What makes Duke Nukem Forever so bad?

[Nemoide]

I remember when people were joking about how Max Payne would probably come out before DNF, which was ridiculous because DNF had been announced at least three years earlier.

The first trailer was in 1998, then they switched engines and, in 2001, there was a NEW trailer showing off state-of-the-art graphics. Then the game still didn't come out until A DECADE AFTER THAT. There was no way it could live up to the expectations based on that kind of development time.
I know that in it's development, I went through high school, graduated college, and started grad school. By that point, I stopped caring about Duke Nukem - I'm sure I wasn't the only one. Duke Nukem is pretty much a character of the 90s.

So I haven't played DNF, but I'm pretty sure the main issue isn't that it's flat-out bad as much as it's a mediocre game nobody really wants.

[brunoafh]

Having high expectations for a game that went through the development process Duke Forever did is silly. People went in wanting to hate it. Everyone knew exactly what they were going to get, but unfortunately most chose to just bitch about it rather than embrace it or ignore it.

[lwcook]

Where is it $2?

T'was $3 new at Best Buy some weeks/months ago.

[noiseredux]

Having high expectations for a game that went through the development process Duke Forever did is silly. People went in wanting to hate it. Everyone knew exactly what they were going to get, but unfortunately most chose to just bitch about it rather than embrace it or ignore it.

in a weird way, I feel like the game did deliver. I felt like what everybody wanted from Forever was something to bitch about together. A bunch of people bought that game day one knowing it was going to be something to bitch about with friends. In a sense, is that any less entertainment that buying a game day one and raving about it with your friends?

[elmagicochrisg]

You just have to look at this to know why DNF failed...

LEVEL DESIGN GUYS !!! INSTANT ACTION GUYS !!!

3D Realms had it...

[Erik_Twice]

It's nowhere as bad as the internet would want to make you believe, it was unfairly reviewed for extra audience and sensationalism.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

LEVEL DESIGN GUYS !!! I

Exactly. The limits on weapons didn't help either.

It wasn't that it was mechanically broken, it's just that it missed 90% of what makes Duke 3D great. Sure all the crappy b-movie stuff and one-liners were in there, but it was missing the level design, speed, and general freedom of the original.

Should have been called Duke of Doody: Modern FPS Syndrome

I know the image is overused, but it fits DNF perfectly.

[BoringSupreez]

People say to enjoy DNF, you have to stop holding it up to today's standards and just enjoy it for what it is. There's a simple problem, though: it doesn't even compare well to the old Duke games, like Ryan above said. Why waste time playing DNF when you could be playing DN3D?

[brunoafh]

Why waste time playing DNF when you could be playing DN3D?

Because playing DN3D for the bazillionth time isn't all that exciting.

[pankakes123]

Why don't I just play Duke Nukem 3D? Simple, I already have.

I guess if Forever comes nowhere close to 3D there really is no point in getting it then. Thanks for all the replies.