Got my Balls of Steel. Played for three hours straight before taking a break to read through the art book and comic. Cool extra swag they put in and the bust is actually resin, it seems! My only gripe is that the poker chips are also resin (would've been nice to have a more durable material there) and that the paper craft model looks like something out of Minecraft.
As far as the game goes, I'm loving it. Great performance, graphics are still next-gen so I can't complain, creature designs are great... it's modernized Duke, which is all I was hoping for. Those IGN reviewers probably hated the original Duke Nukem 3D. Either that, or they're too busy comparing DNF to other modern shooters like COD -- when Duke Nukem is and always will be a 90's-based game. If you're not a fan or are expecting the next Crysis, this game isn't for you. It was a love letter to the fans from the very beginning and I think we got just that.
All this, setting aside some of the ridiculous claims IGN made during their gameplay commentary during the RC car ride in the Ladykiller level. I played that level and in no way was I bored or unable to figure out what to do. Those reviewers clearly had a negative mindset from the very beginning and continued asking "Why am I doing this?" throughout the video, when you might as well ask the same question of every other shooter. If it's too simple, they complain. If you can do too much extra interactive stuff, it's too pointless.
I should also remind everyone that at one point, the commentator stated that the battles don't get any bigger or more interesting than that certain area -- something he said two minutes after admitting
he hadn't beaten the game yet. The funniest part is how they moaned about how the game should be more complex, "
like Serious Sam." Um...
This warrants a "b___h, please" from me, because Serious Sam (while a great time) is one of the simplest, most repetitive, and most monotonous shooters ever created.
Why anyone would take such contradictory and obviously-biased comments seriously is beyond me. When you have a game that some people hate and others love, it's a no-brainer that the only way to truly judge it is to play it and see what
you think. I may trust review sites for bigger releases, but all I saw here was a bunch of pessimistic dudes (who had made up their mind about DNF long before playing) crapping on what I think is a great game. And with a shot-up argument, no less.
It's not an industry-changing game of course, however the thing to remember is that it was never meant to be. Maybe back in 1997, sure. Now? It's just pure nostalgic fun.
