Duke is making headlines again now that The Media has gotten wind of its content, and over at Fox News (via Destructoid), this plays out about how you might expect. “A new videogame that requires you to abduct women and give them a ‘reassuring slap’ if they freak out has gamers and women’s rights-groups crying foul. Brace yourself for the awfully sexist world of Duke Nukem Forever,” reads the first two sentences of the article.

Jim Sterling over at D’toid sneers at Fox for being predictable – which they are – but just because it’s predictable doesn’t automatically mean the writers don’t have a point. Can carrying off babes and given them a STFU slap be read as anything other than offensive and objectifying toward women? Still, I rather thought that was the purpose of Duke Nukem. He’s larger-than-life, ultraviolent, hypersexual, over-the-top, and ridiculous. He’s a hilarious exaggeration and send-up of action heroes we know and love, ones who we don’t usually consider offensive.

I find myself skeptical of Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford’s assertion that “Our goal isn’t to shock people, but I think there’s some stuff that’ll be just a bit uncomfortable.” If your goal isn’t to shock people, then you’re just coincidentally doing a really outstanding job of reading from the playbook on how to be shocking with a hyper-masculine character. Just be shocking already, Randy. Own it. Shock, while not the most noble goal, is not without value. Gearbox has also not indicated whether this moral outrage has anything to do with why the game has – fittingly – been delayed again until June 14.