Duke Nukem Manhattan Project Review
By - Craig H.
Remember when Duke Nukem was one of the top shooters in the industry? When good ol’ Duke was in his prime? I do and unfortunately Duke is not looking good in 2010. Duke Nukem Manhattan Project is not much more than a port of the 2002 PC release.
The game was made in 2002 and looks that way. The character models are jagged and poorly animated. The background looks like a bad photo with the decently modeled buildings placed in front to give the appearance of depth. Even the breasts on the bomb strapped women look like they are all wearing a Madonna cone bra. Overall the game is just ugly when comparing it to other recently released side-scrolling shooters.
In this tale Duke Nukem is Manhattan's last hope for survival. An evil mastermind, Morphix, has flooded the city’s water supply with radioactive GLOPP. This has turned the entire population of sewer dwelling creatures into man hunting mutants. There’s one man who can be counted on to take out the trash: Duke Nukem.
The game consists of the same boring elements over and over. Each level tasks you with finding a colored key card, disarming a bomb, and then using said key card to exit the level. Every now and then you will be met with a boss battle. The boss battles consist of shooting at its weak points until the boss is destroyed. This is repeated for all 24 levels.
A major infuriating factor is the save system. Once you reach a checkpoint it saves your progress with your current health and ammo. If you die it will bring you back to that checkpoint with the same health and ammo to re-try the area again. The only problem is when you are 1 hit away from death with no ammo you are pretty screwed. You will play the same area over and over. In some cases the computer will spawn you in a location that will automatically kill you.
The $10 list price is a bit hard to swallow considering the game you get. The game is entertaining if you like the genre for a single playthough but provides zero incentive to ever return. This game is suited for the $5 and under category.
Back in 2002 Duke Nukem Manhattan Project received fairly good reviews but the aged graphics and overall gameplay do not translate well into 2010. Only the most hardcore Duke Nukem fans apply here. If you played this game 8 years ago when it was originally released you should just skip it. The game can be fun at times but when placed side-by-side against other releases in the genre it fails to pass the test of time.
Pros:
- Decent length campaign for a downloadable title
- Boss battles are fun
Cons:
- Way too expensive at $10
- Dated graphics with bad animation
- Faulty checkpoint system that punish the player rather then help
RATING: 4.25/10
