Duke Nukem Forever demo now on 360, PC

By Fred Dutton Published 21 June, 2011

PS3 version coming soon.

Put off by the universally dismal reviews for Duke Nukem Forever, but still intrigued to see how the game turned out after 15 years in development hell? Well, here's your chance for a spot of rubbernecking.

Developer Gearbox has announced that a demo for the game is now available to all via Xbox Live and Steam.

"We are working with Sony to get the demo out [for PlayStation 3] as soon as possible too," added a post on the studio's official blog.

Access to a demo for the game was previously limited to those who picked up the Game of the Year edition of Borderlands.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 11 months ago

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  • uglygamer #1 11 months ago

    3/10

  • systems #2 11 months ago

    I watched a gameplay video of the hive level. Decided I don't want to play any of that so no need for demo here.

  • Widge #3 11 months ago

    But it's not a war shooter and "fun"!

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #4 11 months ago

    Post deleted at 15:13:15 09-05-2012

  • M4RV #5 11 months ago

    I deleted the demo from my Steam account 10 minutes after starting it; I really tried, but I just couldn't. Can't complain, since it was a bonus included with the GOTY edition for Borderlands, but it was underwhelming nonetheless... The Duke in it's current form is DEAD. No way around that. :\

  • 32768Colours #6 11 months ago

    I'll give it a go out of morbid curiosity. I mean afterall, its the Duke, right Randy?

  • Centrifugal #7 11 months ago

    The closest technology has come to being able to actually digitalise an emotion -- in this case, disappointment.

  • NunianVonFuch #8 11 months ago

    Good. Now those who don't quite believe how bad it could be can see with their own eyes.

  • Freek #9 11 months ago

    The thing is, the game that DNF is now hasn't been the product of 14 years development. It's the product of maybe a year or two of development by a tiny team with barely any funds where Gearbox swooped in and handed them some cash and another 6 months to duck tape all the bitts together.

  • HyperTails #10 11 months ago

    If you haven't played it, you can't pass judgement. Play it, take it for what it is, and THEN declare it crap/good.

    Its great. And has a fun MP, too. Really hectic and fast paced.

  • Gambit1977 #11 11 months ago

    Well, I did the unthinkable and downloaded it.

    Blugh!

  • Nikoj #12 11 months ago

    Almost every comment i find is either about someone complaining that this game ain't like Duke Nukem 3D, or that the graphics sucks. Why can't people just play the game and enjoy it for what it is, and not complain over the game for what it isn't.

    I have played through the whole game and enjoyed every bit of it. From the firefights to the humor. So i recomend that people give this game a chance and don't have to high expectations from the older games, especially not from DN3D because this ISN'T Duke Nukem 3D.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #13 11 months ago

    Tried the demo and I have to admit I was actually enjoying myself. It's no masterpiece but it certainly wasn't so bad that I had to stop playing. I have to admit that curiosity was the bigger motivator here but I think I still have to get this.

    Edit: I might have to add that it was the PC demo; The console versions are apparently vastly inferior which is sad because I usually get my games for a console, even FPSs.
    Edited by Der_tolle_Emil at 21/06/11 @ 19:17

  • RevanNL #14 11 months ago

    Played the demo just now and it's A: Ugly B: Boring C: Not funny in any kind of way. It's a crime against humanity to release such a big mess in 2011

  • Der_tolle_Emil #15 11 months ago

    @beemoh: As far as I know it's the same demo. Stadium, huge monster, truck, getting gas from a mine, trailer, demo over.

  • Silent-Hal #16 11 months ago

    Whenever I see 'humour' as a plus point for this game I just think of that putrid 'rape hive' level and question that person's sanity.

  • HyperTails #17 11 months ago

    @spacedelete

    In your opinion, perhaps. But its not a fact.

    Why do people complain about people saying they like the game, yet then use every opportunity to tell everyone how crap it is? If you don't like it, don't play it. Simple.

  • DiamondIce #18 11 months ago

    I am at a low ebb with gaming at the moment and I am now downloading this demo to see if there is a spark somewhere. This is going one of two ways tonight...

  • Genyus #19 11 months ago

    Tried it, agreed with the reviews it got, deleted it, continued life.

  • bad09 #20 11 months ago

    Way hay! The demo runs quite nicely on my temporary weak arse PC \o/

    OK honestly, why is the game apparently so bad? I quite like the demo. Certainly no 3/10 game on PC.

  • Smoped #21 11 months ago

    Tried the demo. Not as bad as one might expect, though not exactly great either.

  • kinky_mong #22 11 months ago

    Totally agree with RevanNL, played the demo and it was ugly, boring and not funny in the slightest. 3/10 maybe a bit harsh, 4/10 is probably closer to the mark from my impressions of the demo.

    /awaits Duke apologists with "You can't judge it on a demo!" whinging.

  • RageRiot #23 11 months ago

    I'm seriously re-evaluating my Christmas card list after reading the venom in these comments.

    *throws toys out of pram*

  • darkos87 #24 11 months ago

    Demo will be 5 years late and still broken

  • HyperTails #25 11 months ago

    "Totally agree with RevanNL, played the demo and it was ugly, boring and not funny in the slightest. 3/10 maybe a bit harsh, 4/10 is probably closer to the mark from my impressions of the demo.

    /awaits Duke apologists with "You can't judge it on a demo!" whinging."

    Personally, I respect your opinion because at least you tried the demo, rather than not bothering but declaring it crap anyway.

    Though i've not played the demo, what section did it have? The early section of the game drags on a bit. The humour kicks off when you leave the hotel, I found. The Master Chief armour bit was great.

  • Dave #26 11 months ago

    I actually finished the game, just because I've been waiting so damn long on this thing. It starts out alright and it made me chuckle at some points. But after I finished it, I deleted it and vowed to never return. The game is just so outdated on every level... Gearbox must really love the Duke for finishing the developement of this cringeworthy game.

  • kinky_mong #27 11 months ago

    @HyperTails: The demo was a football stadium fight against a big alien that pulls back to reveal it was Duke playing a game, then a section where you need to get gas for a monster truck by going into some mines.

  • NeverWinter78 #28 11 months ago

    I have never played a duke game so downloaded the demo to see what it was like. 2/10 at best. Deleted it 20 mins after playing it. Couldn't find anything I liked about it at all.

  • HyperTails #29 11 months ago

    @kinky_mong

    Really? The 'searching for the gas' section? That happens three times in that section, was annoying (monster truck running out of gas... who thought that would be a good idea THREE TIMES!?) in the game, and wasn't a good decision to make a demo out of. That, and the actual driving didn't feel right...

  • busboy33 #30 11 months ago

    Tried demo to see for myself . . . wow.

    Played on 360. Animation was jittery. The "humor" in the locker room was beyond sad (look! He's pissing! OMG -- now he's playing with shit! And commenting how stupid playing with shit is while doing it! Genius!!!). Moving felt slow. Aiming was rough and inaccurate. The monster truck handled like hell. The weapons lacked personality. Enemies were . . . they were just there.

    Worst part? In the locker room I found the mirror and watched myself jump in front of it. Duke's torso remained completely frozen while his legs made a ridiculous Mario-esque split-jump animation. It was . . . God, it was horrible.

    Not one aspect of the demo said anything but "utterly generic and third-tier FPS".

    For the defenders out there, let me ask this: If you took Duke out of the game and replaced him with . . . with anybody else, would you still like it? If the only merit to the game is that Duke Nuke'Em is in it . . . then its not a good game. Take Nathan Drake out of Uncharted, and the game itself is still great. Maybe it'll have a different character, but the underlying mechanics are still sound and fun. Put Nathan Drake in Wii bowling, and its still just Wii Bowling.

    So, yay the character of Duke Nuke'em is present, I guess. If that's important for you. The everything else in the demo is "barely competent" to "stunningly bad". One of the worst demos I have ever played.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #31 11 months ago

    For the defenders out there, let me ask this: If you took Duke out of the game and replaced him with . . . with anybody else, would you still like it? If the only merit to the game is that Duke Nuke'Em is in it . . . then its not a good game.

    Depends on how you look at it. It seems like this is one of the games were you cannot judge single elements that make up the game because they indeed do not hold up. Put them all together in one package and it might appeal to you. I'm not trying to defend the game simply because it has Duke in it, I'm just saying that the character, the toilet humor and most of the other things to go well hand in hand. Whether that is up someone's alley is for them to decide but for me it's not just because of the character but what else comes with him.

    So in a way yes, Duke as a character is important as he holds everything together. That doesn't mean that the humor for example is automatically better but it does at least fit. It's like watching a bad movie where everything is so bad that it becomes interesting to watch again. Not everybody likes that but every once in a while I find it quite fun.

  • seanyboycorben #32 11 months ago

    Wave goodbye to any more sales, 2K and Gearbox.

  • TruSmiles #33 11 months ago

    Interested to try both of these after work and compare the two, see if the PC version really is better.

  • IcaruZx #34 11 months ago

    This demo was a waste of my time. The controls were awful and the level-design was just boring.

    Thanks to the demo, i will buy a different game instead. Such a dissapointment. ..

  • actionfitz #35 11 months ago

    "Developer Gearbox has announced that a demo for the game is now available to all via Xbox Live and Steam."

    wow, embargo reviews till after launch, demo delayed till well after launch, honest reviews threatened with Blacklisting.
    a more cynical person would think they new they had a polished turd on their hands and wanted a week to charge unfortunates £40 a pop for it before the word got out.
    fuck you very much 2K and Gear box.

  • Sabreman64 #36 11 months ago

    Put off by the universally dismal reviews for Duke Nukem Forever, but still intrigued to see how the game turned out after 15 years in development hell?

    How can you claim that the reviews were "universally dismal" when the Metacritic score is 49%? Given that 49% is only one percent below an average score of 50%, wouldn't the reviews be better described as 'mixed' or 'average'?
    Edited by Sabreman64 at 22/06/11 @ 12:07

  • NHDavid #37 11 months ago

    Put off by the universally dismal reviews for Duke Nukem Forever, but still intrigued to see how the game turned out after 15 years in development hell?

    How can you claim that the reviews were "universally dismal" when the Metacritic score is 49%? Given that 49% is only one percent below an average score of 50%, wouldn't the reviews be better described as 'mixed' or 'average'?

    50% is average?????? 50% is crap!