First announced in 1997, Duke Nukem Forever went through the textbook definition of 'development hell.' It took 14 years from its initial announcement to be released in 2011 by Gearbox Software, and when it finally did release, it landed with a resounding 'meh.' Middling graphics, outdated gameplay, a nonsensical story, and antiquated humor brought the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever to its knees. That is, until the disastrous development of the infamous Duke Nukem Forever. The popularity of the Duke Nukem games in their early days cemented the ass-kicking muscle man as a gaming icon. Duke enjoyed relatively steady success throughout the 1990s, quipping one-liners and blasting his way through hoards of alien scum. Duke Nukem 3D was his first foray into the first-person, and after the game's excellent critical reception, the Duke Nukem franchise never looked back.

Duke's journey started as pixelated side-scrolling shoot-em-ups before settling on the more iconic first-person perspective he's known for today. Developed and published in 1991 by Apogee Software, the original Duke Nukem is a vastly different experience from its more contemporary counterparts. When discussing adult-oriented first-person shooters in the 1990s, the three big players were DOOM, Wolfenstein, and Duke Nukem. At one point in time, Duke Nukem was an absolute pillar of the video game industry.

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