This is a holy-rolling TV spot from 1993 for id Software’s seminal FPS game Doom, which I’m sure Atari had pinned as a system-selling port for their 64-bit Jaguar console. I don’t think you’d get away with selling a video game with such imagery these days:
As the 12 Video Games of Christmas extravaganza continues with a nice little gem from id Software. Doom Classic is a faithful recreation of one of the most popular FPS games of all time. If you’re here reading this you probably don’t need Doom explained to you but for the sake of context here’s a little background.
If you (like myself) wasted much of your young life playing way too much Doom then share some experiences in the comment section. Whether it was forgetting to eat or talking back to the quit messages it’d be great to hear them!
After 14 years of development, Duke Nukem Forever has finally materialized. Considered one of the greatest pieces of vapourware in gaming history, it’s a bit surreal to actually hold the finished product in one’s hands.
Critics have not been kind to the King, with Metacritic’s critic reviews at 54/100, and their users score even lower at 4.4/10. Most reviews lament about how DNF seems mired in the FPS genre’s past, and it is disconcerting to play a shooter nowadays that completely lacks a dynamic cover system. There is no Mass Effect-type strategy at work here with the combat, no ducking between cover angling for a flanking manoeuvre on your enemies. You just load up on ammo and run at your targets with guns blazing.
In a strange way, this fits in with the blustery bravado that Duke exudes. He isn’t some pussy who hides behind crates. He prefers a straight-up fight. There is a bit of strategy available with the various power-ups that Duke picks up, as well.
The toilet humour (literally, in some cases) that punctuated the original is ramped up to ridiculous levels here, with some jokes causing a chuckle or two, and others a sneer of disgust. As well, the graphics and character animations are dramatically dated.
There seems to be an attitude in a lot of reviews that after a 14 year development cycle, the ultimate result is disappointing. This is an unfair assessment; it’s not like this was one game continually worked on for all that time. There were many stops and starts as technology advanced past the developers, and the game’s graphic engine was rebooted at least a few times. Once game developer Gearbox (Borderlands) picked up the property from the ashes of original maker 3DRealms, you can be sure things were re-tooled once again.
It would have been nice to have had Duke return to redefine the shooter genre that he helped popularize. In coming back as a balls-to-the-wall brick shithouse of bullet spewing mayhem, however, at least he has stayed true to his roots.
I am not going to prefix this post with a disclaimer that I am against violence against women, because if you think that by protesting this effort against the game I condone such actions, you are an idiot not worth stooping down to talk to.
There is currently a furore brewing over an aspect of the “Capture the Babe” multiplayer mode in the forthcoming Duke Nukem Forever. In this mode, players attempt to kidnap a woman from the opposition and take them back to home base. Slung over the shoulder, if they start resisting and slowing your progress, a slap on the butt will quiet them down.
Let the outrage commence. For instance, there is a petition to get Walmart, the world’s leading retailer, to not carry the game if this multiplayer mode is included. It currently has, at this writing, over 5,600 signatures. Presented at change.org, it demands thusly:
Refuse to Sell Duke Nukem Forever Unless “Babe-Slapping” Mode is Removed
Greetings,
I’m writing to ask that Walmart take a stand against physical and sexual violence against women by refusing to sell the Duke Nukem Forever game until the “Capture the Babe” mode of play is removed.
Early reports reveal the new Duke Nukem Forever game is set to be released with a “Capture the Babe” mode of play. In this disturbing version of “capture the flag” the player is tasked with kidnapping a woman from his enemy’s base, throwing her over his shoulder, and carrying her back to his base to share the spoils. If she starts to “freak out,” the player is encouraged to slap her on the butt until she shuts up. This is a blatant celebration of violence against women in a game that will be played primarily by young people.
Walmart is a family friendly retailer and customers will not stand for the promotion of violence against women to the young people who walk through the store doors. Please publicly state that Walmart stores will not sell the Duke Nukem Forever game unless the “babe-slapping mode” is removed.
[Your name]
Let me proffer a couple of reasons why I think this petition is wrongheaded:
First: Equating a slap on the butt to “physical and sexual violence” is overblown, and belittles women who are the victims of ACTUAL violence, as well as endangers all women by diluting the idea of violence against women. At worst, the action within the game could be construed as sexual harassment. However, Duke isn’t an office manager, patting women on the butt as a sign that they better have sex with him if they want a promotion. For whatever reason (if any is even given in the game) he’s trying to kidnap or rescue women from a heavily armed opposition. Context, people!
Second: Duke Nukem Forever is rated “Mature” by the ESRB. This is not a game that should “be played primarily by young people”. If it is, then blame parents and retailers. Heck, blame Walmart, the company you are directing your petition to! Don’t blame the game makers.
And ultimately, it is just a game. If you think some butt-slapping in Duke Nukem promotes violence against women, why not a petition against the hundreds of thousands of bloody deaths that will no doubt occur in the game, which clearly promotes murder?
As the title says, another gameplay video released for Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the prequel to the great PC game Deus Ex. And again, it focuses on the different ways to play the game. Enjoy.
Any self-respecting gamer with an Amiga computer back in the 90’s had to have a copy of Alien Breed, created by Team 17 in 1991. It started as a hardcore top-down shooter in the style of Gauntlet, that tested the mettle of many an Amigan with its endless hordes of alien attackers and stingy attitude towards health and ammo.
Enter the ravenous maw
In the game-changing wake of Doom, Alien Breed morphed into an FPS with Alien Breed 3D in 1995, becoming the first type of game in that genre for the Amiga. While the view the player had of the world in front of him was shrunk down to avoid over-taxing the Amiga’s processing power, the 3D Breeds included more graphical flourishes, such as advanced lighting effects, more detailed floors and ceilings, and more intricate level design. Labelled a Doom-killer, the dwindling user base of the Amiga computer platform ultimately left Doom developer id Software with little to fear.
Will Kevin Bacon be eaten by the evil alien?
Team 17 has returned to its Gauntlet inspired roots with a new series of top-down Alien Breed games for the PSN, the last of which, Alien Breed: Descent, has just been released. Both single and multi-player co-operative modes are available for this go-round with the Alien scum. Here’s a video from The Dot Eaters of some gameplay of the original 3D game.
Check the link here for more info on the new Alien Breed game.
Joystiq, among other sites, has the goods, and I mean goods, on the Duke Nukem Forever “Balls of Steel” Collector’s Edition. The official price is listed at 99 bucks U.S., and will at least initially only be available through Amazon and Gamespot in North America. It comes with a plethora of pack-in items, including a large bust of our wise-cracking hero, although unfortunately no roll of dollar bills for the peelers is included.
And definitely no bubble gum.
And soon many more, I’m sure. I’m also sure that there a lot of long bearded mad prophets in the streets right now, armed with the game’s scheduled release date of May 3, 2011, holding up signs and screaming “It’s the end of the World! Duke Nukem Forever is coming!”. First announced in 1997, DNF is, without a doubt, one of the most infamous pieces of vapourware in the history of gaming. Bearing the burden of being the sequel to one of the most beloved FPS games ever made, the project has faltered many times, not the least of setbacks being the closing of its developer 3D Realms in 2009.
And now, Duke is back. Handed to developer Gearbox, makers of the terrific SF FPS Borderlands (2009), we’ll soon see that cigar-chomping lady-killer back in action. Hail to the KING, baby!
Here’s some gameplay footage of the original I made a few years ago.
Official Duke Nukem Forever Webpage
