WTF Is... - Duke Nukem Forever ?

TotalBiscuit takes a look at the first 45 minutes of Duke Nukem Forever (after the opening bit you saw in all the demos and the previous demo commentary). Can it live up to the hype. More to the point, can it be a decent game on it's own merits? Find out here.
FYI : Thankfully, the giant orange glowy objects can be turned off in the menu options, under "Game Hints". I have no idea if this also turns off the tutorial messages, hopefully not.
There are two more videos to come, one singleplayer further into the game with final thoughts and one multiplayer.

[@Alknix]

Wait, Duke Godfucking Nukem gets completely shitfaced off ONE can of beer? Are they kidding me?

[@Jamal_Tyrone]

It could be a foreign import beer from 8% to 10% ABV. Just came here to remanence about Total Biscuit and his excellent reviews (TB from the grave - "They're not reviews damn-it!" :-) )

[@jaska-jalmarixvi5757]

those years of taking steroids and what else took a real toll on him. gets drunk on 1 beer, was only able to hold 2 weapons and couldn't sprint more than a few dozen meters

[@jackdajackichun175]

R.I.P. One of the best PC-game reviewers. You are missed mate...

[@bold524]

@Bob Dole Congrats. You are a worstless piece of trash now.

[@suhpc82]

@@bold524 Just read his name. He's a massive libtard. Essentially an Anti-gamergate idiot. Just ignore him.

[@katarinalove8649]

He will be missed. So just stfu

[@Briggie]

If this game had been released in 2000-2001 when it was supposed to, it would have been a really good game. Oh well, at least it serves as a good example of what can happen with shitty project management.

[@PBL187]

Yeah the 2001 trailer showed an awesome looking game which actually looked like a sequel to 3d but with a touch of Time To Kill, which was also a classic (for me anyway)

[@PBL187]

The eventual release was nothing like 3d, It was just dreadful

[@eth102]

One of my favorite games, Half-Life 2, has a long part where you don't do anything except explore the environment. But what helps that game is that there are things happening and for the most part you can just ignore all the things around you. There are moments where you have to stop and listen but are paced well enough and are important enough that it doesn't drag. As well it isn't nearly as awkward and given the game essentially drops you 40 years after the first game anyone who is playing this after the first one is trying to peace together the jigsaw puzzle which has been only partially started in front of them. The problem with this games opening is that it is way to taxing to get through. It forces you to stop way too often and never allows you to move forward. You have to stop and listen to everything. Where's the option for Duke to punch so assholes, push people out of his way or even shutting off the communications as he's talking to the president? There isn't anything to take in and enjoy except minor fan service and some ego boosters. It's not like a linear shooter can't work it's just that Forever is so claustrophobic where good linear shooters either supplement more openness, action and interesting or intractable environments to work with. This is by far the bare bones of a modern shooter.

[@Zuon94]

"Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun." As much as I love Duke Nukem, and I am aware these quotes have been around since 3D... Bruce Campbell called. He wants his one-liners back.

[@chrisclark5746]

Absolutely, Hail to the King, baby :-)

[@MEGABUMSTENCH]

this, is my boomstick!

[@chrisclark5746]

Groovy

[@Famix]

Actually, he did. XD He heavily criticized 3D for stealing his lines, telling them to make their own one liners

[@majoova]

9:00 did he just vault over velvet rope?

[@OffTheSpot22]

I played about 3 hours of this game and almost killed myself

[@whqafw9574]

Haha.. Playing this on any laptop or console might kill you.. Pc or nothing

[@Sightss_]

@@whqafw9574 bro what?

[@RunawayTrain2502]

Everyone said the problem was with Duke as a character... The problem seems to be more HOW they treat Duke than Duke himself...

[@Silenthunter287]

PC gamers better get it out of their heads that console gamers enjoy this type of FPS because they despise it just as much as you.

[@nikkfrostt]

9:05 "He's become a grandfather, now I feel old." I would have loved to hear TB get old and maybe even more grouchy. Great videos as always.

[@artdragons]

I wish for an FPS with a guns menu and a health bar. Come on game industry, vaccinate those halo herpes that's been spreading all through games these days.

[@AllardRT]

The pool table was in level 2 of Duke 3D! Revoke your nerd card! Now! Blarghblarghblarghblargh. Just kiddin'.

[@musicotaku666]

all is gone what made DN3D awesome: - Secrets. SEEECRETS! - awesome humor, not this fucked up teenager american pie humor - REPLAYABILITY! - PURE and straight action! - no REGEN - MODability - AN ASS KICKING SOUNDTRACK! etc. fuck this game and also shit on GEARBOX and all lies of Randy Pitchfork too, i got banned with 3 accounts on Gearbox forums WITHOUT being offensive, just negative feedback on the game with various points! CENSORSHIP!

[@BluntStop]

there was never a turret section in duke nukem 3d.

[@sketchsawyer]

Your voice is like smooth molasses pouring into my ear. Love your vids too!

[@jakelenhart1456]

The best way to study for your pharmacy exams is to let these old WTF is videos play in the background.

[@THEpower924]

And this game talked shit about valve... This reminds me of a horrible copy Half-Life 2. Now the difference between Duke Nukem and Half-Life is that Half-Life is a really really serious game with a great story. Duke Nukem on the other hand is just a paradise of epic bad assness and a place where you don't need a plot your objective is to just fuck things up. Now you may be wondering what I am trying to say, what I am saying is that if this game awesome and all OMGBBQNOMAYO!!! Then i would not really give a shit about the poke at valve. But that isn't the fucking case in this goddamn travesty! This game is a fucking disgrace to not only the fans but Duke Nukem as well... 12 damn years, 12 FUCKING YEARS!!!

[@spwolftech]

RIP. Its 2022 and your still missed

[@TheBeefPudding]

rip tb we miss ya

[@Aang2001Gaming]

I think the part where he didn't go through the door is because TB likes to explore games, meaning he doesn't like to follow the orders of the game, instead attempting to find his own route around things.

[@trashcompactorYT]

I don't like this game, but you're really impatient on this video and it's pretty annoying.

[@BandTiguysChannel]

so it takes about 20 mins to get a gun in a firstperson SHOOTER. thats kind of shitty

[@TheKijib]

holy shit TB was 26 here

[@RatzCarnatz]

Yea kind of sad how all of us who watched him back then will eventually pass him by in age, I'm already older than he was in this vid and I was still in highschool back then

[@Trooper_675]

this is so depressing to watch . haha but it's so evident of gamings decline since the golden 90's !

[@jamez6398]

I honestly liked Duke Nukem Forever, but I played it on the PS3. And, yes I did play Duke Nukem 3D.

[@gimmidemtittys6476]

at first I thought maybe hes just being a hard on it since its so linear, but then I played it and it was just boring

[@haters123]

Id rather play this than COD. Fuck consoles, and fuck COD.

[@cynicalbrit]

Are you fuckin deaf or something? I spent the entire video criticizing the shitty gameplay.

[@BigHugsFromHell]

I don't think I can disagree with the assessment of the new version, but did find I had a very different experience of the old ones. Yes, I loved them, but for different reasons - namely, that I think I was too young to be all about the shooting, strictly, though I did enjoy the mechanics, I found myself just as often reading the posters and messing around with nothing. Sometimes I would just sit there, touring around, and didn't care at all about the enemies (I also enjoy turret sections a lot more than TB seems to, if they feel like they put me at an important spot on the battlefield to sway it like an Audi Murphy, or throw enough waves at me in the right way). That said, it was great because it offered varying experience to different styled players with different priorities. I don't think this one nailed that, and like many of today's products, actually filters everyone down into the one experience. The one perspective and viewpoint. This can never be good, nor amount to a parallel reflection of life and escape from it which games are supposed to offer.

[@nicg1883]

I like this game a lot. There's actually a lot of fun to be had.

[@DeOrestes]

no

[@nicg1883]

Erm, yes. I am enjoying the game.

[@videogamandrew]

nicg1883 no

[@nicg1883]

I say yes sirrah!

[@videogamandrew]

AHHHHHHHH HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NO

[@arkanthaes]

I love how in Build Engine games you could be expected to explore entire levels for the items neccesary to progress, but TB apparently forgets that for so long he has to cut out the section where he pointlessly explores the room. Also where he complains about glowies then spends ages unsure of where to go, asking the game to show him where to go. The level of dissonance is amazing.

[@Michae89]

KZbin suddenly put this on my recommendations. Wow, this takes me way back.

[@Racecar564]

This is (one of?) the last videos of TotalBiscuit's that I remember watching a few years ago. I only just found out today that he's no longer with us. I thought he did such great videos, he was funny and entertaining! RIP TotalBiscuit. :(

[@Draybolt4]

Dude chill, if every pork chop were perfect we wouldn't have hot dogs

[@varunnarain50]

This game is terrible.

[@warden154]

i think a good start to this game would be duel wielding golden pistols while falling from space, killing aliens by the dozen, and landing on the roof of the duke tower not only surviving the fall, but continuing to kill the invading aliens from there.

[@ItsJaseShawty]

That toy car puzzle/mini game was from shadow warrior

[@appabend]

Just noticed the double "WTF Is..." on the video title... :D

[@gibdopaminepls]

"WTF Is... - Duke Nukem Forever ?" - name of the video "WTF Is" - name of the series/show Name scheme :

[@Fireflysinthegrass]

TB this game shames Duke i love 3D BUT GOD THIS GAME IS AWFUL!

[@Zipzeolocke]

The fact it takes about 19 minutes to find a gun in a Duke Nukem game is just so wrong and disappointing…

[@stevenwright2716]

god nothing like the originals

[@AthosJosue]

This game sucks :(

[@LikeMike1234100]

I am duke goddamn nukem

[@Applecornflakes]

I love TB's attitude throughout this video. VERY cynical brit. Laughed my ass off when he said "Duke Nukem Bodybuilding Simulator"

[@felix3436]

no your not to old for this game it really is a shitty game

[@drmedborn]

subbed!

[@Fireflysinthegrass]

damn 3d blows this game out the window!

[@phreneticreaper8040]

In the half-life games it was to signify the protagonist gaining the means to fight against a huge evil. Whereas, in Duke Nukem it was because the game developers didn't understand that the only reason people played the older games was to shoot things.

[@ExtraGameClipz]

Never got to experience or see Red Dead Redemption 2. RIP 💔

[@TheKijib]

he would have hated it, awful gameplay

[@RetrofIex]

Rip biscuit

[@gangsterfatguy]

Rip

[@AimForMyHead81]

gangsterfatguy Damn, your comment is the first in 3 years on this video.

[@gooknukem5072]

"Duke, pull the break, come one!" "WE'RE STILL FALLING, PULL IT AGAIN!!!!" "I'm working on it good lord."

[@Samarai-hf9si]

You know what I want? Just a remake of Duke Nukem 3D, with updated graphics, sound, etc, maybe a bit of things to the gameplay, but not many. But with the exact same dialogue, levels, and all that.

[@mikezahl6607]

Well, the guys at Interceptor were making it, until Gearbox decided to stop the project..

[@atreides213]

TB: Keycards? That's a good start. Duke: I don't need no fucking keycard. Why exactly did the developers take everything fun about Duke Nukem away?

[@ZealotOfSteal]

Why doesn't this game have a dedicated "FUCK OFF!" button is the thing I found myself thinking throughout the beginning.

[@tehownerer1547]

Well, Killing floor is literally just "Here's a gun. Or maybe a sword if that's your thing. They all feel powerful. Here are some RPG elements. Here are monsters. Shoot them now."

[@spwolftech]

2024 RIP my friend. As of Today Duke Nukem Forever (Full Game): Mixed over all, Mostly Positive with 46 recent reviews (5,516 reviews) I thought i would post how these old games are rated today, 6 years after his passing. Did they do better? Did they die?

[@BtXpGaming]

Pisses me off how they pray on our childhood memories & toss out shit like this with a character we cherished as kids. & games like this make him seem like another corny character in a (insert shitty shooter name here)

[@Unholycataclysm1]

Some parts of this reminds me heavily to the beginning of Metroid Prime 3, except the racing and turrets. Like collecting energy cells, the waking up four hours later ( except in MP3 you wake up a month later ) Hell even the aliens look some what like Space Pirates.

[@DM_Dad]

I like the Treasure of the Sierra Madre reference. "I don't need no stinkin key card!"

[@Goldfire345]

It's been 9 minutes and Duke doesn't even have a gun how sad

[@HalfLifeHalfDead]

He was making a point about how restrictive the level design is. After he made that clear, he immediately headed for the door the game wanted him to go to, so obviously he had little trouble figuring it out.

[@brnclandonald]

actually the pool table is in the second level duke Nukem 3d. I played it all the time on a PC at Wal Mart while my mom was shopping :)

[@Superlagg]

Dear DNF, RC car puzzles were Shadow Warrior's thing. Love, Lagg

[@eunusunt]

actually it's behind a window, therefore him saying the game's a collection of minigames is a pretty fair assessment

[@Condemned2Hell]

"Duke can bench press more than 600 pounds" But can he see why kids love cinnamon toast crunch?

[@ex1lepr0]

"And highly offensive!" *picks up cigarettes labeled Faggs* "Oh yes." *chucks it* Me: Almost too perfect to be a coincidence.

[@DiDokprzemo]

Dude, this is Duke Nukem, it's supposed to be 80% kicking aliens' asses, 19% babes and 1% story, so actually you need some treatment at Intensive Gaming Unit or something

[@Snotnarok]

Duke got stomped by Serious Sam so badly. Sam has tons of guns (that you carry at the same time), tons of enemies, 16 player co-op, and no boring bits where you can't shoot. Also you get a canon that fires canon balls larger than you. Better in every bloody way.

[@Dimbark]

"2 gun limits don't ruin games, it just kinda makes them less... good." That was what I had commented. I said I don't like 2 gun limits, but Bioshock Infinite isn't bad because of having one. Besides, if you're gonna trash Bioshock Infinite for being a dumbed down Bioshock 1, why don't you trash Bioshock 1 for being a dumbed down System Shock 2?

[@asn8744]

"Guns, guns?! No that's a beer and a trophy." Sums up the whole game.

[@KlausAF]

I completely agree with this video. Duke Nukem Forever was the biggest POS release I've seen in a long time. It completely strayed from what Duke Nukem is supposed to be. Not that surprised since Doom 3 was an absolute disaster as well. When will game designers stop ruining the classics?

[@admtm24]

The game needed an all you can carry arsenal, better physics, better constructed environments, better mini games, unlimited sprinting, and better programming.

[@onex7805]

"Gearbox bought the rights to the franchise, finished Duke Forever with what they had to put it out of it's misery so they could start from scratch with Duke Begins. But still, it's all their fault?" Well, Gearbox should not fucking bought and continue this project. Duke Nukem Forever SHOULD NOT be made.

[@UCD3ubNLMWLw0kp_TB1W9a4w]

Wait, this is actually a serious game?! I thought it was a fan-made parody ...

[@Damocles178]

continued: I dare say Duke Nukem 3D's levels still rival today's shooting games. It's no wonder Forever got picked apart for linearity when it's a sequel to a game with such inventive levels. To date it's the only shooting game I can think of to be criticized for being linear which is a trait just about every recent shooting game had.

[@sonic4482]

TotalBiscuit: *Makes fun of the fact that the glow shows you were to go...then later on cant figure out where to go because he cant find the glow* Mmmmhmmm....

[@rockys201]

Cheers dude. I'd much rather give my reasoning why I didn't like something rather than just stupidly give abuse. I could go into great detail why Infinite fails, but for now I'll say the series depth was taken away, those mini games didn't just add one feature, it opened up others and gave the games layers of depth. Hacking was always just an option but you had many options. Infinite was pathetically linear and occasionally gives you a toilet to explore, BS1 gave you entire floors to explore.

[@Damocles178]

I agree. People would be less bothered about the game being linear as linear shooters are the norm these days; this game got criticized for that mainly because of people comparing it to Duke Nukem 3d :)

[@postmortemspasm]

9:54 "WOT?" hahahahahahahahahahaha

[@Damocles178]

I agree with that. Duke Nukem forever was ok but that's it; it will forever be in the shadow of Duke Nukem 3D as there was a lot more freedom and even alternative paths to complete some levels :)

[@Elleander1]

Unfortunately, the Cookies were taken by the Dark Side, you shall get an internet approval though: Good Job!

[@Fraggr92]

Half-Life was actually pretty damn linear. You go through corridors, kill enemies and mess with different puzzles to get to the next map. The major difference between modern shooters and old ones (imo) is that Half-Life (and games like it) didn't smack you in the back of the head as soon as you showed the slightest sign of being lost or not doing what you're "supposed" to be doing, which made the game feel a bit less linear than it actually was

[@LegionOfMany112]

This game's development was like people asking to go to Heaven, and then whatever god they worship throws plague rats at them.

[@antireligiousrants]

the guy playing the game should totally do a voice in a game i can see him doing something like that awesome review lol

[@SubPamant]

Duke gets drunk only by drinking a beer , how badass.

[@jaytrooper12]

"Oh I'm sorry, am I upsetting you yet?" Nah, I hated that I played this game completely, hoping that it wasn't all just trash. To no avail sadly. :c

[@BlackSabbath628]

Yeah, I missed the old Duke too. I missed being able to move more than a slow walk. I also missed being able to carry a small arsenal, and kill waves of enemies in intense firefights. 2k really dropped the ball with this game.

[@UberJordanGaming]

Did TotalBiscuit make a multiplayer video? Because I am having trouble finding it if he has

[@djmbubba]

The thing I find a little funny is that you would have never made it through the level if most of the glowing items hadn't been there.

[@phreneticreaper8040]

"the only reason people played the older games was to shoot things" The second 'the' would imply that I meant the older Duke Nukem games

[@comrade_pasta]

remember TB and other gamers, its a shame that some game devs focus on adding the smaller things but then miss the things that are important

[@Gh0stClown]

25:35 TB: What kinda annoys me- DN: Your Face pleasing overlap there :P

[@j0ckst3r]

there is a reason for the name duke nukem forever. basically when they first developed it and named it, the name at first was duke nukem forever disappointed 3d realms soon found out that the name actually related to the games itself so they thought "we don't want to ruin the surprise!" therefore taking off the disappoint

[@atompngn]

The original game would have made you find the key code at 27:28 instead of scripting it. The loading screen tip, "When being shot at, try to avoid bullets." is overall indicative of how most modern shooters have been dumbed down for the audience.

[@casedistorted]

lol I like how the energy cell is sitting right in front of him as he's controlling that remote controlled truck...

[@dalamardlight2060]

I kind of found it funny that there is a candy bar in that vending machine called: "WTF IS THIS"

[@TheForsakenEagle]

These tutorial levels are excruciating every time I'm FORCED to play through them just to get to the actual game. Kids, this was your tutorial way back when in a nutshell: "Here is the level. Here are some enemies. Here are some guns. Explore and find a way to the exit. Have fun. If you don't like it, go fuck yourself." This hand-holding... these linear levels... just isn't necessary. Just... no.

[@ducciboi]

That's because Half Life has always been a story driven game where there are scenes that are actually important. Let's not forget that Half Life is more entertaining and more open than this game that holds your hand most of the time.

[@IgnisInCaelum]

Tipsy? The guy went *blind* after drinking one can of beer. I think that's an indicator of some serious medical problems.