Duke Nukem Forever

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Adult parody awash in sexism, drugs, and gory killing.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Duke Nukem Forever is a first-person shooter with an excess of bloody violence, sexual imagery, profanity, and player-controlled substance abuse. A drunken, foul-mouthed Duke will tear aliens to crimson shreds in one scene, then collect sex toys and prophylactics for a lap dance engagement in the next. Like its predecessors, its ostensible purpose is to parody the kind of outrageous scenes and behavior seen in old action movies, but there is far more gore and blatant misogyny here than can be found in any Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Parents should also note that this game can be played online with open voice chat, a feature Common Sense Media does not recommend for pre-teens.

  • This game glorifies gory sci-fi violence, glamorizes alcohol and steroid abuse, and sexually objectifies women. It is intended for adult audiences and the action is supposed to be taken as humorous parody. 
  • Despite his stated goal of saving the world and rescuing humanity’s kidnapped women, Duke is just about the worst role model imaginable. He smokes, drinks, and takes steroids. In "capture-the-babe" mode, Duke taps the bottoms of the women he captures to get them to stop complaining about being lugged around. He is an unthinking misogynist portrayed as someone whom women adore and men aspire to be. And his only solution for any problem he encounters is bloody, gory violence. 
  • Several levels of difficulty ensure that players can experience as much challenge as they like. The controls are standard for a first-person shooter, though some of the sequences involving a remote control car can be a little tricky. The few puzzles players encounter have solutions that should prove fairly obvious to the game’s intended adult audience.
  • Players shoot a wide variety of alien enemies from a first-person perspective using handguns, shotguns, rifles, rocket launchers, emplaced weapons, and alien lasers. Bodies rip apart in gory fashion, blood spatters the ground, and characters grunt in pain. Duke can also perform bloody melee attacks with the butts of his weapons. Enemies occasionally fall to their knees, dazed, allowing players to dispatch them with special execution moves, such as bashing their skulls into a bloody pulp.
  • Virtually all of the women appearing in this game are sexually objectified. They have sex with Duke (not shown), perform a lap dance for him, utterly adore him, and frequently ask to have his babies or for him to pen an autograph near their private areas. One scene is set in a strip club, complete with topless pole dancers and an objective that sees Duke collecting a vibrator and a condom for a private appointment with one of the strippers. Another is set in a Vegas casino with dozens of statues of naked women. Yet another is in a hive filled with naked women who are being impregnated by aliens. 
  • The dialogue in this game runs the gamut of profanity. Some examples include: “f--k,” “s--t,” “bitch,” “c--k,” and “a--.”
  • Players will find plenty of poster and billboard ads, but none for real-world products.
  • Duke regularly imbibes beer, which blurs his vision but makes him “extra tough.” He also takes steroids to beef up his strength. Players can earn an achievement called “substance abuser” for taking both at the same time. He can also be seen chomping on a cigar, breathing smoke.
  • Not applicable.

What's it about?

After suffering one of the longest development cycles in the history of video games, DUKE NUKEM FOREVER sees the franchise’s notorious protagonist doing pretty much exactly the same thing gamers saw him doing in his last adventure, which arrived back in the mid-nineties. The muscle-bound Duke chomps a cigar and spouts lame and profane double-entendres while wading through hordes of pig-like aliens intent on stealing Earth’s women. He engages in gambling and sex-themed side quests, uses drugs and alcohol to enhance his performance, and takes pleasure in executing his alien enemies with his bare hands. If inclined, players can take the action beyond the campaign into a small collection of fairly standard multiplayer games for between two and eight players, one of which sees Duke capturing women rather than flags.


Is it any good?

 

Beyond its overtly misogynistic themes -- which should prove intolerable to any man with a daughter or wife -- puerile fascination with drugs and alcohol, and unimaginatively gory combat, Duke Nukem Forever is a by-the-numbers first-person shooter with the production values of a game developed five or six years ago. Dull design makes many levels feel like simple gladiatorial shoot-outs, and an utter lack of visual panache means players never get lost in fantastic spectacle -- something which most modern FPS fans are clearly hoping to do.

Its play mechanics are fairly solid (save the somewhat wonky RC car driving controls), and weapons feel satisfyingly powerful, but the same can be said about the vast majority of games in the extremely crowded shooter market. Duke Nukem Forever does stand apart from the crowd, just not in any way as to justify pride.     


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the way women are depicted in media. Compare their roles in popular books, movies, and films to those of their male counterparts. Do you notice any trends? Why are women characters so often objectified?

  • Families can also discuss drug use in games. What do you think of protagonists who consume drugs, tobacco, and alcohol? Are these habits character flaws? Do they somehow suggest that he or she has a more robust constitution that is to be admired?  


This review was written by Chad Sapieha
Parent
June 24, 2011
 
hail to the king baby
a great game let your kid get it

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Parent of 2 year old
July 1, 2011
 
If you like this game, that's fine. Just not for kids!
Duke Nukem hasn't strayed much from their content, if not enhanced it with the times. As of this review, 67% of the people say there are positive role models? That is not the case. The complete opposite at the very least. Just not a kid game. Keep it for yourself and not for the kiddies to watch.

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Kid, 13 years old
June 23, 2011
 
The King is back
Duke Nukem Forever has been in development hell for almost 12 years now. But are we really discussing a game called DUKE NUKEM FOREVER. Everybody remembers duke nukem. Just LET YOUR KIDS HAVE THIS GAME just think about it would you rather have your kids doing drugs, having sex and blowing up aleins and swearing in a video game or the real life? most people would say the game. So let your kids take there anger out on this game. And This review lies there are no topless dancers

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Teen, 15 years old
June 21, 2011
 
god commen sence pisses me off some times
just because this game is terrible in about every way doesn't mean its not a good game i hate it when people come in here and say this game is terrible because they don't think its appropriate for children well this game isn't for children and its ment to be outrages in every way i know i shouldn't be playing it because its over the top but that doesn't make it a bad game

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Adult
June 28, 2011
 
READ THIS REVIEW
Lets get real here. This game sucks. This sequel game was an long awaited game from the 90's that has taken forever to come out due to development problems. Fans here saying it's good are in complete denial about how horrible this game is. As a game IS a disappointment to the community. This game has terrible design, bad humor, bad release. At best this game is OK why, because that blood and gore, and straight killing action is diluted by bad puzzles, cheezy racing, bad mazes, and just simply not good at all. The ONLY redeming quality it's old fashion multiplayer, and I mean OLD, like outdated. Now unless your a huge fan the only thing you would like is the potty mouth Duke Nukem himself... I still get a laugh out of him

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Parent
June 25, 2011
 
MURP
I LOVE I! !!!!! !!!

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Teen, 16 years old
June 24, 2011
 
The world needs Duke!
In this overly politically correct world, we need Duke Nukem. People complained about the game being sexist. Well, this is satire. It isn't meant to be taken seriously, it isn't meant to be educational, it's about FUN. Nothing else. After seeing how people reacted to this game, I think they need to be less politically correct. You can't even make a gay joke without someone freaking out. I bought this game when I was 15, it wasn't too bad for me. If you don't want your kids seeing strippers, don't buy this for them. Thanks for bringing Duke back, Gearbox!

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Teen, 17 years old
June 21, 2011
 
Nothing but sex, drugs, and graphic violence
Duke Nukem Forever has been in production for years and well...... sucks really BAD. The graphics look like some old PS2 game and you don't give a hang about any of the characters. The game offers some hits at the funny bone but it dosen't last long and it seems like all Duke cares about being sttupid and going to strip clubs. Pass this game.

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Adult
July 18, 2011
 
Very bad game
The violence is about as gorey as you might expect. Beer and even steroids make Duke stronger. Quite a bit of language. And some nudity and a ton of sexual references.

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Adult
July 1, 2011
 
A little iffy for young ones.
The violence is about as gorey as you might expect. Beer and even steroids make Duke stronger. Quite a bit of language. And some nudity and a ton of sexual references.

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This review was written by Chad Sapieha
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows
Available online?Not available online
Genre:First Person Shooter
Developer:2K Games
Release date:June 14, 2011
Price:$59.99
ESRB rating:M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

This review was written by Chad Sapieha

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
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BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
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