October 1st, 2008

Duke Nukem – Forever Beta…

When talking about games that I will always remember, Duke Nukem 3D has, and will always have a special place in my heart. Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior, another game made by 3D Realms using the same graphics engine, ate a lot of my time during high school, and I don't even have to mention those network slaughter sessions I've been through...

...and now, every time I hear about Duke Nukem Forever beta - at least beta - I jump up and check the news sources, digging for all I can get. Unfortunately, all I usually got in the last decade was one rumor after another, and nothing more. After all, Duke Nukem Forever is the most delayed videogame in history, since its development started back in 1997, and promotional information has been released in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2007, and even in June 2008.

Now, we have some new screenshots - in fact, only two of them, but nothing clear regarding the release date, as usual.

I think changing the name of the game into Duke Nukem Forever Beta, or even Duke Nukem Vaporware won't hurt too much. In fact, this could make this even more interesting. After all, Duke Nukem Forever got so many "vaporware awards," that could be identified by a lot of people with the "vaporware genre" itself, if I can put it this way.

The new screenshots that became available recently in the Xbox Live Arcade don't show much, just some 3D chicks, and an octabrain reminding me of some BlackSite: Area 51 monster. Now, the game is using a heavily modified Unreal Engine, while a decade ago, it all started with the Quake II graphics engine. Oh, my, how many can change in a decade...

...but I only hope one thing - to see Duke Nukem Forever beta turning into just "Duke Nukem Forever," and to have the DVD in my hands. As soon as possible, please! I am sure there are gamers who died waiting for this to come out, and I don't want to go after them...