Game Review: Duke Nukem Forever

For gamers of a certain vintage, the name Duke Nukem brings back memories of destruction, violence and hilarious one-liners.

Well, it's been more than a few beers between alien slayings, but finally the Duke is back and he's ready to put the smackdown on some interplanetary bad guys.

This sequel is set 12 years after Duke Nukem's last triumph, in which time the big man has comfortably settled in as both a pop culture icon and one of the most popular beings on the planet - until an alien invasion pulls him out of retirement and back to his destructive best.

Graphically, the models and environments are nothing spectacular, but lots of little Duke-esque touches - beer, steroids and strippers - give it old-school appeal.

Gameplay is fairly easy to pick up, after all the classic formats of first-person shooters, although a neat twist is "health" being replaced by Duke's monstrous "ego".

Tongue firmly in cheek, it isn't the most technically accomplished of games by any measure, with ordinary graphics, fairly standard multi-player options and a lack of lasting content.

But what it does have in abundance isfun.

Hilarious dialogue, over-the-top destruction and one of the coolest anti-heroes ever make Duke Nukem Forever a refreshing change from the latest crop of ultra-serious first-person shooters.

Duke Nukem Forever

Publisher: 2K Games

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Mac OS X

Stars: 3/5