Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project

"A Chaffeured Escort Down Memory Lane"

Overall : 8/10

If ever there was a sequel that captured the fun and feel of its predecessor, this is it. Duke Nukem MP blends the look and feel of the original side-scroller with souped-up graphics, attitude, and tons of originality. Fans of the original Duke game will recognize the keycards, forcefields, platforms, acrobatics, and other elements that made that game so much fun. Fans of the more recent Duke3D will feel right at home with the tons of new Duke talk (man is this guy ever full of himself!), babes, and gratuitous violence and gore. This game is truly the ultimate trip down memory lane.

Graphics : 9/10

A lot of people were skeptical when they heard the DNMP was going to be a side-scroller. Perhaps these folks were thinking of the old flat, two-dimensional, low-res games that once were all the rage. DNMP is anything but. Technically, it is a side-scroller, but the tons of 3D objects and camera angles will actually make it seem like a true 3-D game. Camera angles go from side to side, up and down, in and out - almost like a big-budgeted feature film. The graphics are deep, vibrant, and immersive - light years ahead of the first Duke games.

Audio : 9/10

The audio in this game is truly half the experience. In addition to Dukes dozens of witty one-liners, each level is full of ambient background sounds which always fit the environment. Weapon sounds are also very detailed - when using the assault rifle (basically a machine gun), for example, you can hear each individual shellcasing hitting the ground. The enemies also have their own unique sounds. And did I mention all of Dukes clever one-liners?

Gameplay : 8/10

As fun as it was, there were a few minor quirks in the gameplay. For example, in most games, the bosses would go from easy to hard as you progressed. In this game, one boss might be hard, the next would be easy, and you really don't know what to expect. Boss #6, for example, can be defeated in less than 20 seconds on the first try (on easy difficulty). In at least a couple of levels, keycards did not appear where they were supposed to, or something did not open or unlock, and I ended up having to use a cheatcode. I checked some other FAQs to verify that this was indeed the game, and not just me. And some of the secrets were pretty hard to find. But overall, these complaints are minor.

Overall, DNMP is great fun whether you like side-scrollers or not. Most gamers will probably play this through at least two or three times, especially if they didn't find all the secrets on the first try.
In a way, it almost helps to ease the wait for Duke Nukem Forever.
Thanks again, 3DRealms!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/16/02, Updated 09/16/02