The third part, and this is new.. never seen in E3. It shows Duke in a Jeep. You can run over enemies or get out and shoot them, your choice. I like that. After you make this jump which kills this rocket-launching guy, the Jeep runs out of gas and you go on foot towards this abandoned mine.
This comes with its own boss, who nearly kicked my ass but I took cover and got my EGO back up. You gotta use an RPG on this thing and kill it. Then you go into the mine, learn how to use these minecarts, get a gas can, and get the hell out of there.
The forth and final part shows a movie of what happened after Duke disappeared once Duke3D was over. For 15 years (though it says 12 in the game), the aliens have returned and tore up Earth. But when they start to steal our women, especially the cute ones, Duke will have none of this.
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Alright, now for what I don’t like. One being you can only have two weapons at a time. A regular weapon, and a super weapon. Plus you got to hold down your Use key so Duke can grab ahold of it. But these are just minor complaints. Nothing that would deter me from getting this.
My computer runs it beautifully. Not one hint of studdering. Shockingly, it still uses the BUILD engine, but heavily modified from its unstable sector-based, sprite design.