One of the longest running jokes in the video games industry is getting the last laugh. After spending 14 years in development hell, “Duke Nukem Forever” has finally been released. But I realize, maybe not everyone knows why this is a big deal. Allow me to explain.
A little less than 20 years ago, first-person shooters were still a new phenomenon. You had “Doom,” and then, you had games like “Doom.”
Of course, “Doom” wasn’t the first first-person shooter, but neither was “Wolfenstein 3D;” nor was that other game you’re thinking of. In fact, if you do a little research (ahem, Wikipedia) you’ll discover games you’ve never even heard of that are regarded as the first first-person shooters, and then you’ll spend a lot of time bogged down in what does — or doesn’t — make a game a first-person shooter. But none of that is relevant. All you really need to know is that “Doom,” id Software’s most famous creation, changed video games forever.
For a long time, “Doom” was the game to beat. It was a fast-paced, high-intensity action game that had you attempting to survive by killing dozens of demonic creatures from Hell as they came at you from every angle. Beyond that, though, there wasn’t much to the game. Usually, you were just searching for keys to unlock doors and escape the labyrinthine levels. Rival game studio 3D Realms imagined that the genre could be much more, so they set out to prove it.
Released in 1996, 3D Realms’ answer to the “Doom” series was “Duke Nukem 3D,” a sequel to a series of side-scrolling platform games that featured the titular character as he fought off aliens. Given the “3D” treatment, the third game in the series was a first-person shooter, played through the eyes of Duke as he kicked alien ass, objectified women and inflated his ego to impossible levels. The game was a resounding success.
What made “Duken Nukem 3D” so popular was that it attempted to go beyond the simple mechanics of games like “Doom.” It was a world you could explore, not just textured walls that contained a wave of enemies to shoot at. Hidden passageways, interactive objects, weapons that were fun to fire and other elements that existed for no other reason than to show off what could be done in a game.
The icing on this technological cake was Duke, himself — a crude, testosterone-soaked ego-maniac that appeals to the basest ideal of the alpha male. However, as disgusting and tasteless as his behavior was, it was all in good humor. Duke Nukem is a parody of ’80s action-movie heroes.
I admit, I wasn’t much of Duke fan when the game first came out, but as a geeky teenager who was a little too short and a little too round, I certainly appreciated the irony of playing an action movie tough-guy who doesn’t take crap off’a nobody, who laughs in the face of danger and summons women to his bed just by flexing his biceps. It was a very different kind of game, for its time.
Now, 14 years later, as we contemplate the next iteration of military-themed shooters and barely inspired action games, wouldn’t it be nice to see a game with some real depth and character; something that promises more than just shooting wave after wave of bad guys? I’m hoping that we finally get our wish.
“Duke Nukem Forever” is available now on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
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