Duke Nukem Forever

2011 was an excellent year for gaming, but it wasn't without its dark spots, some of which were pretty huge. And now that the dust has settled and the accolades have been handed out, it's time to shift our focus to tearing apart the worst of last year in the annual GamesRadar institution that is the Anti-Awards. Get ready, because the gloves are coming off...

In an industry where technology marches relentlessly forward, developers that don’t adapt get left behind. A delicious new bit of tech comes along (like Rockstar’s Euphoria physics) and immediately makes the old way (like bodies that tumble as Tetris blocks) look positively antiquated. We admit, we’re spoiled, but who wants indestructible walls after playing Red Faction: Armageddon? Or invisible ones after Red Dead Redemption? Here are some examples of outdated game design we can stand for no longer...

It took one hell of a long time for Duke Nukem Forever to finally come home and now that it has, it brought along with it a mixture of tricky and the usual achievements and trophies. Duke Nukem Forever may not have been the greatest game released this year, month, or even week for that matter, but if you picked it up, you may as well get your money’s worth by taking it for all it has to offer.

Fourteen years. It took 14 years for Duke Nukem Forever to go from idea to finished product. Fourteen years of work by passionate individuals, some of whom wanted to finish the game so badly that they found ways to continue working on it even after its apparent demise. And after all that time, their efforts have amounted to a game that, while not as terrible as some critics would have you believe, is a relentlessly average disappointment that feels like a bland echo of its 15-year-old predecessor, Duke Nukem 3D. As problematic as the game is, however, some problems stand out more sharply than others...

TDar Tuesday is back! This week we talk about loading, green things, Transformers, and miscellaneous. Join us won't you?

We flew back from E3 and boy are our arms tired, as are our feet, legs, and brains. We expand on our E3 experiences, discuss Duke Nukem Forever finally assaulting retail after 14 years, hear the horrors of E3 press conferences and more...

Before my most recent session with Duke Nukem Forever, I had plenty of questions. Even having previously played through the PAX demo, I had questions. Superficially, I knew this game was Duke Nukem. It had balls-out action. It had one-liners. It had all the iconic weaponry. But as a fan of Duke Nukem 3D since its original 1996 release, I needed to know more.

How Duke Nukem would the full game feel? And how Duke Nukem could it get away with feeling, after thirteen years and countless developments in the FPS genre? Would Duke Nukem Forever be a legitimate and worthwhile sequel to Duke 3D, or just another FPS with the name tacked on? Having fine-toothed the game’s opening couple of hours with my fanboy comb, I now feel like it’s the former, 100%. Here’s what you need to know.

Above: This week we are proud to present you with the Duke’s balls. If you win, feel free to couple them. It’ll make you feel better. Honest

We’re not just giving away one ball. We’re giving away two. That’s right. This week, GamesRadar is proud to present you with the opportunity to win Duke Nukem’s balls (both of them). The therapeutic massage balls are perfect for coupling while contemplating the amount of time you’ve spent waiting for the release of the next Duke Nukem game. The collector’s item was provided to us by 2K at a recent press event for Duke Nukem Forever. But how could we keep these lovely spheres for ourselves? Enter now for a chance to win this great prize...

Guitar Hero's over, Duke Nukem Forever is playable, and a woman hosts TalkRadar. Has the world gone topsy-turvy?

So as you'll know by now (particularly if you follow us on Twitter), myself and Tyler Nagata have just returned from a bout of good-natured debauchery in Las Vegas. The reason for this? Duke Nukem Forever. We both got to play the opening couple of hours (Tyler's preview is here, and my take is coming soon) and were mighty impressed overall. The standout element of the trip though? The venue.

A real Vegas strip club, converted in meticulous detail into Titty City, Duke's own fictional in-game boob bar. Throughout the whole event (and the late-night after-party) we were constantly staggered by the attention and care 2K had ploughed into this place. Themed venues are pretty common at preview events, but this was smething more. This was like stepping into the game. Thus, I thought it was worth a gallery feature all to itself. And thus, over the jump you'll find 20 photos taken in and around my new favourite place ever. And a video of the dancing girls. Because well, you know, dancing girls...