Can Duke Nukem Forever Live Up to the Hype?

3D Realms' biggest success, the Duke Nukem franchise, began in 1991 as a side-scrolling platform shooter. It and its sequel, Duke Nukem 2, were terrific games. However, the game that everyone remembers is 1996's Duke Nukem 3D.

Duke 3D was a revolution in the first person shooter genre. The interactivity was unparalleled in its time. The varied environments ranged from such extremes as desert canyons, to sewers, to the streets of Los Angeles - a highly exciting change from the usual murky brown corridors of games like Quake. Instead of being dark and grim, 3D Realms wasn't afraid to fill the game with a sense of humor, the source of this often being the one-liners of the title character, Duke Nukem himself; a wise-cracking badass who occasionally quoted action heroes like Schwarzenegger and Bruce Campbell.

Needless to say, a sequel was started on right away. Duke Nukem Forever would be its title, inspired both by the movie Batman Forever and that it would technically be the fourth game in the series. At the time, no one predicted just how ironic that title would become.

As spin off games like Duke Nukem: The Manhattan Project came and went, DNF spent over a decade in development. Fans relished every occasional screenshot throughout the years, holding out a desperate hope for the return of the iconic alien ass-kicker.

But then, it all came crashing down in 2009 when 3D Realms closed down their doors and filed for bankruptcy. After all these years, it seemed like all hope for DNF was dead...until in 2010, Gearbox Software took over the game and reignited development on it, at a faster rate than ever before. Duke has risen from the ashes, and is coming back this spring.

Finally, it seems that the light has appeared at the end of the tunnel. But that begs the question - after all these years and all this pressure, can DNF ever live up to all the expectations?

The answer, most likely, is yes - if we keep our expectations balanced, that is.

DNF isn't going to change the world, and it probably won't transform gaming as we know it. But why should it? It isn't fair to expect it to be a life-changing experience, or call it a disappointment if it isn't.

So what should we expect?

DNF promises to be a sharp, excellently-made first person shooter, bursting with creativity, humor, rocket-launching action and hopefully some neat little innovations that make you ask "Why hasn't anyone done this before?," just like flushing toilets and moveable pool balls thrilled us in the 1990's. In other words, we should expect the same fresh, fun-filled experience that Duke 3D brought us.

Having fun is the important thing, isn't it? So when the game finally is released and you hear a new version of Grabbag in the main menu, don't expect DNF to change your life; just strap on some ammo, get your shrink ray ready and get amped for a fun ride.