Detlik: Seriously I dont understand those reviews, I own Duke Nukem Forever. True, its linear. True, it didnt age very well. True, you can have only 2 main weapons. But I am having fun while playing Duke...isnt that all that matters? (Also MP is great in my opinion)
It's all that matters for you, but other people aren't playing from your perspective, they're playing from theirs.
The game bores me. All other issues aside, ignoring the lack of humor or the misogyny or the terrible engine or the awful art design or the Halo weapon and health systems... ignoring all of those, the game just plain
bores me. I'm not having fun when I'm playing it. And I know for a fact I'm not the only one.
And so that's why we complain about it. Not because we want to tear it down, but because we want to communicate
why it's so boring to us. The two weapon system isn't
inherently bad, but it does limit weapon choice. Regenerating health isn't
inherently bad, but it does slow the action down frequently. Platforming and puzzles and interactive cutscenes aren't
inherently bad, but here there's so many of them that they feel like padding more than anything, and frequently make the action stop for long periods of time.
If you find the game fun, more power to you. But people who don't like it aren't just ignoring the fun we're having so we can tear the game to shreds, we're
legitimately not having fun. And believe me, I didn't spend $50 on this thing at launch just so I could insult it (I don't have enough money to just throw it away like that), I legitimately wanted to enjoy it. But I just don't.
So to answer your question, no, you having fun is not all that matters. It's all that matters
for you personally, but likewise, for those of us who find it dull as dirt,
that is all that matters.
hedwards: Plus a lot of folks sort of forget what FPS were like when they were new.
I remember what they were like. They featured big, maze-like levels in which you mowed down dozens of enemies at a time while searching for keys and amassing an ever-increasing arsenal, with the entirety of the plot being summed up in a couple text screens.
They did not feature extensive platforming segments, weapon limitations, quick time events, regenerating health, linear level designs, interactive cutscenes, mini-games, long driving sequences, turret sections, instant melee attacks with the butt of your gun, limited sprint, NPC partners, or extensively scripted sequences.
Duke Nukem Forever has nothing whatsoever to do with old-school FPS and everything to do with post-Halo, post-Half-Life 2 design. Which is fine, there's nothing inherently wrong with modern FPS design, but the game's poor reception has nothing to do with a general distaste for old-school FPS because the game's design is straight 2006, not 1996.
