Hail to the King baby; June 14th (10th internationally) marks when Duke Nukem returns to video games. For some people this is a big deal since it is the first Duke Nukem game in over 12 years, especially since this game was suppose to come out in 2002 before going through a maze of complications pushing it back further and further until the set date now. For others, this seems like any other game since due to the large gap between this game and the last Duke Nukem game, the younger audience most likely knows very little about him. I speak somewhat for myself since the series is about the same age as myself and I was a child when Duke Nukem 3D came out, so I obviously had zero chance of playing it then. Part of what kept Duke alive was soundboards created of him and one-liners that get used on a consistent basis that originated in this series. Examples include "I've got balls of steel" "Come get some" and everyone's favorite "I'm gonna kick ass and chew bubble gum...and I'm all out of gum". As put by the CEO of Gearbox, Duke Nukem really has become the video game Chuck Norris in the sense that if it is possible, Duke can do it. His "accomplishments" include going to the moon, scaling Everest, catching Jaws, winning the world series of poker, becoming a UFC champion, and winning two oscars.
The reason I bring up Duke Nukem is that I've noticed that in the last few years, classic games have been making a comeback. Classic may not put it correctly...the better term may be how iconic games/characters that have been returning or going back to their roots of when their games were at their peak of popularity. It started back in 2008/2009 with Street Fighter 4. This was the first street fighter game that wasn't some kind of collector's edition or anniversary edition game since number 3 was made back in 1999. The game took the world by storm and in my opinion, reminded everyone who the king of fighting games was and still is. 2011 comes along and Marvel vs Capcom 3 comes out, which is the long awaited sequel that took quite a few years to finally come out with, and also Mortal Kombat (number 9 in the series). Marvel vs Capcom stuck to the system that made it so famous over the years while Mortal Kombat went back to the fighting style of their 2D versions. This has been met with great reviews by critics and regular gamers alike, myself included. Even games that have stayed popular like Zelda are going back in time, pun intended, with the release of the Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 3DS. So as I said, the return of the Duke has just been another ripple in what has been a classic/iconic game revival going on. I for one am very happy about this since the variety is even better since it has new games to try and old ones to fall back on in case nothing seems appealing at the time.
Now I of course have no way of knowing if Duke Nukem Forever will be any good. Of all the reboots that I have mentioned already, this could be the one to fall flat on it's face. I certainly hope this isn't the case since I have been looking forward to this game for some time, but there have been some games that looked great and ended up disappointing (Force Unleashed 2 anyone?). So here's hoping that Duke returns to his spot in the main stream gaming community.
And remember, Don't Panic, and never forget your towel.
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