Does anybody pity Duke?

Does anybody pity Duke? "Poor guy."

PikaCommando

#1 Posted 03 October 2016 - 08:42 AM

Aside from having his long-awaited sequel turning out like this, the events of this game would've been Duke's darkest hour had DNF been any other game.

The aliens came back hungry for revenge, destroyed everything the protagonist built for the past 12 years in a matter of hours (Lady Killer, Duke Dome, Duke Burger), killed everyone he cared about (the Holsom twins, at least), being unable to save almost everyone he encounters ("Not even I can save you now" in The Hive, among many others) even though they all depended on him to protect them and believed he could do anything, getting knocked out all the damn time, and the President blaming him for the alien attack so logically speaking, the people who lost their family members to Pregnators/Pigcops would be angry at him for letting all this happen.

But since this is Duke Nukem, everyone is happy that he kicked the aliens' asses again and cheered for Duke(inator) to be President. I know he's a badass and all and these things don't bother him, but his adventures turned from happy-family-friendly to bloody-ultra-violent real fast between DN2 and DN3D. Now I wonder if he steals one-liners and has women between his arms and legs every night is because he wants to hide his pain (of that, as well as not getting any good games since Manhattan Project).

MusicallyInspired

Buy Mage's Initiation!

#2 Posted 03 October 2016 - 09:58 AM

Not really. I like to think Duke was getting bored and needed some more action after 12 years. The outcome of DNF was exactly the exercise he needed.

Micky C

Honored Donor

#3 Posted 04 October 2016 - 03:23 PM

I agree. I don't think Duke was too tied to his material possessions, he'll always come back.

The only thing I pity was the terrible writing for the story and conversations in DNF. They should either completely not bother, or put a hell of a lot more effort in (even if it results in a story that's even more minimal than what we ended up with, but with far higher quality).

hismasterplan

#4 Posted 05 October 2016 - 07:14 PM

Duke always seemed depressed to me in DNF and it actually helped me appreciate the game a bit more. He only talks when he's killing things or something goes wrong. He doesn't seem to like the Holsom Twins all that much but he needs to have someone around to fill his lonely gap in life. That's what he was angry about when they were taken, not their safety. He pants for air when he runs too long so he was obviously out of shape. For instance, the Doctor Who Cloned me he says "time to storm the gates" - but if you were to actually sprint he can't even make it to the entrance to the teleport. I do a joke to myself where as soon as he says that line, I run until he pants then look down at his feet for a moment. Duke's a mess with no previous purpose but to fight in DNF.

xStayMetalx

#5 Posted 01 November 2016 - 09:58 AM

They need to make this all come out in the next game. Duke's mid life crisis

Striker

Auramancer

#6 Posted 01 November 2016 - 09:07 PM

I only pity him for how his handlers (IP rights holders) have treated him.

Outtagum

#7 Posted 07 December 2016 - 01:19 AM

xStayMetalx, on 01 November 2016 - 09:58 AM, said:

Duke's mid life crisis

We're seeing that now.

Duke4Beta

#8 Posted 09 December 2016 - 12:26 AM

I can honestly agree with the original post, DNF does seem much more like a sob story, than a hero's journey.

RunRonRun

#9 Posted 09 December 2016 - 05:36 AM

The Duke in DNF isn't Duke. It's a fraud that senses it is a fraud deep down but doesn't know it's just a clone.

That's why DNF is so depressing.

Duke was in a sweat tent with a hot Injun woman having cosmic expanding experiences while DNF was going on. Duke's take on DNF has yet to be told.