Duke Nukem-Waiting for Forever is a fun little game made in my favorite maker Gamemaker. I can't fathom why gamemaker isn't very popular; perhaps people are scared that it's providing competition, maybe they hate action games, or perhaps some people are too lazy to try something new. Either way, DK:WF really made me appreciate that people are trying new things.
You play as America's favorite badass (and underdog to Ash from Evil Dead) Duke Nukem. He's tired, he's cool, and he's being introduced on the Dr.
Phil show. Soon, a bunch of aliens drop in and threaten world domination (as always) when good old Duke decides to lend a hand in getting rid of them.
The graphics are pretty impressive. The sprites are well animated, the levels are greatly drawn, and the particle effects are very good. Each sprite has it's own colorful animation, and it's really cool to see a helicopter pop in and drop off a few soldiers before flying away. The game requires a good graphics card to run smoothly, but trust me when I say it's worth it.
The gameplay is pretty well balanced if not a little hard. Following the old school Duke from the DOS days (the sidescrolling ones), Duke can run, jump, and duck incoming
bullets. While getting used to aiming took me a while, I was soon dodging bullets and equally returning the pain. It's pretty hard, especially with the steep penalties you get on points when you die (the only way to get to higher levels) but practice makes the game's difficulty mildly enjoyable.
Sound effects are spot on and add to the wonderful atmosphere. The levels are pretty long and always provide new and interesting challenges (I cried with glee when I saw the return of the Robocop-esque robot from the first Duke game).
Overall, it's a very decent game that really pushes the power (or makes us see in a whole new light) of Gamemaker. Hopefully, people will recognize this and hop on the Gamemaker wagon.
