Duke Nukem Forever to be re-announced this week (at PAX)?

[A Black Falcon]

To actually answer the question, though I'm pretty sure it's a joke:

Duke Nukem is an over-the-top stereotype of American machismo, circa the '90s. The whole point is for him to be completely ridiculously overdone.

I mean, in Duke Nukem 2, the story is that Duke is on a TV show talking about his new book "Why I'm So Great", when he gets abducted by aliens and has to stop their invasion of Earth. I think that says all you need to know about him...

I mean yes, of course it's sexist, but it's as much parody as it is serious, really. It's an over-the-top action hero parody/homage.

Of course that isn't exactly my favorite thing, as I haven't watched most of the action movies the Duke series rips its lines and themes off of, that kind of movie just isn't one we watched much. Indeed, the Duke Nukem games aren't among my favorites -- I haven't actually gotten anywhere near the end of any of them, though I have several (Duke 2, Duke 3D, the Duke 3D expansion...) -- but still, they're definitely very good games, and for the latter one part of that's just that they're FPSes, and there aren't many FPSes I ever have really stuck with. I can only think of six games in the genre I've ever beaten... which is probably why I had more fun back then with Duke 2 than the 3D ones, it's a fun platform-action game. :)

Duke Nukem 3D is a game I've meant to play more of for like ten years now (since I got it in 2000 or so from an issue of PC Gamer), but I've just never quite gotten around to it... maybe I should.