Duke Nukem Forever Is Gold

[Weltall]

but overall it should be judged on its own merits... reviewers clearly aren't doing that.

The only reason the game was even finished and released was because of its notoriety regarding the interminable development cycle (which was not, in my opinion, a compelling reason for the game to be finished). The more recent generation of gamers probably only know about the Duke Nukem franchise in the context of this title and its infamous backstory. Given what I know about it, it seems as though the acquisition, development, and release of this game focuses at least as much on that infamy as it does all the other factors which make for a game anybody would want to play. That doesn't sound like a particularly well-informed decision to me.