20 years after the original release Nukem is back, and this time he really, really is out of gum...

For too long our heroes were one-dimensional, straight-shooting individuals. They would fight evil, overthrow dictatorships and generally do good - something that became surprisingly tedious after a while. However, in 1991 Duke Nukem was born, bringing a comical element to his games whilst setting the foundations for real change in the action genre. While the initial Duke Nukem titles were basic 16-color EGA graphics that consisted of simple scrolling movement, a new era still dawned from Duke's creation. Let's face it - heroes are rarely law-abiding, well-mannered individuals. Instead, the vast majority are crude womanisers who get the job done any way possible; a true bad-ass, if you can excuse the cliché. Officer John McClane; Police Inspector Harry Callahan; King Leonidas - all true heroes; each with their own individual, twisted logic that makes them just oh-so-appealing.

So, sit down comfortably, take a deep breath and prepare yourself for probably the biggest gaming news of the year - even if it is only January. In 1997 - a whole 14 years ago - news of a sequel to PC favourite Duke Nukem 3D was released, rumoured to be called Duke Nukem Forever. However, after several announcements and deferences on a release date, developer 3D Realms released a press statement in 2001 saying that the game would be released "when it's done". From there, the game was delayed year after year, with each progressive setback wearing away at the hope of ever seeing Duke again. Then, on Friday 21st January 2011 - a date that is sure to go down in history - the unthinkable happened... Duke Nukem Forever received a release date! Both 3D Realms and publisher 2K Games have confirmed the date, with 2K stating that Duke's return will be "epic and one that will make video gaming history".

If, for some strange reason, you are still struggling to understand the hype behind this franchise then feast your eyes on this mouth-watering trailer:

Let's just break this down a bit more. The ESRB content rating for this game warns of blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, mature humour, nudity, strong sexual content and use of drugs and alcohol - what's not to like? Furthermore, all you filthy-minded individuals will be pleased to know that the game is due to be uncensored, so you can look forward to boobs and plenty of virtual-skin usually only accessible in pornography.

You know, when Duke Nukem first uttered the words "eat s**t and die" in Duke Nukem: Time to Kill back in 1998, people said that this sort of behaviour was "unnecessary" and "would not last". However, with the latest instalment due to be made available on both Xbox and PS3, as opposed to just PC, you can't help but laugh at these naysayers. They must have forgot that Duke has "balls of steel".

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