Gearbox Thinks Duke Nukem Forever Reviews Weren't Fair

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Making a game is never an easy thing to do. Years of blood, sweat, and tears go into the production of a game, and hopes of a blockbuster hit can be dashed in an instant by poor reviews. Unfortunately, that was the case for Duke Nukem Forever – the game had turned into a joke before it was released, and now that it’s been on shelves for a while, it’s still something of a joke.

That’s because Duke Nukem Forever is a terrible game, and reviewers around the world let us know that. Sure, there’s always some people out there that will like it, but for the most part, it seems like reviewers just weren’t entertained by it. To make matters worse, Gearbox was initially very defensive in the face of the negative reviews, which doesn’t help Duke Nukem Forever‘s or Gearbox’s public image.

Well, they’re back it again, with Gearbox co-founder Brian Martel telling Eurogamer that he doesn’t think Duke Nukem Forever was reviewed fairly after launch. Martel said that he thought many reviewers used Duke Nukem Forever as a “soapbox or whatever,” and proceeded to compare Duke Nukem Forever to a classic and much-loved PC game:

It was what it was meant to be, which is a more old-school style game in what is today’s technology. We’ve had this internal debate: Would Half-Life today be reviewed as highly as it is, you know, even today? As a new IP coming out with the same sort of mechanics Half-Life had. I think we all have a nostalgia and love for that particular brand. Obviously Gearbox got its start working on Opposing Force so we love Half-Life. But is the current gamer, would they have the same love for that? It’d be interesting. I think the same kind of thing happened with Duke.

Well, if Half-Life were released today, it would naturally be judged by 2011′s standards. Sure, the graphics and the AI might cause for the deduction of a few points, but as long as the gameplay was engaging and the narrative compelling – two features that Duke Nukem Forever severely lacked – I think it would stand a pretty good shot and landing some desirable review scores. I don’t get the analogy anyway – is he saying that reviews weren’t fair because it wasn’t judged by 1998′s standards?

Gearbox needs to learn that it can’t release a game with the name of a famous franchise attached and expect it to be well received by reviewers based on the name alone. Duke Nukem Forever was a shit game, and whining about the review scores – crying that reviewers didn’t give it a fair shot or whatever their current complaint may be – just makes Gearbox look like a company of babies.

Gearbox, I love you, but for fuck’s sake, man up and stop whining about Duke Nukem Forever already.