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First Person Shooters (Games) Games

Duke Nukem Forever Release Date Revealed 288

stupid_is writes with news that Duke Nukem Forever has now gotten a firm US release date: May 3rd. It will release worldwide three days later. The game was resurrected last fall by Gearbox Software and 2K Games after 3D Realms' 12-year attempt at development came to an end in 2009 when the company closed its doors.
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Duke Nukem Forever Release Date Revealed

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  • Well done, Gearbox (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RogueyWon ( 735973 ) * on Friday January 21, 2011 @09:55AM (#34952328) Journal

    Well done to Gearbox for finishing this off - it would have been a sin if it didn't see the light of day in the end. The previews look good and I'm looking forward to picking it up when it reaches Europe on 6 May (PC version, of course, the Duke doesn't need some stinking console). I'm hoping for a shooter which emphasises funky weapons, crazy situations and bad jokes over "balance" and other hardcore trappings. Back when I was a student, DN3D was always the game for a fun blast while Quakeworld was for whose who took things a bit more seriously.

    Anyway, Gearbox, how about you get cracking on Aliens: Colonial Marines now - or will that be done "when it's ready"?

    • by TrisexualPuppy ( 976893 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:06AM (#34952544)
      Finishing this off? Please. We have only just seen the beginning.

      I predict that the moment before the game is to be "released," a wormhole will open, occupying half the sky over Los Angeles. From it, millions of Octabrains will come forth, wreaking havoc and destruction while Battlelords appear and L.A.P.D. pigs are turned into L.A.R.D. cops. No, we have only just seen the early prophecy. In this Hollywood Holocaust, only those yielding laser tripmines, pipebombs, and microwave guns will survive.

      I, for one, welcome our new DN3D Overlords. (Someone desperately needed to upgrade the sprites to DNF models!)
    • by dunezone ( 899268 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:09AM (#34952610) Journal
      The Duke was King back in 1995/1996. Back then I didn't have any form of income being a 12 year old and my folks didn't believe in allowance. I had to rely on some older kids in the neighborhood that would allow me to borrow the install CD's for Duke Nukem, Doom 2, and Quake.

      Starting with Doom back in late 94 early 95, I must have spent hours playing it and going over every square inch of the maps. By the time Duke and Quake arrived there was always those discussion among the older kids of which was better. I never understood why Quake was better, no one in the neighborhood was online back then nor could do multiplayer of any form. Between Quake and Duke, the Duke had attitude, character, some depth you felt like you were playing as someone awesome. Quake though was just a man who would grunt every so often, not much different from Doom 2. As for the graphics, sure Quake was 3D in both objects and map but this was early primitive 3D. A decent art team making sprites could outshine 3D graphics back then.

      The Duke will always be King.
      • by pak9rabid ( 1011935 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:55AM (#34953508)
        Agreed. Not to mention the other niceties of Duke3D, such as blood dripping off the walls, the mirrors where you could actually see your own reflection, and being able to leave footprints when stepping over a blood puddle or out of water. I thought the graphics in Quake were awful compared to Duke3D back in that day, even though it was true 3D (granted, this was before glQuake made it's debut).
        • Yes, I remember in the docs for the Duke Nuke'em map editor it said something like: do not place a mirror opposite another mirror - bad things will happen! I never did try it, actually.

      • by mcgrew ( 92797 ) *

        I never understood why Quake was better, no one in the neighborhood was online back then nor could do multiplayer of any form.

        You explained it to yourself. Single player DN was far more fun than single player Quake (fans of my old Quake site will scream "heresy!" for this), but network and online play is where Quake shone. As funny as the Duke was, the people playing and modding Quake were even funnier and more fun.

        Imagine playing your game and a nude woman comes around the corner -- and shoots you. Or Sant

        • by ildon ( 413912 )

          Quake was a better *game*, as in it had better level design, more interesting enemy AI, better weapon balance, etc. Duke 3D had more humor, unique or interesting (but often impractical or useless) weapons, and levels that were made to look like real places, and for some people this made it more fun. But if you took the two and turned all the levels, models, and monsters into the equivalent of untextured grids, Quake would still be fun while I don't think I could say the same for Duke. That's not to say that

      • by tixxit ( 1107127 )
        Yeah, but DN3D was the really the last good game of its breed, whereas Quake was the first of a new one (completely 3D). The Quake engine provided the basis for many fantastic games, including Half-Life.
    • by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:15AM (#34952716)

      Well it looks like Duke Nukem Forever WILL release before Half Life 2 Episode 3.

      W

    • it would have been a sin if it didn't see the light of day in the end.

      Yeah, but now we'll have to look for a new nerdy injoke that is the equivalent of "When hell freezes over". I'm personally hoping the release date is pushed back at least once, just for the heck of it.

      Back when I was a student, DN3D was always the game for a fun blast while Quakeworld was for whose who took things a bit more seriously.

      Tripmines used to cause quite the bit of nerdrage. I personally am hoping those things find their way back into the game.

    • by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:42AM (#34953270)

      Gearbox didnt finish the game.. Triptych Games did(former 3D Realms employees). All that Gearbox did was port the finished PC game to the game consoles.

    • by Thud457 ( 234763 )
      I'm pretty sure this was one of the signs of the end times that Glenn Beck was warning us about.
    • by mcgrew ( 92797 ) *

      I haven't bought a game in years, but I absolutely positively HAVE to get this one, even if it sucks. I knew the Duke when he was a squeaky little side scroller. Actually, I liked DN1 & 2 better than DN3D. I was very into Quake and Quake II, moreso than any of the DNs, but the DNs were great fun.

      I hope they ressurect the Energizer Bunny and Doctor Proton.

  • It must have been 10+ years ago since I last played a game on the PC, switching over to consoles. Damn right I'm gonna be picking this up. Think I'll break out my original copy of DN3D and give that a play-through as well. Hmm...wonder if it plays okay in DOSBox...

    • There are modern ports of the DN3D engine along with high-res texture/model packs. Google around and have fun. :)
    • by Gadget_Guy ( 627405 ) * on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:16AM (#34952730)

      Yes, it does work in DOSBox. Gog.com sell it [gog.com], so it must.

      Hey, what do you know! Having a look at that page, I just spotted that I bought it from Gog. I don't remember doing that! Well, I'm off to play a game.

    • Re:Oh hell yeah (Score:5, Informative)

      by TheCycoONE ( 913189 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:46AM (#34953356)

      Like others here I can verify it works well in DOSBox. For multiplayer in windows xDuke + YANG seems to have online players whenever I check. For the single player experience I recommend eduke32 (which can be further extended with the High Resolution Pack and Polymer 3d engine)

      YANG - http://yang-online.com/ [yang-online.com]
      xDuke - http://vision.gel.ulaval.ca/~klein/duke3d/ [ulaval.ca]
      eduke32 - http://www.eduke32.com/ [eduke32.com]
      HRP - http://hrp.duke4.net/ [duke4.net]

    • I played it yesterday on my iPhone. A new official app called iDOS has it and others like Wolfenstein3D.

    • I have the DOSbox version, but I also picked up a copy from XBox Live Arcade. The play is nearly identical.

    • DN3D was also ported to XBLA, adding achievements and XBL multiplayer and such. I've played it through and I must say it translated pretty well to the dual-analog stick control scheme, with less fuss than getting the PC version working (which I played to death, including the Plutonium Pack expansion). So I'd recommend that if you're looking for an easy, current gen DN3D fix - coming from a guy who built multiple levels for DN3D on PC back in the day

  • by A. B3ttik ( 1344591 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @09:58AM (#34952388)
    I'll believe it when the credits are rolling past my screen.
    • Once you install the game on your computer it will then start a six month timer till the point you can actually play it.

    • by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *

      I too have taken the "Believe it when I see it" view of DNF. Frankly I think this latest round is just a big publicity stunt. Come April 1st, Gearbox will announce "April Fools!" and reveal it was all a big hoax.

  • by Boltronics ( 180064 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @09:58AM (#34952396) Homepage

    Scared the hell out of me. It's 2AM here, and I use that as my ring tone.

  • by 0racle ( 667029 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @09:59AM (#34952402)
    They should let the release date slide a few times, for old times sake.
  • by Sponge Bath ( 413667 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @09:59AM (#34952408)

    Practical nuclear fusion is always 30 years away.
    Fast non-volatile memory tech to replace RAM and HD is always 10 years away.
    Duke Nukem Forever is forever 6 months away.

    Kudos for Gearbox in keeping the myth alive.

    • Fast non-volatile memory tech to replace RAM and HD is always 10 years away.

      It's called FLASH memory and it exists now.

      • Fast non-volatile memory tech to replace RAM and HD is always 10 years away.

        It's called FLASH memory and it exists now.

        Flash memory can't replace RAM and hard drives because it will die after a limited number of read/writes. [wikipedia.org] Semantically nitpicking, that's true of RAM and hard drives too, but the number is prohibitively small with flash memory.

      • by guruevi ( 827432 )

        He is referring to racetrack memory or memristors which respectively exist in the lab and are a theoretical construct.

  • Hell, yeah!

    My brain just divided by 0.

    Has anyone seen Rod Serling around here?

  • by ampathee ( 682788 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:01AM (#34952464)

    If only they'd managed to make the release date April 1. That'd have been awesome.

    • So May the Third we get DNF, then the next day is the next Star Wars game, right? May the Fourth be with you...
  • Just take my money (Score:4, Insightful)

    by soupforare ( 542403 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:06AM (#34952552)

    I don't care if it's terribad.
    I don't care if it's Borderlands2 with a Duke skin.
    It's Duke, it's 2011. I always bet on Duke and I'm letting it ride.

    Better be playable at PAXeast, though, god damn.

  • Pre-Order (Score:5, Funny)

    by hal2814 ( 725639 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:08AM (#34952586)
    So is my Pre-Order from Electronics Boutique still good?
  • by eternalelegy ( 1279022 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:10AM (#34952626)

    I refuse to miss what may be my last chance to make the same horrible joke I made 10 years ago.

    Duke Nukem Forever? More like Duke Nukem Fornever!

    There, I feel better now.

  • by stillnotelf ( 1476907 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:10AM (#34952642)
    Wrigley has announced that they are closing up shop, as they are running out of gum. They expect the world's gum supply to reach critical levels by late April; by the start of May we'll be all outta gum...
  • by ntsucks ( 22132 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:11AM (#34952662)

    Shouldn't this be an April 1st post on Slashdot ?

  • Special report coming to us from hell this evening, it seems that satan, lord of darkness, has been seen getting out his winter clothes and polishing the blades on his ice skates. We are still unaware of the cause of this behavior.
  • Hell just dropped 10 degrees...

  • or as I like to call it, DINO (Duke in Name Only).
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      or as I like to call it, DINO (Duke in Name Only).

      So... what would make it be "real" Duke to you? A fake-3D engine stuck in the 90s? IPX-only multiplayer? Big, chunky sprites and textures? Rewinding the last 15 years of game design just to recapture glory days of yours that may or may not have actually existed? The same abstract, easily replaceable plug-and-play concept of "feeling" that drives both Apple's profits and Fox News's viewership?

      So... the attitude doesn't count? The over-the-top action? The weapons? The atmosphere? None of this counts?

    • Given a lot of the fun of Duke is the wise cracks and strippers...seems like it's a good addition to the franchise.

  • It's a joke, surely...

  • by Chas ( 5144 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:18AM (#34952752) Homepage Journal

    Repeat after me.

    Until it ships, it is still VAPORWARE!

  • It is expected low temperature records this May. Satan blames global warming while others think it is an excuse to cover something else.
  • 2011? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Frequency Domain ( 601421 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:35AM (#34953130)
    I thought the apocalypse was scheduled for 2012, not 2011!
  • This is kind of far out when you think about it. We got GNR's Chinese Democracy, and we are getting DNF.

    10 years ago I would never have believed it. The 90's still live!!!

    But seriously, is there anything else left from 1997 that is still pending release? Can we get a trifecta?

    Looking forward to the game though. I wonder if Duke will poke fun at his own lateness, in-game. :)

  • by Andy Smith ( 55346 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:51AM (#34953436)

    "US release date: May 3rd. It will release worldwide three days later"

    Games companies are forever bleeting on about piracy, so why the hell do they release a game in one country and tell everyone else in the world that they have to wait THREE days? As if loads of those people aren't going to pirate the game, when they may well have gone and bought it if they'd had the chance.

  • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Friday January 21, 2011 @10:57AM (#34953570)

    DN3D wasn't just a shooter. It was a shooter with a certain "attitude". It certainly set no hallmark for graphics or physics, but it sure was one for political incorrectness in games. Duke was a sexist, macho, bubblegum chewing (ok, ok, he was constantly out of gum, but he tried) pig. Not really the usual shining hero of shooters at this time.

    What defined Duke was the wisecracking and the comments, the quite nonlinear levels and the blatant sexism. Let's be honest here, guys, that was part of the appeal. It was not the usual squeaky-clean world we usually got from shooters.

    I hope that in our PC world there's still place for a sexist dinosaur like the Duke. It just wouldn't be Duke without tipping the strippers.

  • "In the most eagerly awaited game since Daikatana..."
  • by Enderandrew ( 866215 ) <enderandrewNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Friday January 21, 2011 @11:28AM (#34954148) Homepage Journal

    The marble tomb of Pope Julius II will be finished later this year. Sure, it won't be by Michaelangelo. It won't necessarily be his vision. It is being rushed to completion by people who had no previous connection to the early 16th century project. And no one knows or cares who Pope Julius II is anymore, but it will be finally finished.

  • without windows I cannot tell whether pigs are flying or the end of the world is approaching.
  • This is be a bit off the Duke Nukem release date topic. But I work on the gameinformer.com site and just wanted to mention how freakin' excited I am that we got Slashdotted. Some people go their whole lives without ever feeling the Slashdot Effect. Wooohoooo!
  • April fools on January 21st. Niiiiiice!

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