Duke Nukem Forever

 PC
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1276 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 488 out of 1276
  2. Mixed: 358 out of 1276
  3. Negative: 430 out of 1276
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  1. Ursadorable
    Nov 23, 2012
    0
    Really? We waited 20 something years for this steaming pile of code and graphics? What a way to totally destroy a franchise gifted to you. *golf claps*
  2. kuehnau
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    Duke Nukem Forever is a nod to the heyday of 1990 gaming. Fans of the franchise should enjoy and appreciate the game for what it is, everyone else will either love it or hate it. GearBox got the game right, the problem is the game industry has changed and many people will be unwilling to accept Duke Nukem's rude, crude, misogynist attitude. In my eyes, this game is perfect.
  3. GamingPimpLIVE
    Oct 25, 2012
    10
    Amazing f**king game way more of an improvement than the ps3 and xbox
  4. randylin26
    Oct 17, 2012
    1
    I can't understand why Duke Nukem Forever received a score this high. The game is aweful is just playing like its full of **** in it. I DONT UNDERSTAND DARN YOU DUKE
  5. Invader-Nik
    Oct 8, 2012
    5
    I never played the classic Duke Nukem games, but I heard about how good they were so I decided to get this, seeing it was Duke Nukem. The gameplay is linear indeed, lots of sleaze and nudity, and Duke's commentary. The start of the game felt like some sort of celebrity simulator, The alien animation is rather retarded, the Pigcops jump at you and slide in the same position against yourI never played the classic Duke Nukem games, but I heard about how good they were so I decided to get this, seeing it was Duke Nukem. The gameplay is linear indeed, lots of sleaze and nudity, and Duke's commentary. The start of the game felt like some sort of celebrity simulator, The alien animation is rather retarded, the Pigcops jump at you and slide in the same position against your player model. Your health or 'ego' recharges very quickly making the game too easy. At times it feels like playing a Half Life game, especially in the mine -_-

    Still a fun game, nothing new about it    … Expand
  6. Brute1995
    Sep 28, 2012
    4
    I came in expecting nothing, having never played the original doom. Let me start off by saying that the game is definitely "badass,' the GUI is interesting and looks great. But the gameplay? It reminds me of the programming work that Infinity Ward put into MW3. They obviously didn't put any good development into this game, it feels rushed. I don't enjoy it, although I enjoyed the first DLCI came in expecting nothing, having never played the original doom. Let me start off by saying that the game is definitely "badass,' the GUI is interesting and looks great. But the gameplay? It reminds me of the programming work that Infinity Ward put into MW3. They obviously didn't put any good development into this game, it feels rushed. I don't enjoy it, although I enjoyed the first DLC (Black Ops themed) It has some humor, although some of it gets bland after some time.
    The great thing though, my 8 year old nephew enjoys this game. Money well spent! $10.00 from summer sale.    … Expand
  7. sundog005
    Sep 25, 2012
    7
    Some bad trolling and snobbery on Metacritic, this game was ok it didn't deserve the thrashing it got, its not a great game ....but 54? Come on guys you're trolling now. It's streamlined to hell like most other console FPS shooters these days and i pretty much just moved forward and pressed fire the whole game to win it....But thats how most of these new shiny wrapper no content games areSome bad trolling and snobbery on Metacritic, this game was ok it didn't deserve the thrashing it got, its not a great game ....but 54? Come on guys you're trolling now. It's streamlined to hell like most other console FPS shooters these days and i pretty much just moved forward and pressed fire the whole game to win it....But thats how most of these new shiny wrapper no content games are now....why pick on Duke lol, the rest are just as bad. I can't play FPS games much anymore its like my brain starts to devolve back to a primal state they are so dumbed down and simple, atleast Duke has breasts to keep my attention...and well another complaint the game was too short, another casualty of the new age of bimbo games, the original had 3 chapters all larger than the whole single player campaign it its entirety.
    But like i said it deserves better than 54...thats just trololol. Same for Mass Effect3 it got destroyed by the fans for some minor faults...tbh i just think some people are NEVER satisfied or impartial.    … Expand
  8. FERNANDES_br
    Aug 13, 2012
    10
    They said that the game was the worst game of the year, but for my surprise, when I played the game, I said to myself, "This is really Duke Nukem", I have had played some fps, but Duke Forever, brought me a lot of fun, is really nice kill enemys in Duke Nukem Forever, Great and large bosses, and now you can carry 4 guns, tripmines, pipbombs and holoduke. DLC The Doctor who Cloned Me isThey said that the game was the worst game of the year, but for my surprise, when I played the game, I said to myself, "This is really Duke Nukem", I have had played some fps, but Duke Forever, brought me a lot of fun, is really nice kill enemys in Duke Nukem Forever, Great and large bosses, and now you can carry 4 guns, tripmines, pipbombs and holoduke. DLC The Doctor who Cloned Me is bettert than original game. Multyplay is the best in your style. Very injust the original notes for this game. Play the game for yourself and give your opinion. Recomended.… Expand
  9. RainbowDashie13
    Jul 31, 2012
    10
    Definitely a good **** shooter! Yeah, yeah, I know it took like 15 years to release it and the game could have been better, but **** Do you people have any idea what 3D Realms had to go through to release this **** game? I accept it as it is because it is still a good game, it's a refreshing shooter because it isn't too modern for me like most shooters being released nowadays.
    And 3D    Definitely a good **** shooter! Yeah, yeah, I know it took like 15 years to release it and the game could have been better, but **** Do you people have any idea what 3D Realms had to go through to release this **** game? I accept it as it is because it is still a good game, it's a refreshing shooter because it isn't too modern for me like most shooters being released nowadays.
    And 3D Realms are still releasing patches till this day to improve what they can, you can carry more guns, more graphics options, and increased performance and much more goodies.
    People, please don't be so **** close minded.    … Expand
  10. dumle
    Jul 30, 2012
    5
    Duke nukem forever is not a bad game, its just pretty generic.The duke charm is there and does set it apart from other games but everything else from weapon design to enemy design screams of generic fps. There is some nice level design in here but i never goes full duke. Heck the game even has the modern two weapon limit. Pick this one up for a cheap price if you feel like playing aDuke nukem forever is not a bad game, its just pretty generic.The duke charm is there and does set it apart from other games but everything else from weapon design to enemy design screams of generic fps. There is some nice level design in here but i never goes full duke. Heck the game even has the modern two weapon limit. Pick this one up for a cheap price if you feel like playing a mindless shooter for a couple of hours otherwise you should stay away.… Expand
  11. MelonPan
    Jul 24, 2012
    4
    you can actually tell what game was popular at the time a given section of this game was designed because of how transparently it tries to rip it off, only to abandon that a few minutes later for a different game. The PC port is buggy and I experienced constant freezing, the single player is a lot less intense while limited to only two weapons at a time, and even the multiplayer is ayou can actually tell what game was popular at the time a given section of this game was designed because of how transparently it tries to rip it off, only to abandon that a few minutes later for a different game. The PC port is buggy and I experienced constant freezing, the single player is a lot less intense while limited to only two weapons at a time, and even the multiplayer is a mediocre experience, which is not something you'd expect from a multiplayer game with shrink rays, freezing guns, and rocket launchers.… Expand
  12. Migz
    Jul 23, 2012
    6
    Duke Nukem Forever's (DNF) single-player campaign was a lot of fun because of the colorful and interesting environments and Duke's crass, over-the-top, sex humor. Composite score of 6.375/10 (turn off Depth of Field, and I upgrade to 7.375/10). [This review contains information pertaining to the DLC "The Doctor Who Cloned Me" as well. In general, it felt much more polished andDuke Nukem Forever's (DNF) single-player campaign was a lot of fun because of the colorful and interesting environments and Duke's crass, over-the-top, sex humor. Composite score of 6.375/10 (turn off Depth of Field, and I upgrade to 7.375/10). [This review contains information pertaining to the DLC "The Doctor Who Cloned Me" as well. In general, it felt much more polished and consistent within itself. If you do buy the game, I highly recommend this DLC. You can skip the multiplayer DLC though.] **Entertainment value: 7/10** I went into DNF thinking it was a shooter satire or self-parody rather than a serious attempt at a modern shooter, and that worked really well. Is that what 3D Realms planned back in 1998 when they began this project? I'm not sure, but it's how it feels now. Duke's rude humor and the silly environments carry the game. The humor is very, very adult. Lots of sexual jokes and imagery. It's definitely not a game you'd want your mother to watch you playing. Also, some of the jokes are from the 1990s (Bill Clinton) while others are more contemporary (Leroy Jenkins). So, it's a strange mixture, but as a 35 yr-old, I laughed a lot while I played. The combat, however, was often pretty easy to complete on the Hard Difficulty. If you want serious, cutting-edge combat requiring advanced tactics, this is not the game for you. (More on that in Design and Gameplay below) **Graphics: 4/10** using in-game options only (8/10 if you turn off Depth of Field). Under Video Settings, the post-processing option turns on tone mapping, bloom, ambient occlusion, and depth of field (DoF). DoF is a blurring effect which is supposed to blur areas of the screen which should be out of focus such as objects deep in the background. However, Depth of Field is broken in DNF. When you have post-processing on, virtually everything is out of focus. It makes playing the game unbearable. But, if you turn post-processing off, you lose the other three effects which all make the game look nice. Thankfully, the 3rd party software, Flawless WS v1.0.12, can turn DoF off and leave the other effects on. This makes the game look like it should... really good. There's no advanced anti-aliasing (AA) methods (such as MSAA) within the game, so you're left with either no AA or two lesser AA methods (FSAA or FXAA). I used FXAA (Nvidia's shader AA method), and it was decent, but I definitely wished I could have MSAA x8 many times. In DNF specifically, the graphics seemed to be a jumble of textures and styles from 1998-2010. Sometimes, they didn't feel coherent. Some elements looked excellent (tentacles using bump-mapping). Most looked good. Nothing looked bad. I really think if early players and reviewers had been able to play on PC without DoF on, the graphics comments would have been much more positive. In the "Doctor" DLC, the graphical appearance is coherent, and I think it looks nearly excellent. It's as though the developers took the best graphics style of the base game and followed that level of work throughout the DLC. **Sound: 8/10** I didn't score a 10 here, because there was nothing ground-breaking. But, the game had very solid sound and music. I played using analog connections to my 5.1 speaker set, so I can't talk about the digital out sound the game can use. My experience was very positive. I noticed no bad sound artifacts or cut-outs. The surround worked as expected. The sounds of items and vehicles felt like they matched the objects they were supposed to emanate from. The music used a lot of the themes from the older games. **Design and Gameplay: 7/10** DNF felt like a jumble of disparate ideas forced into a story with the ultimate goal being finally getting the game out of the door rather than creating a solid story. While in development from 1998 to 2010, the developers had many great ideas for gags and events for the single-player campaign and often made playable versions of these events. I believe when the game finally got the green light, the latest developers created a story and mushed together versions of the best gags into the campaign. This made many elements feel like they didn't fit well... they were fun individually but are not organic to each other. The "Doctor" DLC felt very coherent, and it seemed like it was written first and built after. The play design is from the circle-strafe era of shooters, so no firing from cover like in current shooters. There were many mini-games and puzzles which had nothing to do with the story, but they added some fun flavor. The games included pinball, air hockey, pool, video poker, and video slots. **Game Length 7/10** I believe a $60 game incorporating a multiplayer side should provide at least 20 hours of single-player content. For DNF, expect about a 14 hr campaign if you do all of the mini-games. Maybe 12 hours without. The "Doctor" DLC took me about 4 hrs to complete. Fairly solid.… Expand
  13. SalaSSin
    Jul 21, 2012
    9
    DNF gets a lot of bad reviews... Those guys haven't understood The Duke. Duke Nukem is all about over the top comments during a brutal shoot'em up. This is indeed the game i was waiting for, having played DN1, 2 & 3D as a kid. If you want CoD, go and play that, and get off my lawn! The Duke is for people wanting to kick ass, and possibly chew bubblegum. Period.
  14. Expectoner
    Jul 17, 2012
    9
    It's true, the gamplay is not terrible.
    Purpose we laugh, just for that I would put 9 because it's been a game I had not done as much fun.
    If you're a fan of humor you'll love!
  15. NerdHero
    Jul 17, 2012
    10
    Das Spiel ist einfach richtig funny , ich mag den multiplayer sehr :) der einzelplayer ist auch ganz gut :)
    aber mir fehlt im spiel die gewisse würze darum vergebe ich dem Spiel 7 Gute Punkte :)
  16. Datacide
    Jul 16, 2012
    7
    So, no...it wasn't worth the wait. It has a very old school vibe to it all, but you know what? It was a hell of a lot of fun. There are some broken bits here and there, some levels look really nice and some not so great, but the sense of fun and solid game play add up to a lot of fun. I finished it on Hard and played with NVIDIA 3D and I had a great time. There is some really niceSo, no...it wasn't worth the wait. It has a very old school vibe to it all, but you know what? It was a hell of a lot of fun. There are some broken bits here and there, some levels look really nice and some not so great, but the sense of fun and solid game play add up to a lot of fun. I finished it on Hard and played with NVIDIA 3D and I had a great time. There is some really nice puzzle aspects and platform aspects that are missing from most modern shooters that harken back to an age where games tried to kick your ass and didn't hold your hand.
    The games biggest fault is a lack of consistency to the quality which is likely the result of so many hands in the development. I picked it up on the cheap, so that certainly factors in to the expectations, but I think people who previously enjoyed Duke games will enjoy Duke Nuken Forever and new players will certainly have a fun time. Props to everyone involved that got this to market. I look forward to more adventure with Duke as long as I don't have to wait more than another decade.    … Expand
  17. roboticsun
    Jul 13, 2012
    3
    DNF may not be a bad game but it's really a bad duke nukem game. But still have to thank Gearbox for finishing this game although it's more of a nightmare. First, all the weapons feel like crap. None of the awesome weapons in the Duke Nukem 3d feel powerful in this game except railgun maybe. and you can only equip two weapons at a time. so most time you just have to run and gun like inDNF may not be a bad game but it's really a bad duke nukem game. But still have to thank Gearbox for finishing this game although it's more of a nightmare. First, all the weapons feel like crap. None of the awesome weapons in the Duke Nukem 3d feel powerful in this game except railgun maybe. and you can only equip two weapons at a time. so most time you just have to run and gun like in most generic FPS. I mean it just does not feel like Duke nukem at all. The level design is not good either. Most encounters feel like playing a standard call of duty game which I clearly do not like. The only thing they manage to keep the theme of Duke Nukem with cheesy jokes. Overall this game is fun a few hours but quickly fun factors just fade away then it became a mediocre modern FPS. 3 out of 10.… Expand
  18. brendonsmall
    Jul 8, 2012
    3
    I was just really, really disappointed. I have played the Duke Nukem PC games since Duke 1, through Duke 3D and now Forever. The game is kind of funny sometimes, but the humour wears out really quickly, and the frustrating combat mechanics and lack of save game feature made me put it down. I played for about 90 minutes, and I think I'm done trying to like it.

    Just, meh. I really want my    I was just really, really disappointed. I have played the Duke Nukem PC games since Duke 1, through Duke 3D and now Forever. The game is kind of funny sometimes, but the humour wears out really quickly, and the frustrating combat mechanics and lack of save game feature made me put it down. I played for about 90 minutes, and I think I'm done trying to like it.

    Just, meh. I really want my $20 bucks back. If you can get it on sale for $5 or maybe $10 and you really liked the other games a lot, then maybe check it out. Otherwise, don't bother. I wish I had preserved the fantasy that DNF would be really funny and fun to play.    … Expand
  19. NappaStriker
    Jun 6, 2012
    7
    The king is back in Duke Nukem Forever! The game is in my opinion a very fun game that captures the duke nukem feel greatly. The game visuall isnt very impressive, it could easily pass for a ps2 game sadly. But at the end of the day its still duke and it dilevers in a amazing way. I would recommened it to any fan of fps games!
  20. digdilem
    Jun 5, 2012
    1
    The humour was totally mis-judged, took what was a great aspect of the original 3d and totally blew it. The game itself was pretty "Meh", but I was cringing throughout at the unfunny jokes and the incredibly over-use of catchphrases. Killed what should have been ace, and certainly had all the hype and buildup of something worthwhile. Shame on the developers.
  21. SJ555
    Jun 4, 2012
    2
    AN SERIOUS EPIC FAIL GAMEPLAY ..... ODD VISUALS..WEAK DRIVING MECHANICS AND SHOOTING AND EPIC!!.."FAILED" PLOT .. Sorry to say but ... "King just fail to impress baby"
  22. masterbezruk
    Jun 3, 2012
    10
    An interesting game, in my opinion better than the project 15 years ago, recently bought a CD with a retro - games, all set and the first thing started to play Duke Nukem 3D, graphics are not terrible, and the plot, or what I do not understand
  23. pumbaz
    May 29, 2012
    1
    When DNF was released it was challenged by various lawsuits for the serious problems the game had with the STEAM network. (Extracting credit card info and private info from the user) Its a very bad ONLINE GAME and had some untested bugs that left the buyer who spent $50 during the first release unable to play the game unless it was connected to the internet. It was QA tested by a veryWhen DNF was released it was challenged by various lawsuits for the serious problems the game had with the STEAM network. (Extracting credit card info and private info from the user) Its a very bad ONLINE GAME and had some untested bugs that left the buyer who spent $50 during the first release unable to play the game unless it was connected to the internet. It was QA tested by a very unprofessional and not very smart team of bumbling bird brains in Dublin who did everything possible to put out legal fires. I simply got my money back and behind the store counter was a PILE of returned copies of the PC version of DNF. If you tried to ask the company why they didn't advertise it as an ONLINE game, they delete your account or don't answer you. What a terrible release that was so long in the waiting.… Expand
  24. slartibartfas
    May 27, 2012
    0
    The most annoying game I've played for ten years. My rating: -10. Extremely annoying jump and run parts stopped me from playing the game to the finish.
  25. spidersfrommars
    May 16, 2012
    0
    Ugg mistakenly gave this thing a 10 out 10.. re-submitted.

    This pos is so bad and is mostly just boring. I suppose this is the reason why G Broussard didn't get it out the door, even changing engines couldn't help this train wreck. All the negative reviews are true, avoid.
  26. Tall_But_Short
    May 14, 2012
    7
    No, this is definitely not a "good" game but it isn't as bad as people say it is. The story is very simple. Aliens invades planet. Duke saves planet. But story isn't what Gearbox was aiming for. They were aiming for a funny and quirky game. I had fun through the campaign and still play the multiplayer occasinally and this is simply because the game is fun. stupid, messed up fun. Yeah, youNo, this is definitely not a "good" game but it isn't as bad as people say it is. The story is very simple. Aliens invades planet. Duke saves planet. But story isn't what Gearbox was aiming for. They were aiming for a funny and quirky game. I had fun through the campaign and still play the multiplayer occasinally and this is simply because the game is fun. stupid, messed up fun. Yeah, you can go pick up poop from the toilet and throw it around. Yeah, you can pee in the urinal for hours and hours to your heart's content. Yeah, you can go to a strip club and watch some pixelated strippers shake their booties. But that's what Gearbox intended and I they think they did a damn good job of making this an entertaining game. That said, is this an amazing game? no. Is it a fun game? yes. Should you pick it up? It all depends on your cup of tea. If you want a game you can just chill and play through with a few laughs along the way, then yes..this is the game for you.… Expand
  27. RoySmith
    May 7, 2012
    8
    The game that time forgot. Firstly this game is not as bad as others suggest. Yes its not deep and yes its very sexist - but this is Duke Nukem, right? PC got blown out the window with a shotgun. However it does seem to be lacking some focus. Its overly long and the actual minutes are not as gripping as they should be. Duke seems to have not seen many movies this side of the millennium,The game that time forgot. Firstly this game is not as bad as others suggest. Yes its not deep and yes its very sexist - but this is Duke Nukem, right? PC got blown out the window with a shotgun. However it does seem to be lacking some focus. Its overly long and the actual minutes are not as gripping as they should be. Duke seems to have not seen many movies this side of the millennium, which makes it hard to keep it fresh. However it is a dirty secret that it's quite fun just being a 12 year old again, and this game does that in spades.… Expand
  28. Terrum
    May 4, 2012
    10
    I don't understand the Critic's reviews. This has too much of a low rating. The fact that Duke Nukem 3D is meant to be appreciated and understood first before playing Forever, the reviews written have been pretty unfair. Duke Nukem Forever is a great game, amazing graphics and has kept the ideas coming of funny monsters, easy gameplay, great jokes and lots of fun. I recommend it to everyone.
  29. schwart77
    Apr 16, 2012
    1
    Wasted time...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
  30. TommyACN
    Apr 14, 2012
    9
    La mayor parte del tiempo no me aburri para nada. Pense que por la calificacion iva a ser una mala compra mia pero al jugar por un buen rato pense todo lo contrario. Me han dicho que se quejan mucho por los graficos (ultimamente a la mayoria les importa unicamente los graficos que lo demas), verdaderamente es una estupidez que digan eso, a los juegos se los valoran por el entretenimientoLa mayor parte del tiempo no me aburri para nada. Pense que por la calificacion iva a ser una mala compra mia pero al jugar por un buen rato pense todo lo contrario. Me han dicho que se quejan mucho por los graficos (ultimamente a la mayoria les importa unicamente los graficos que lo demas), verdaderamente es una estupidez que digan eso, a los juegos se los valoran por el entretenimiento que ofrecen.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
29
#29 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 48
  3. Negative: 17 out of 48
  1. GamingXP
    Sep 12, 2011
    55
    Duke Nukem Forever would be quite decent if one felt entirely certain it's intended purely as a self-parody. As is, it doesn't do the expectations, the buyer or the Duke justice – oh, had he rather remained a vaporware legend!
    Read full review
  2. PC Gamer UK
    Aug 6, 2011
    29
    Petty, nasty and anachronistic. Duke is only relevant as a warning from the past. Avoid these mistakes, developers. [Aug 2011, p.76]
  3. FiringSquad
    Aug 1, 2011
    72
    Bottom line: Duke Nukem Forever was not worth the 15-year wait, nor is it worth paying the full $50. However, I cannot deny that I thought it was both fun and funny, which at the end of the day is what this franchise is all about.
    Read full review
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