Let's take a nostalgic trip back to 2001.
We had the Playstation, Nintendo 64, and were still removing the fetid taste of Windows ME from our mouth.
Looking back, what still exists today? Windows xp debuted in late 2001, and it still clings to life. All other software with the same name as 2001 has gone through multiple revisions since then, and would hardly be recognizable with the new features, UI, and other improvements. Hardware is a fun joke. My calculator can best some of the PCs from 2001, and the amount of change in some hardware (video cards specifically) is absolutely absurd.
Duke was originally developed for 2001, and that fact shines through. Remove the somewhat relevant situational jokes (making fun of Halo, really?), and you've got a standard shooter.
If I were to compare Painkiller to Duke there would be a severe discrepancy. Painkiller was released several years ago, but features the same brand of insane violence (shrink gun ~= lightning shuriken gun). Both do what they can graphically, but aren't exactly breaking any records. Both share the mantle of non-realistic shooters, and are genuinely fun in small doses. The difference is I keep coming back to Painkiller. Duke is so dishwater mediocre that it's hard to see coming back in five years, and this is even with the nostalgia blinders pushed firmly onto my face.
~Sigh~
Just escaping development Hell is not enough. With this poor of a showing I would have a hard time seeing a new (and presumably better due to a coherent vision) game from Gearbox featuring the Duke. Some times nostalgia poisons our thinking, and those not around with Duke in the day will likely see through the blandness of this game and question what is so special. Not all of this crap falls to Gearbox, but they will likely take the flack for releasing "an unpolished game" because they couldn't reasonably reconcile design choices from a decade ago with a more modern set of design tools.
