Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project Review

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a side-scroller throwback from 2002 that doesn’t age well.  Throughout the story, the notoriously chauvinistic Duke fights mutated underlings of Mofech Morphix in a 2.5D Manhattan.  With three parts to each chapter and subsequent end-chapter bosses, the ass-kicking protagonist is a one man army intent on saving the world, one babe at a time.

DN:MP is a nostalgic look at what used to be called 3D, back before all the crazy expensive televisions and powerhouse handheld systems.  This trip down a not-quite-third-dimension memory lane wouldn’t be so bad if the game wasn’t a departure from the franchise’s popular FPS entries.  The aged graphics aren’t exactly horrible, but the swivelling camera is perhaps Duke’s biggest nemesis.  Traversing horizontal and vertical paths by pulling the stick in one direction becomes frustrating as the camera unexpectedly changes perspective, thus requiring adjustments on the fly.  If Mario 64’s camerawork was bad, you’ll be praising Lakitu’s work halfway through DN:MP.

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Faulty camera aside, Duke will stay busy crouching, running, jumping, sliding, or firing his weapons throughout each of the sizeable levels of the game.  The levels themselves provide a bit of sophistication that gamers typically wouldn’t expect to find in this particular franchise.  In order to progress through the story, each chapter’s three parts require Duke to rescue a bomb-strapped, buxom babe and find a keycard that unlocks the path to the exit.  While the double-D damsels in distress plead for help when Duke is in close proximity, the keycards offer no such hints.  This means that you might do a bit of backtracking in order to find these mandatory elements, when not seeking the optional Nuke symbols and hidden areas scattered throughout each level.

Granted, the levels themselves don’t touch today’s sandbox worlds, but they’re fairly expansive for a platformer.  In fact, at times you’ll be pulling the right stick in order to take advantage of the unique “peeking” system that will show incoming hazards or easy-to-miss collectibles just beyond the edge of the screen.   For good or bad, this trait also allows the player to determine whether they should just storm in and fire, which you’ll typically do as much as possible in this game.  Bullets are often retrieved from enemies, when not picked up on the many spawn points of DN:MP.  It IS possible to run out of ammunition, but this can typically be amended by looting a creature you’ve killed with Duke’s almighty (and ammo-free) boot.  Health, likewise, can be picked up on the stages themselves, but silencing enemies will also restore a bit of precious vitality.

As retro games often go, you get the bad with the good.  Jumping can be agonizing in certain scenarios, requiring Mario-esque precision in order to avoid plummeting to death or exploding into bloody gorefetti (gore + confetti, if you will).  As Duke can only fire horizontally and vertically, it’s sometimes frustrating to follow the camera-led path up to a junction where you can do nothing about an upcoming foe awaiting you as soon as the camera and path place you in the enemy’s sights.  Thankfully (or mercifully) you shouldn’t be lacking in health or ammo for the majority of the game, so taking the inevitable assault will probably serve as a minor inconvenience.  Besides, gaining anything beyond the maximum supply of health will provide a buffer that eventually dwindles down over time until it stops at the maxed out life total.

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Duke has a number of weapons that he’ll be able to switch out on the fly.  The pistol, shotgun, and assault rifle all use traditional ammo, pipe bombs and the RPG share a second ammo type, while the GLOPP (mutagen) ray and the pulse cannon share a third type of ammunition.  Power-ups are also plentiful, appearing as double damage, forcefield, and jetpack varieties.  Collecting each level’s ten hidden Nukes on various difficulties will in turn permanently beef up Duke or award a final, potent secret weapon.

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project features some outdated jibes (visit the payphones), surprisingly addictive platforming, and more chauvinism than you can shake your 800 MS points at.  To sweeten the pot, you’ll be able to unlock two Avatar Awards.  The Duke Nukem logo t-shirt is easy enough and will be earned during the first chapter, while the jetpack prop can be unlocked by beating the game on any difficulty.  The Achievements themselves are fairly easy to conquer, with the only challenge coming in the form of racing through the first chapter in three minutes or less.

Franchise fans who have yet to step into Duke’s non-FPS shoes may be slightly disappointed at the change of pace, but the usual quips and chicks are still there in spades.  It’s not perfect (wait until you’re trying to make jumps through tightly packed ice blocks), but Manhattan Project will probably prove to be more fun than you’d like to admit.  Hail to the king, baby; after all these years, Duke’s still got it.

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project costs 800 :MSPoints:, you can find more information, download the demo or purchase the full version of the game on the Marketplace.