Duke returns to his roots for more fun and mayhem
3D Realms just recently re-released Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project on Xbox Live Arcade. The game was originally released on the PC back in 2002 and was one of the last original Duke games released. 3D Realms and Sunstorm Interactive teamed up and took the adult version of Duke Nukem and took him back to his roots at a time when side scrolling games were being considered old, stale and a thing of the past. You have 3D modeled environments mixed with the 2D side scrolling action of the original DOS Duke Nukem games. It might sound scary and a formula for disaster but don't you worry. Duke delivers!
The plot involves Duke Nukem trying to stop a madman by the name of Mech Morphix who is half man, half machine from taking over the world with his toxic GLOPP which can turn normal animals into bloodthirsty murdering creatures. The object of the game is quite simple. Blast through each level destroying every scum sucking creature that tries to stop you. Disarm the bombs and rescue the gorgeous babes and find the keycards....yes, those freakin' keycards and escape. Gameplay is very simple. Simple side scrolling action. You can shoot, throw Pipe Bombs and also use Duke's Mighty Boot. You can also perform a sliding kick which can let you slide under objects. The mixing of the current Duke formula with the classic side scrolling makes a great mix. You have a total of 24 levels. 8 episodes containing 3 levels each and a boss battle awaits at the end of each episode. You go from New York to Chinatown. The sewers to oil rigs and finally a trip to outer space!
The game has very nice texturing that still looks pretty decent in today's standards. The character models do look outdated though. The voice work for Duke by Jon St. John is fantastic as usual. The one-liners will have you in stitches and adds lots of character to the game. There are a few problems I have with the game though. For one, the game has some frame rate issues which do not exist in the PC version if you had a good computer running the game. Some areas including parts where there's lots of explosions and action can bring the frame rate down to a bad level. Though these drops don't really ruin the game in any way. There is also some glitches with animation and movement that were never corrected. For example, there is sometimes glitches when climbing onto certain objects. Slide kicks can sometimes get Duke stuck under objects and in one level Duke can get stuck when trying to jump onto crates (Episode 7 I do believe). I also didn't like the lack of save slots leaving you unable to have multiple save games. This was a feature that was available in the PC version. Some nice additions to the game include online leaderboards and unlockable gamer pictures and Avatar items. I love the online leaderboards because you can compete for high scores and best times through time trials. Included is daily and weekly leaderboards for high scores and time trials as well as an overall score leaderboard which I am ranked pretty highly on. The game also features 12 achievements for the player to unlock while progressing through the game.
Overall, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is well worth the 10 dollar price. I highly recommend you go on your dashboard and download this game. It is an entertaining game that mixes the new Duke with the old. Some nice additions make it a great value for your money. Well what are you waiting for...Christmas?
Review originally written: July 15th, 2010
