Duke Nukem Forever And Ever, A Mod
Remember Duke Nukem Forever? No, not that one with the poo-throwing; the other one, the one people were excited about 12 years ago. The one in the 2001 trailer which appeared to offer endless impossible, fantastical things. By today's standards, those things no longer seem impossible and quite a few them seem deeply unsavoury, but it remains a shame that the DNF we got was something entirely different. A group of modders have been busily attempting to rewrite history - by recreating the game that 2001 trailer suggested in good old Duke Nukem 3D. Given they suffered aa degree of 3D Realms-esque hubris in their struggle to finish the thing, are these the first Method Developers?
Compare and contrast this, from 11 years ago:
With this, Duke Nukem Forever 2013, which came out yesterday:
If you have indeed been waiting for a game with that stuff in since 2001, you do indeed now have it. I have played it. Those things are in it. They are only in it for as long as they are in the trailer, because DNF2013 can use only what voice clips already exist for. The rest of the game is, well, Duke Nukem 3D, with all its speed, magnificent level size and absurdity. It's entertainingly ridiculous and brutal, in the way that DN3D is entertainingly ridiculous and brutal. There's a whole lot of Vegas to run around being a psychopath in, and there are absolutely no minigames.
It makes some annoying boo-boos in terms of where it hides doors and vent shafts, but other than that I enjoyed myself 412% more than I did in 3D Realms/Gearbox's grinding, sneering chore of a thing. DNF2013 is no work of wonder, but it is a romp - and that's probably what bruised Duke fans want right now. It is, of course, fairly retrograde in its values. Whether it's pastiche enough to get away with it isn't something I want to be the adjudicator of today, it's that ok.
You'll need a copy of Duke Nukem 3D, or at least the DUKE3D.GRP file from it, and you'll need this 30MB mod.