Gearbox CEO: Duke Nukem Forever Is "Exactly Like Half-Life 2"

[dobahci]

No game uses the Source Engine that's not under the Valve francise.

Uh, wrong. There are a number of non-Valve games which use Source engine. I could provide examples, but I think you can do a simple search. Anyway, my point was more about creating an engine that could be updated in a modular fashion so that it doesn't need to be replaced with a completely new iteration each time it starts to get outdated.

it stands on the shoulders of giants

So did Isaac Newton, according to his own words, probably the most famous utterance of that quote, and he was one of the greatest scientific minds of all time. That's the whole point. No one ever starts from scratch, because if you did, you'd never get anything done. Everyone who's done something great has built upon the work of those who came before him. That's what Valve did with HL2, and it really was revolutionary.

Your original contention was that HL2 didn't have much impact on the gaming landscape, but I'd like to see how many games you can name that have been more influential on modern game design than Half-Life 2. There aren't very many. Honestly, I'm not sure what you're really getting at here. You even agree that HL2 is a great game, but you say it hasn't had any impact. It's had a huge impact, and you don't even need to be a fanboy to think so.

As far as DNF... well, it has its own legacy. That legacy doesn't remind one of HL2. It reminds one of Daikatana. How to disappoint gamers after years of hype. Saying that it's like HL2 due to having "the same elements in different amounts" is like saying your neighbor is like Sammy Sosa because they can both hit a baseball, they just hit the baseball a bit differently.

 

[Strazdas]

Makes stupid statements. likes The Hangover. Why i am not surprised.

 

[Cyrus Hanley]

Actually, title should read "Gearbox CEO: Pacing of Duke Nukem Forever Is "Exactly Like Half-Life 2""

But I guess that one word couldn't fit into the headline. Shame because it completely changes things but I guess saying something sensible just isn't as interesting as mis-quoting someone.

Weird that nobody seems to have read the article and noticed this.

I noticed it and was pissed off that I was taken in by the misleading title.

 

[Revolutionary]

Oh dear, i'm not sure if that's extreme nepotism, narcissistic blindness, or just bad taste.

 

[Dylalanine]

Uh, wrong. There are a number of non-Valve games which use Source engine.

So, Postal III uses the Source Engine too. And Dota2, sure. That's a fine legacy it leaves behind.

What I'm getting at is that Half-Life 2 is a vastly overrated game. When I say it stands on the shoulders of giants--yes, like Isaac Newton coined and/or used best--I say that it stands on their shoulders like a little parrot, and is only noted for its greatness because at that time, in 2004, it stood a few inches higher than the last game. It's another linear FPS with above-average AI and a mess of sci-fi guns and lore.

The characters are forgettable--G-Man is a B-Rate Hugo Weaving a'la Agent Smith from The Matrix, Alyx Vance is a girl who, dear me, talks to silent nerds such as Gordon "Hipster Glasses" Freeman, and Barney is the other character that likes you aside from Dr. Breen Connery and Morgan Freeman.

What Duke did--that HL2 didn't--is provide Grade-A action without the mess of twenty-some guns to throw at one's enemies. DNF only has two gun slots plus the use of his bombs, which challenges the player to think about his future encounters.

HL2 ascribes to be atmospheric, to be engaging, but when you can carry the entire Canadian munitions depot on your back, it quickly breaks down. And on a previous point, a silent protagonist is silent when he has no one to speak to. Chell had reason never to speak to Glad0s--she hated her. Gordon never speaks to Alyx--because he's a creep and likely a serial rapist after this whole Combine thing smooths over.

I'm not raging against you specifically. I'm just raging over the whole mob mentality that Valve can do no wrong and is the savior of all gaming. They're merely very good, just like Epic, Bungie, and I'll say it now, Infinity Ward/Treyarch.

I miss my gaming heroes that had attitude, starring in games that tried to do something different, do something exceptional. Half-Life had alien takeovers and zombies. Duke had aliens too, but at least he took them on with a sneer and a quick one-liner.

Where is HL's revolution? Half-Life 2 is the platinum example of doing nothing different, but doing everything expected with the cleanest execution. Hostile takeover? Check. Freedom fighter rising against all odds? Check. Creepy government oversight that was there the whole time? Check. Excellent use of physics engine to play around with puzzles and combat encounters? Check.

HL2 may have set a benchmark in gaming as the go-to example back in 2004, but it is by that benchmark that every game plays by, and so when I see Half-Life 2 in every game, it's not because Half-Life 2 revolutionized gaming. It's because Half-Life 2 was just another brick in the wall of the FPS genre.

It was just a particularly shiny brick, and whatever HL2 did, DNF did as well, despite being overburdened by an obese developent cycle and gross mismanagement. DNF was handicapped by multiple shots to its own foot, and it still did what HL2 did with a more engaging protagonist and more aggressive gameplay.

Heck, Duke broke down when the Holsom twins got captured. When Eli Vance got killed, Gordon Freeman...just broke more crates and boarded doorways with his crowbar.