Now that Duke Nukem Forever actually appears to be on course for publication, Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford is seemingly making sure that games know its the real deal by handing out pinches of details. The latest news regarding Duke's big return centers on the actual single-player campaign itself. According to Pitchford, it's going to be massive in size, calling DNF a triple-A title.
"The campaign is huge," he said. "It’s probably three times the size of the last Call Of Duty game (Modern Warfare 2). And it’s great through and through. Any time I play, at any given moment, I’m having a great time and I want to see the next moment. There’s crazy set-pieces and, in that regard… if you’re expecting this to be a fizzle-out, a low budget thing, you’re going to be like: 'Holy sh*t! Oh my God! This is no joke!'"
He also admitted that the game will still have its faults despite the lengthy development. "If you’re expecting perfect, there’s no such thing as perfect," he admitted. "I don’t think anything can up to 12 years, but I think it’s astonishing how big it is--especially given how it’s suddenly here. To people that are on the outside, it [appears to have] come out of nowhere."
In related news, Gearbox Software has given the green light for an independent team of fans to re-create the original Duke Nukem 3D from the ground up. Currently named Duke Nukem: Next-Gen (DNNG), the game will use Epic's Unreal Engine 3 and eventually consist of a 3-episode singleplayer campaign, a full multiplayer component, and will be free to download and play.
"I contacted George Broussard and Scott Miller, to start a conversation about the project," said project leader Frederik Schreiber. "The shots managed to convince Scott Miller to a certain degree, but the project was only doable if Take-Two would approve it. Thinking that Gearbox might have a better relationship to Take-Two than 3Drealms, I contacted AdamF, who passed me through to PJ Putnam, Vice President and General Counsel of Gearbox Software. Luckily Gearbox was interested in supporting the project, which resulted in a personal non-commercial license to Duke Nukem."
While no potential release date was given, the team is currently looking to take on additional help. To find out more, head here.
