Duke Nukem Forever And Catherine Surprisingly Successful. Yes, Both Of Them.
This has been a strange summer for video game numbers. You might have already read this, but Duke Nukem Forever
Let's forget about schaudenfreude and instead look at the facts: this is great news. Yes, both games' successes are great news. Duke might have sucked, but it was made by Gearbox, which made a great little game called Borderlands. Duke Nukem Forever might have made money and maybe 2K Games will want to make a sequel in the future, but for now Borderlands 2 is being made, and that's good news. As for Catherine, it's a surprising victory for Atlus, a company which has focused mostly on niche Japanese games (including the excellent Shin Megami Tensei games), and to see a particularly weird and Japanese game like Catherine become a hit means the company might be more open to putting out even more surreal, unique games.
Gearbox confirms Borderlands 2
Now, I'm not saying Gearbox was desperate for a win, but they probably weren't feeling so great after taking it on the chin a bit over Duke Nukem Forever. Great timing, then, for a tweet and new website confirming the development of Borderlands 2. Scheduled for April 2012, the "sequel to the extravasplosive breakout hit, Borderlands™" returns to the planet Pandora and "features all new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment, which come together in an ambitiously crafted story." I hope that doesn't mean all the former treasure hunters will get completely scrapped. Sci-fi Captain Ahab up there has got nothing on Brick if he can't go BLAAAAUUUUUURRRRRRGGGHHH! and punch the hell out of everything.
If you're in the respective areas, Borderlands 2 will be featured at both Gamescom 2011 and PAX Prime. Also, since I now have stuck in my head the Cage The Elephant song that will forever and always remind me of Borderlands, I've decided to inflict it on all of you as well. Ain't no rest for the wicked/money don't grow on trees...
Duke Nukem Forever to get parody-minded DLC
I went into Duke Nukem Forever with the same sort of mindset that I brought to the Star Wars prequels - there was just no way in hell this thing was ever going to live up to the expectations born from a venerable legend fermented over a decade-plus of fond memories from an entire generation. Even with that philosophical perspective, I found the game underwhelming, although I wasn't quite as crestfallen and hateful as most. I found some entertainment. But I can't help but feel that my biggest disappointment with it was that it was a golden opportunity squandered. The folks who were the most stoked about the game were those who have been gamers for at least the last 15 years, people who know the industry well enough to have already been aware of the unlikely myth-made-reality path this game took to see the light of day. There was your audience, Gearbox, you had the chance to really speak to it through a legend of videogames' history.
Now I look at the DLC plans that Gearbox has, and I'm struck by the notion that this was the general attitude they should have brought to the design of the main game, with the gameplay throwback that was Duke Nukem Forever instead being the content relegated to DLC. The four new maps especially are a sendup of the shooter tropes we all know and love. The glorious urban war zones of Call of Duty, the hellish lava and teleporters of older games like Doom and Quake, the cinematic style and peculiar quirks of Team Fortress 2, and...well, a sandbox. Guess I'm not sure what they're going for with that one, but for the first time since before the game came out, I'm pretty stoked to see where they go with this. If done right, Duke Nukem Forever's tongue-in-cheek, larger-than-life style could strike the perfect tone for parody - using hyperbole and absurdity to make fun of something in a way that speaks to genuine affection for the subject matter. I'm even willing to get my hopes up about it.
No release date has been announced yet, but 2K has announced deathmatches featuring the content will be held at their California headquarters on August 4th.
Duke Nukem Forever Sucks
I wasn't going to turn this into a whole big thing, but wow. What a difference a day makes. Huge scandal involving blacklisting threats from 2K Games/Gearbox's PR company, the Redner Group, all coming from the torrent of negative reviews about Duke Nukem Forever. And why? We've waited 15 years, and to say the end result is underwhelming is being nice. Duke Nukem Forever
Physical Evidence of Duke Nukem Forever
Just got it in the mail this morning. Is anyone else still a little amazed? Duke Nukem Forever
Update; I still can't confirm whether the game is real or not, because the installer is inexplicably tied to Steam. And Steam isn't allowing installations until the game is actually released on Tuesday.
E3: All-new games on the horizon to watch for
Obviously E3 always comes with an avalanche of news and information about games, some new and some merely updates to games that were already announced. For right now, I'm going to focus on games for which the announcement was just made in the last few days, and disregard the likes of Batman: Arkham City and Aliens: Colonial Marines (much as I might ravenously anticipate them). Catch a quick list of all-new titles that have caught my eye so far after the jump, complete with trailers because I know what you ladies like.
Duke Nukem Forever is Real! (Hands-On)
Aye, I've seen the monster. Plenty of other sailors'll tell you it's just a myth, or a trick of the sea, but I saw it with me own eyes, so I did! Even got me hands on it for a few minutes, before it got away from me. Oh, yes. Duke Nukem Forever's real.
I met with Gearbox on Wednesday for a demo of Duke Nukem Forever. Not only is the game real, but it's near completion. The version I saw was far more developed, polished, and ready for release than any previous preview of the game 3D Realms bothered to put out. In fact, this preview could be considered filled with spoilers, considering it seems like the game is actually coming out.
Duke Nukem Next-Gen Gets Gearbox’s Blessing
In what could almost be considered to be a slavish devotion to good PR, Gearbox studios strikes at gamer goodwill once more. We've all heard of brilliant remakes having to close up shop after being hit with a cease and desist letter, and with the recent reveal that Duke Nukem: Forever not only exists, but it's even coming out next year many feared the same fate for this HD remake. Now, they've given an official blessing for the fan project.
Gearbox Planning To Respect Duke Nukem Forever Preorders
At this point, it just seems like Gearbox is mocking 3D Realms mercilessly. First, they took Duke Nukem Forever
Gearbox seems to be successfully turning Duke Nukem Forever into something other than the gaming world's longest running gag. After a decade of hopelessness, it looks like the game will actually be made. Of course, that just makes 3D Realms look like an even bigger joke. The Gearbox boys are all but dancing in George Broussard's face just by making the freaking game.
Kotick: “If you ain’t Bungie, you ain’t ****”
That's not the exact quote, but it might as well have been. Mr. Headlines continues his campaign to piss off everyone in gaming. Bobby Kotick was speaking at the Deutsche Bank 2010 Technology Conference when he gave this statement: “They’re probably the last remaining high quality independent developer. That has sort of has institutional skills and capabilities. And they’re a real company.”
I don't even know what to make of this. In three sentences he just offhandedly dismissed the hard work of all the other hard working devs out there who aren't making money for his company. I mean, profit is one thing, but there's no reason to be so cutthroat about it, nor is there reason to try to alienate your consumers.
So sorry, Valve, Double Fine, Insomniac, Ninja Theory, Grasshopper Manufacture, Introversion, Level-5, Q-Games, Sucker Punch, Twisted Pixel, 5th Cell, The Behemoth, Gearbox, Rebellion, Terminal Reality and thatgamecompany. You all pale in comparison to the greatness that is Bungie.
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