Game Play: Duke Nukem Forever

post from Cathode Tan on 19 June 2011 11:06:46 PM. © Cathode Tan

Duke Nukem Forever has finally arrived, after just under fifteen years of developments, moving through multiple game engines, swapped between different publishers, and passed back around multiple development teams (before finally being finished by Gearbox ... formed by 3D Realms developers who ditched that company during the "early" years of DNF).

A lot has changed since 1997, when Duke Nukem Forever was originally announced. For instance, Zoid's CTF mod came out for Quake 2 in 1998 - which is when Duke Nukem Forever was supposed to originally be released. Zoid's CTF was really the starting point for objective based team play for first person shooter. So every shooter which has ever been made since DNF was announced has taken this concept and evolved it into the kind of online play we see in Call of Duty.

Or to put it another way, Duke Nukem Forever has been in development for as long as team based shooters have started going past pure team deathmatch.

While the shooter genre is a something of a slow moving bunch, there has been paradigm shifts like Zoid's CTF (1998): GoldenEye 007's location based damage and lack of health packs (1997), Half-Life's first person cinematics (1998), Counter-Strike's objective based maps (1999), Deus Ex's hybrid RPG elements (2000), Halo's use of shields over health points and realistic inventory handling (2001), Half-Life 2's use of physics (2004), WinBack's use of cover (1999) and Rainbow Six's first person adoption of it (2006), Vanquish's slide movement (2010 ... almost all of these mechanics becoming either de facto standards (especially in the case of GoldenEye 007 and Halo) or important design choices for titles as they're released.

Fun Fact: The title for Duke Nukem Forever comes from Duke Nukem 4Ever, which was to be a 2D sequel to the 3D classic employing concepts from the old game and some new ones while returning to Duke's original nemesis, Doctor Proton.
And all this time, the development of Duke has been watching these titles released - and apparently then struggling to keep up as best it could. Duke Nukem 3D was a landmark title in it's own right and easily as influential on games like Deus Ex and Half-Life as the above list has been on other titles. It was clear that 3D Realms was never going to be happy with DNF unless it used the greatest technology and using the latest tricks.

The problem is: you can't simply adopt these tricks once you've seen them. And Duke Nukem Forever is a game plagued by this fact.

For instance, Duke uses "Ego" instead of health and the usage is clearly aped from Halo's use of shields (which would later be adopted to the realistic shooters use of damage of health points in general). However, considering that Halo was released in 2001 and DNF had already been in development for five years at that point ... you have to wonder how much redesign that would require.

Fun Fact: According to the game, development began with the original Quake engine and moved quickly to the Quake II engine when the game was being announced. In 1998, after having developed on Quake II engine for 14 months, 3D Realms declared they would use the Epic's Unreal engine. Since then, Epic released Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament 2003, Unreal Tournament 2004, Unreal Championship, Unreal II, Unreal Championship 2 and Unreal Tournament III - each with specific updates and overhauls to the engine.

Moving from a health based system centered on pickups to a shield based system centered on the user avoiding damage to heal is not a simple change. It's not like you can simply remove all the health packs from the game and then add a timer to the player's health bar. The damage the enemies deal needs to be handled, the levels need to provide players with enough area or cover to deal with a bad situation to regain health, the amount of "shielding" a player requires needs to be balanced, etc., etc. It's a core design change that needs to ripple throughout the game.

While Duke adopted the concept, and surely the idea of Duke Nukem being protected solely by his ego is funny enough: it never really seems to handle it correctly. There are sequences which are simply woefully unbalanced because you'll be picking off Assault Captains left and right only to run into a boss where a few blows can kill you but you really have nowhere to protect yourself from. In fact one boss fight in particular seems to have exactly two or three points of cover where the boss almost inexplicably can't hit you momentarily as if to solve this problem. Though, it's still a problem until you find these spots left for you by a benevolent level designer.

Fun Fact: In 2009, Wired removed Duke Nukem Forever from their yearly vaporware awards list as the project appeared officially cancelled and "the joke was getting old". In 2010, Gearbox would officially announce the game's release and the game hit 11th on the vaporware list that year.
Or the fact that back when Duke was King - shooters simply let players collect as many weapons as they could find. This idea of a "primary" weapon and a "secondary" weapon was completely alien. You found a weapon, you had the weapon, you used the weapon, you ran out of ammo ... you found more ammo. Weapon and map design matched this fact: you had weapons which were weak but utilitarian and weapons which were the BFG and used ammo like a mofo. You would simply swap out weapons depending on the situation.

The primary/secondary weapon mechanic that Halo introduced requires some weapons to be more useful than others so that you can rely on at least a common group of ammo and resources to keep fighting even when you used up your secondary BFG style ammo. Duke Nukem Forever adopted the Halo weapon concept but the actual weapon design is nearly exactly the same as it was from 1997. The end result is that you end up using the Ripper nearly the entire time because it's the closest thing to generic plasma rifle the game offers the player. Some situations even insist on the usage of specific weapons - forcing the player to hunt down a obviously conveniently placed weapon pickup just to swap out.

If there was ever a first person shooter which could excuse itself from the idea of only holding two weapons: it is Duke Nukem Forever. Duke Nukem can bench press 600 pounds (according the relatively funny in-game hint notes). Duke Nukem punches alien overlords in the balls. Duke Nukem can take a rocket or two in the face (provided his ego is big enough). But Duke Nukem can't hold as many weapons as he did ten years ago.

This isn't a game burdened by reality, as noted buy some of the more entertaining underwater scenes - so why did it feel the need to grab mechanics from games which are intended to make shooters feel more real?

This mishmash of game design plucked but not entirely cooked from ground breaking titles over the years creates a uneven landscape of good and bad the player can barely navigate through. It's not that Duke Nukem Forever is all bad or without charm - but the design flaws and lack of polish aren't something one can simply power through or laugh about when Duke pulls out another signature one-liner. The game constantly beats the player over the head with the woes from development past and every moment of fun the game offers up is quickly dashed by five more which are either frustrating or simply boring. There are portions of this game which an anyone used to the genre will simply have to wonder if this level was left unfinished. There are portions which seem oddly devoid of enemies, or enemies which seem to spawn simply to elongate scenes, or boss sequences which feel like they never got past the design phase of the creature concept, or maps which clearly don't have the correct lighting and ... on and on and on.

Obviously no game is worth this much development time - it's an absurd question which doesn't need to be asked. We're not talking about genetic research here, we're talking game development and if you can't get the game out in a certain timeline you're game is going to feel outdated. This is simply a law of physics.

The parts of Nukem which work the best are the parts Nukem learned from itself. Unabashed humor, interactive and unique levels, and the occasional feeling of a somewhat epic fight with an unrepentant use of tits and ass - there are moments of pure Dukedom.

The multiplayer has some merit in the sense that it manages some fast old school deathmatch killing. Sadly, the game browser suffers from some network issues (like the age old problem of constantly finding open games which by the time the browser lets you try to join ... the game is full) and there simply aren't enough servers out there to really make the online portion stick.

But Duke Nukem Forever doesn't just feel dated, the damn game still feels unfinished. The Dilbert cartoon at the top of this post refers not just what happens when it is better to ship nothing at all, but was the source of Macromedia's Director 5 being code named "better than gum". While Nukem has more character in the first five minutes of game than some shooter have in an entire game, the Duke's bravado simply doesn't live up to the final offering. This may not entirely be a gum release, but it is a product clearly out the door with the intention of publishing before completely forgotten.

In the early parts of the game, Duke wanders into a bathroom and can, in a now infamous scene, pick up a turd from a toilet. Disgusted with himself he then moves out to a stadium to re-enact a boss fight from the Duke Nukem 3D's end boss fight only to have the action pull back to be revealed as just a video game being played by Duke and a pair of buxom twins.

And honestly, that encompasses nearly everything you need to know about Duke Nukem Forever. There's some crap, and there's parts which will remind you of the original game and there's some parts where Duke is clearly just pick up what he learned from playing games for over a decade.

If you've never played Duke Nukem 3D and you're wondering what all the fuss is about - I have to recommend giving the game a pass. Maybe we'll finally get a proper modern Duke release, or maybe Duke Nukem: Zero Hour for the Nintendo 64 was the last decent follow up the franchise will ever get. For the nostalgic, Forever will likely just be a disappointment. It's surely a moment in history for the gaming industry and while it has some moments - it's probably better a moment to just move on from.

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What's with giant butts, Capcom

post from Destructoid on 19 June 2011 09:06:41 PM. © Destructoid

What's with giant butts, Capcom? screenshot

This tip was sent in with the warning "The Capcom Girls calendar gets a little risqué with a picture of GIANT BUTTS..." They weren't kidding. For whatever reason, the artist behind the above picture of Morrigan and her evil Lolita soul-sister Lilith decided to go all out on the tuckus on this one. From the looks of it, I'm not entirely certain that those two ladies would be able to walk. The weight from their butts alone would probably cause them to fall backwards with every step.

And why are they sitting on... wait... is that ketchup? This just keeps getting yuckier.

The good news here is, this image an many more are available for purchase via the Capcom Girls Calendar 2012. Pre-orders are open now. If your looking for something with a bit more testosterone, you can also pick up the Capcom Heroes Calendar 2012, which from the looks of it, is all man, all the time. I'm sort of put off by the implication here that "girls" and "heroes" should be in two different catagories, but Capcom could easily make up for that by giving me a drawing of Dante and Mega Man in thongs, flexing their giant, striated ass cheeks.

Capcom lets you choose between sexy and heroic calendars [GameSwag.com]

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Sonic the Hedgehog 20th anniversary soundtrack
planned

post from Destructoid on 19 June 2011 09:06:41 PM. © Destructoid

Sonic the Hedgehog 20th anniversary soundtrack planned screenshot

SEGA is really rolling out the red carpet for Sonic the Hedgehog's 20th anniversary. In addition to Sonic Generations and a limited edition figurine, the publisher is also putting out a commemorative soundtrack, featuring music from the first two classic games.

The soundtrack will contain all the music from Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, as well as a reprint of demo tapes from composer Masato Nakamura. It'll be due out this Summer and has only been announced for Japan thus far, but hopefully we can get it on this side of the world too.

Sonic the Hedgehog Soundtrack Compilation Announced [The Daily DL]

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Golden Trails 2: The Lost Legacy Collector's
Edition

post from Hidden Object Games and Free Downloadable Games at Fenomen-Games.com on 19 June 2011 08:00:00 PM. © Hidden Object Games and Free Downloadable Games at Fenomen-Games.com

Travel back to the 18th century and uncover the secrets of bygone days with Golden Trails 2: The Lost Legacy, a fantastic Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! After your Grandfather is accused of piracy and condemned to death, it's up to you to discover the truth and save his life. Find the ship's missing logbook to learn about a long forgotten legend, and go on the adventure of a lifetime!

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Golden Trails 2: The Lost Legacy

post from Hidden Object Games and Free Downloadable Games at Fenomen-Games.com on 19 June 2011 08:00:00 PM. © Hidden Object Games and Free Downloadable Games at Fenomen-Games.com

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Samus Aran named after Pele, other fun Metroid
facts

post from Destructoid on 19 June 2011 07:06:17 PM. © Destructoid

Samus Aran named after Pele, other fun Metroid facts screenshot

Ever wonder how Metroids got their name? Personally, I've always assumed they're called Metroids because when they're sucking on your head, they look like a giant jellyfish helmets, and the "roid" was in there just to sound unnatural. Makes sense, right?

As it turns out, I was totally wrong. The word "Metroid" is a combination of the word "android" and "metro", and in the Japanese metro subway system. "But Jonathan, what do giant flying alien jellyfish that suck the life out you from your skull have to do with androids and the Japanese subway system?" Dear reader, you must remember that this is Nintendo we're talking about. These are the guys who called one of their games Sin and Punishment because the name Dark Wasteland was "too wild".

Also, Samus Aran was named after Football/Soccer legend Pele ( his full nameis Edison Arantes do Nascimento) and the planet where the Metroids come from is named after a motorcycle engine. Feel free to help me make sense of all this in the comments.

Nintendo explains where Metroid, Samus and the SR388 names came from [GoNintendo, via Siliconera]

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This is the stuff that was cut from Super Meat
Boy

post from Destructoid on 19 June 2011 06:06:22 PM. © Destructoid

This is the stuff that was cut from Super Meat Boy screenshot

Super Meat Boy is jam packed with secrets, unlockable characters, and death dealing environmental hazards. Amazingly enough, the game might have been even bigger. If everything Team Meat ever intended for the game had made the cut, there would have been even more ways to die, more skulls, more cut scenes, and about ten more secret characters, including Knytt from Knytt Stories and Quote from Cave Story. Some of those characters were dropped because their creators declined to have them appear in the game (like Quote), some just didn't fit, and others were intended to be unlockable in the ill-fated WiiWare version of the title. If Super Meat Boy is ever ported to the Wii U or the 3DS, I hope that at least a few of them get back into the game.

Come on, Pixel. Quote needs all the exposure he can get!

For more about Super Meat Boy's cut content (including a look at the hilarious intro of Tim from Braid), check the link below.

Cutting Room Floor! [SuperMeatBoy.com]

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Pimps and bikini women with Saints Row: The Third

post from Destructoid on 19 June 2011 05:05:58 PM. © Destructoid

Pimps and bikini women with Saints Row: The Third screenshot

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Saints Row: The Third looks like crazy fun, and man, do I dig that slick trailer it's got! Hamza had a chance to talk with Drew Holmes, one of the writers at Volition, about how crazy the game is, the new vehicles, and Hamza's favorite weapon, the purple dildo bat. Seriously, he was really excited about that thing. He was probably less excited about almost getting a smackdown from a pimp.

As a bonus, we've included a bunch of pictures from the Saints Row: The Third promotional car wash that THQ and Volition were holding directly outside of E3. A car wash featuring sexy women washing cars. Yeah, you're welcome. Be sure to check out Saints Row: The Third on Facebook or the official website for more pictures of the game's eye-catching E3 ads (and girls).

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Blackwater: The game vs. the controversy

post from Destructoid on 19 June 2011 05:05:58 PM. © Destructoid

Blackwater: The game vs. the controversy screenshot

Last week at E3, I had a chance to sit down ... er, stand up with Blackwater, a new Kinect-exclusive first-person shooter from publisher 505 Games. Just recently announced, the game has already caused quite the stir over its controversial title, named after the real-life mercenary group known for using some pretty hardcore tactics in the Middle East.

But, here’s the thing: I liked Blackwater (the game). I thought it was interesting and a pretty nice step forward to what can be done with the Kinect. Because of this, I wrote a preview of the game, determined to focus on nothing but the game itself, ignoring any controversy that may surround it.

But after reading my preview, it just didn’t feel fair. It wasn’t necessarily unfair to the readers or to the creators of the game -- I was still writing my honest thoughts on how the game played! -- but it ultimately felt unfair to me. I had conflicting thoughts about Blackwater the game vs. Blackwater the controversy. Why not talk about that?

Now that I have had a week to mull everything over, rewriting the preview felt like the right thing to do.

The biggest draw to Blackwater is the fact that it is an FPS game played with nothing but the Kinect -- no regular controller is used outside of your own moving body.

This intrigued me, as, up until now, there hasn’t really been a Kinect game that has done much more outside of offering a healthy variation on basic (but fun!) minigames.

Blackwater is most definitely not a collection of minigames. It is a full, retail game with a traditional single-player campaign and all the standard trappings associated with your standard FPS: shooting guns, hiding behind cover, and completing missions.

It was this campaign that had me most concerned before playing Blackwater.

In the game, you play as members of the controversial Blackwater mercenary group. What did this mean? Would I be doing everything that Blackwater has been accused of doing? Would I be reenacting incidents that took place in real life?

Mercifully, no.

In fact, Blackwater is a very generic first-person shooter starring a very generic group of soldiers fighting a very generic group of enemies. Outside of the name, I didn’t notice any connection to the Blackwater Worldwide mercenaries. (At least, in the demo I played.)

As a game alone, Blackwater is pretty interesting.

The game is on-rails like something like Time Crisis is on-rails. Movement is not completely independent. The game moves for you, only progressing forward once a group of enemies in a specific area is defeated.

To do this, players must hold out their arms and “point” at the area they want to shoot. When an enemy is targeted, a meter starts to fill up. If you manage to hold your target until the meter fills, the gun is fired and the enemy is shot.

This gameplay works pretty well, offering a healthy mixture of strategy and fast-paced action.

To dodge, players can literally lean in any direction and hide behind cover. At first, I had trouble with this, as it was tricky to point in the right place and move your body all around at the same time. With time, though, everything felt much smoother ... and with little to no lag!

On the downside, while other guns can be used, only one specific weapon can be equipped in each section -- the game chooses for you. The option to select different guns at any time would have been nice, but, given the limitations of not using an actual controller, this is understandable.

All in all, I had fun with Blackwater. It was a really intriguing Kinect-only title that really tries some new things with the hardware.

But is that okay? Is it okay to like a game that casts you in the role of a real-life mercenary group known for its controversial tactics and headline-making hearings? Even if said game only makes this connection in name alone?

I don’t know. I would say yes -- just as with another infamous, controversial scene in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, it’s just a game! -- but maybe it is more complicated than that.

Are gamers supporting Blackwater by purchasing this game? Or are they supporting the hard-working people at publisher 505 Games and developer Zombie Studios? My personal feelings on Blackwater aside, I think the people at 505 Games and Zombie Studios have put together a worthy Kinect title that deserves some attention.

But is associating the game with Blackwater garnering the wrong kind of attention?

What do you think? I think this is an interesting and important conversation. What happens when a game connects itself to something controversial in real-life? Is it a bold move? A strange one? A doomed one? What if the game was exactly the same, but had a different name?

Blackwater the game is good. But can it ever be separated from Blackwater the controversy?

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Take On Helicopters video game - PC

Take your first steps towards mastering rotor-wing flight across a massive range of enjoyable...

Read the full post at www.gamezplay.org use the search option if there is no link above...