Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project

"You'd think evil would learn never to mess with Duke Nukem, but as always, they don't."

Duke Nukem: Manhatten Project is a 3D side-scrolling platforming game. It has the gameplay of Duke Nukem 2 and the attitude of Duke Nukem 3D.

Story: 8/10

New York city is plagued by a foul radioactive slime known as GLOPP, created by a mad scientist named Mech Morphix. After testing it on some of his own minions, it is released into the sewers of New York, causing all non-human critters to mutate into bombardments of nature. As a result, New York is undersieged by a mutant menace, and it's up to Duke Nukem to put a stop to it, and also at the same time stop Mech Morphix himself.

Graphics: 10/10

Compared to graphics of other PC games, this may seem bad, but in fact it isn't. Each of the models has been well done and a lot of effort has been put to them. Explosions are awesome, the jetpack fire is radical, and each of the parts in the eight episodes is beautifully coloured and well-detailed.

Sounds: 10/10

Duke still got his sarcastic one-liners, and he's got plenty of new ones too (my favorite one is ''I don't do windows''). Then there is the freaky sounds of the mutants themselves, from the squeals of the Pigcops and SWAT Pigs to the Ratoid's voice. Oh my!

Music: 7/10

This music is catchy, but unfortunately there isn't enough of it. It gets repetitive afterwards and can get kind of annoying. Nonetheless, the music is cool.

Gameplay: 9/10

This game plays like the first two Duke Nukem games (Duke Nukem I and Duke Nukem II), but as said before, has the attitude of Duke Nukem 3D. The Pig Cops of Duke3D fame are back (Just like most Duke games after Duke3D), and are teamed up with other mutants such as Gatoroids with their powerful kicks and even more dangerous Uzis, Pipebomb-throwing Ratoids, GLOPP Spitting Roachoids, and other mutant types and other enemies you'll have to find out for yourself. Of course, mutants aren't your only worries. Morphix has also captured babes and strapped them to GLOPP bombs, which you have to disable in order to proceed further. You've also got the weapons, and there are 7 weapons in the game, from the golden eagle to the all-powerful Pulse Cannon. Also, there is a super-secret weapon hidden in the game if you can get all the nukes in the game, but in fear of spoiling it for you, I'm not going to tell you what it is.

Replay: 10/10

There is no way you'll stop playing this game, because you'll have to play through many, many times to get all the kills, secrets, and also nukes. You've got three difficulty settings to play through so you'll be playing for more than you have expected.

Overall: 10/10

This game is a keeper, and at a price of $20-$29, you can't go wrong. What are you waiting for? Stop reading this review and go out and buy the game!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/02/02, Updated 11/02/02