Hi, everyone. Well, in the last blog post I did say I was going to review this game. However, I came across two videos that explain the same opinion as mine. They are by Machinima.com reporter Rob Smith and a YouTube User by the name of TotalBiscuit AKA The Cynical Brit (and pay attention to his video, as he explains some of the stuff I shall explain shortly):
The Cynical Brit - TotalBiscuit: "WTF is Duke Nukem Forever?" - 5 hours into the game
Machinima.com Review:
Now that those videos are out of the way, below is what I would change about the gameplay (and please note I said gameplay and not graphics nor level design, as these aspect are trivial or based upon how gameplay mechanics would change. A prime example is the level linearity.):
1) The 2 Weapon System Has To Go
This seemed to be the number one complaint amongst Duke Nukem fans (this and that disturbing Hive scene, it seems). While this system is all very well and good in modern first person shooters like Halo and Call of Duty, a lot of fans felt this didn’t fit in with the Duke Nukem universe and I happen to agree with them. It HAS to be removed.
In its place I would bring back the classic system of 10 guns in the player’s arsenal. Yes, in the current set up of gameplay it would unbalance the game in the player’s favour, but I shall come back to that later.
The term ‘lotsa guns’ is synonymous with Duke Nukem and other FPS games at the time (see Doom), so why remove it for the same old boring, realistic mechanic of 2 guns? A huge arsenal is what made the game fun and satisfying, and it made sense in terms of Duke’s character; another thing I shall be touching upon in the next point.
2) The Regenerating Ego Health Meter...Why?
I shall quote Duke himself on this one: “Power armour is for pussies”
If this is the case, why is Duke’s Ego meter (which represents his health) much like power armour? After so many hits, you need to hide from the storm of bullets and explosions to recharge your health. The entire mechanic of this doesn’t suit what the meaning of ego really is, let alone who Duke is meant to be.
Duke Nukem is supposed to be the ultimate mish-mash parody of those 80s and 90s action heroes we all love; Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Willis, and so on. They didn’t fear bullets, so why should Duke Nukem?
In its place I would bring back the classic health set up; A default health at 100% that will be whittled down bit by bit as you take more damage. Your health would be replenished via medi-kits and ‘Atomic Health’, as it was in Duke Nukem 3D.
As for the Ego game mechanic, I personally liked this addition to the game – interact with the environment and do Duke-like things to boost his ego. It’s a perfect idea. However, since I have brought back the original health meter, the current Ego Meter is made redundant, and so I would give it another function. If this is his ego boost, it should do what any ego boost should do. It should act as a power-up; increase speed, increase strength, make him “invincible” for a short amount of time or at the very least act as a shield/armour because a person can run on pride alone if that person has a big enough ego. Does that sound very Duke to you?
3) Game Balance
As I mentioned earlier in this blog, I explained that I understood bringing back the ‘old school’ mechanics of a crateload of weapons and invinicibility/power ups would unbalance the game as well as the level layout. Of course it would, but obviously any sane developer would re-balance the game and open up the levels/maps to compensate for this. This balance could come in many forms:
- Reduce the ammo to enemy ratio
If the player has less ammunition, they’d think twice about blowing their load of RPG missles and explosives. The player would be forced to think “which weapon is best for this situation?”
- Use sensible weapon and ammo availability
Currently the game issues you the correct weapon for the correct situation, but you are forced to drop a weapon in favour of an RPG or Devastator to do the boss battle and then throw it away, instead of thinking for yourself. So in the 10 weapon system the player keeps the Devastator and RPG...but to make it fair on the enemies the ammo for those weapons are rare. This allows the player to explore hidden areas to find the ammo for these explosive weapons
- Balance enemy health
Now obviously, if the current structure is forcing the player to use rocket launchers for the bosses, and no other weapon affects them, it makes it pointlessly difficult for the player if they don’t have the explosive weaponry. So, you balance the boss and enemy health so that now the player can choose to kill a boss with a handgun, but it’ll take them bloody ages.
4) So Many Puzzles, So Much Driving, So Much Walking....But Not Enough Shooting
I’m the first to admit I enjoyed the puzzles, and I didn’t mind the driving sections. But that first 30-45 minutes at the start really killed the Duke Nukem vibe. People wanted shooting from the start, and they should’ve got it. The driving sections felt like they lasted decades (and having to fetch the gas tank was a pain, even if it was all part of the gameplay to lead to a shoot-y part). It made it feel like a lot of filler. I’m not saying remove it, but I’m saying trim it a little or at least allow the player to shoot things as they drive and explore.
And that’s your lot for this blog. I hope I made some valid points. Stay tuned for more.
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