There was a plethora of great games at Penny Arcade Expo 2010 this year, but there was one that took the show by storm. Everyone who read the internet at all this weekend knows that game was the resurrection of Duke Nukem Forever. It was easily the most memorable showing at the convention not necessarily because it had any kind of revolutionary gameplay or unmatched visuals, but it sticks out the most in my mind as being a triumph in the industry. It went much deeper than just a trailer and a demo; it was Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox, tearing up during the Gearbox panel. It was the 5-hour lines just to play the 15 minute demo and it was also the people who came out of their demo with a big grin. These are just a few of the moments that gave the announcement enormous weight. I’m not even a Duke Nukem fan and yet it was easily the most unforgettable aspect of my weekend at PAX. I wish that everyone could have been part of the announcement but since that’s absolutely impossible I’ll recount my experience to the best of my ability. Everything happened within the confines of a room built within the convention center and it all starts with a Randy Pitchford and an unreleased trailer.
Pitch(ford) and the Trailer: Pitchford started off the presentation by speaking on why they revived the dead game and why they revealed the game at PAX, a convention typically put on for the public as opposed to the media and potential buyers. He wanted the gamers to play the game, and game which until now has been hidden from even the media. He stressed the importance of Duke Nukem in his life as not only one of his career boons, but also stated that he “couldn’t let Duke die” as Duke Nukem has been an influence in gaming since the early 90s. Pitchford gave life to the reveal as he expressed genuine emotion over the importance of Duke in his life. For a video game announcement, it was pretty powerful stuff. Pitchford stressed the importance of not videotaping anything, but he encouraged taking pictures and “Upload that %$^# to Facebook.” Cue the trailer, a three minute video of Duke being Duke. The general premise is that Duke has disappeared and in his disappearance, aliens have begun tearing apart our planet. Worst of all, the aliens foolishly chose to mess with the women of Earth. For this reason, Duke had to return. There are shots of the aliens tearing down a statue of Duke, the insides of a strip club with some bare-chested women a few a choice words of innuendo. At one point, Duke faces a massive, blue, three-breasted alien and he slings out one of the better one-liners of the trailer “Hell, I’d still hit it.” It really was Duke Nukem at his absolute best. Hopefully it’s a trailer that Gearbox can reveal in the future with a few edits, but was a devilishly fun trailer. After everyone in the improvised theatre wiped the smiles of their face, we were ushered in to give a go at two chapters of the game.
The Mother #@^*&!$ Demo: You are Duke Nukem and you are peeing. Yes, Chapter 1, the first segment of the demo begins with Duke standing in front of a urinal. To begin saving the world, you have to drain Duke’s main vein with the right trigger. You can draw it out as long as you want, but once you hit X Duke steps away from the urinal and the action starts. Duke is inside a smashed up bathroom and as you exit you see soldiers prepared for some lurking enemy in the halls. All hell breaks loose and you are forced to run since Duke lacks a killing tool. The opening scene is fairly reminiscent of the opening chapter of the first Halo, except with more vulgarity. Duke makes it into room where a few troops are being spoken to on their gameplay. The gameplay is drawn out on a white board not unlike a football play, and is rightly named Operation: Cock Block. You could even go up to the board and draw or write whatever you wanted. Needless to say, when I looked left and write at other people playing the demo, 9 out of 10 were drawing a male body part (bet you can’t guess which). Once I was done screwing around with the whiteboard, I ran out into the center of the football field where a massive cyclops-alien boss. There is a weapon sitting on the field known as The Devastator, a rather large weapon that Duke straps onto both arms which just so happened to be preloaded with 69 rounds. I proceeded to unload every single round onto the behemoth before another crate of ammo was dropped. Once you knock down the beast after performing a melee move, you are prompted to kick the bosses’ eyeball through the field goal, and that I did. As the eye flew between the field posts, he declared “It’s good.” Good indeed. The camera pans backwards to show that the segment was actually Duke Nukem Forever being played on a TV screen. Two busty twins sit up in Duke’s view after performing an obvious act on Duke’s lap. The twins inquire on the quality of the game Duke was playing and of course Duke responds with “Yeah, but after 12 $#%^@%# years it should be.” Visually, the game looks like any good looking shooter, nothing mid-blowing, and the gameplay is solid but not astounding, it’s the fact that the game is happening that created enjoyment in my mind. It’s not going to change video games as we know it, but DNF is a swan song for the hero that most of us all know and love. This created all the enjoyment that I needed.
Free Pizza (and a Panel)!: Ok, so the free pizza was a great gift to attendees of the panel, but the panel itself with a few of the guys from Gearbox including Randy Pitchford , was not what you’d expect from a video game panel. There was plenty emotion involved around the blood, sweat and tears that it took to make this game happen. Sure Duke is a lighthearted fellow, but those who have bet their lives on his continuing success deserved for this game to see the light of day and it was conveyed to the fans that were in attendance. Pitchford announced that Duke Nukem is now owned by Gearbox and most of the team working on the game at 3D Realms is now a part of the Gearbox family in order to finish what they started. Pitchford and team couldn’t let Duke end, and in conveying this to the crowd, there was a moment of emotions as Duke is where Pitchford gained his beginnings in video game development. It was moments such as these that gave the overall announcement heart. Gearbox stressed the fact that they are now in the polishing phases with the game, and they are aiming for a 2011 release.
Hail to the King, Baby: The whole experience had an enormous amount of joy surrounding it. The men and women of 3D Realms were given a second chance to get Duke in the hands of the public, the people who were starving for the return of Duke Nukem. It was great to see this lovingly crafted shooter finally get what it deserved. The cheesy humor quickly grabbed hold of me and the gameplay, while not revolutionary, is certainly well tuned. I can’t wait for 2011 when the game finally sees a store shelf after 12 long years. This is Duke at his absolute best and I can guarantee that when this stuff makes it into the hands of those who weren’t able to attend PAX will feel the same. Come next year, those old enough to pick the game up definitely need to go out and "Get Some", when Duke Nukem Forever hits store shelves for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
