A big part of the problem is actually the game's one truly distinguishing feature: its attitude, or at least its attempt at one. Times have changed, but the character of Duke Nukem -- his quips lifted from countless '80s and '90s era action films and his objectification of women equaled only by older Arnold Schwarzenegger roles -- is stuck in a bygone era. Jokes that may have spurred laughter all those years ago simply had me shaking my head, wondering if even a 12-year-old would find them funny ... even though, at that age, they wouldn't be able to buy the M-rated title. But why have that rating, even? If anything, a largely bloodless game that has its tone set in the opening moments when the player is instructed to pull the right trigger to take a piss, and can pick up then throw a piece of human poop from a toilet just moments later, is surely just ture. That could really be said about its writing and design in general. Want to play the true successor to Duke Nukem 3D? It's called Bulletstorm.
