Duke Nukem: Time to Kill

"Who want some?"

Who wants some? The gun-touting, bad-mouthing, nuclear-charged man of action is back bringing with him a new story, new weapons and, of course, new one-liners. Duke Nukem has once again invaded the Playstation, this time making his exclusive console appearance in a Tomb Raider-style action game. Considering the overwhelming fame Duke achieved when he went from a side scrolling man of action to a first person tool of mass destruction, one has to wonder why a game developer would want to alter such a lucrative icon. Of course the most important question that begs to be asked is- was the transformation a success?

Those world-dominating alien bastards are at it again, but this time it's personal. The plan is to travel back to various periods in human history in an attempt to wipe out Duke Nukem's lineage thus preventing him from interfering in their plans. The plan is flawless...except our hero discovers their foul plot and decides to put an end to it, and them, by tracking the scumbags down. His travels take him from the Wild West all the way back to Ancient Greece and every time period in between. Okay, so the game won't exactly win any contests for originality, but who cares as long as all the key plot points that make a Duke game are present- Duke Nukem, big guns, huge explosions, ugly aliens, one-liners and, of course, hot chicks. As the man himself so eloquently puts it, 'It's time to kill!'

Graphically, Duke Nukem: Time to Kill is an impressive piece of work for the Playstation. While it might not be up to the exacting standards set by Metal Gear Solid, it certainly holds its own among the top visual accomplishments on Sony's 32-bit console. While the polygon models of the game may seem a tad rough, the detailed textures that cover those models are not only colorful but crisp as well. Animation is fairly impressive, most certainly better than Tomb Raider III at least, offering a wide range of near- realistic movements. The backgrounds, though a little on the sparse side, are impressive in not only originality but also variety as you travel from level to level. Overall this title lacks very little visually and should impress even the shrewdest of critics.

If nothing else, the Duke Nukem series is most easily associated with sound. More specifically, the voice acting. Filled to the brim with Bruce Campbell-inspired one-liners and catch phrases, Time to Kill continues in the tradition of previous Duke Nukem titles. Stage-specific, the speech is, for the most part, nothing short of hilarious. Though sometimes too repetitive, you're almost guaranteed a cheap laugh when Duke opens his mouth and spouts out one of his philosophies. The voice acting is identical to previous efforts and more than satisfactory in portraying Duke's 'tough guy' image. Audio effects are about what you'd expect from this sort of game- nothing spectacular but not mind-numbingly unoriginal either. Finally, Time to Kill get major points for the use of Stabbing Westward in the opening video sequences of the game. Now if only Stabbing Westward had been used for the background music...

If you've ever picked up a Playstation controller and played any of the Tomb Raider games then you should have absolutely no problem with this title. Time to Kill plays well, but suffers from the same problems that plague all games of this type and genre- poor collision detection. There are times when you'll mysteriously become stuck on the corner of a wall or your shots won't quite hit an enemy who's half exposed behind a crate or a ladder suddenly refuses to let you climb on it thus causing your uncontrolled plummet to death. It's these things, while rare in occurrence, that will frustrate you beyond reason. That's not to say the game is unplayable, quite the opposite in fact, Time to Kill is very responsive with smooth controls and tight timing. Still, I wish a little more time had been spent tweaking the game play so that these minor irritations wouldn't have become unavoidable issues.

Despite its noted flaws, Duke Nukem: Time to Kill is still a fairly well thought out and well design piece of programming. Sure it doesn't really excel in any given area, but it is set firmly above average in every aspect of game play. The levels are original and fun to play through, offering a large variety of locales that beg to be explored in the fullest. The creators of this game tried their best to integrate this into the Duke Nukem series so as not to alienate long-time fans. Despite playing much differently than the previous Duke game to grace the Playstation, Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition, Time to Kill still has all the flavor and spirit of the Dukester's earlier exploits. If nothing else you'll love the not-so-subtle jabs at Lara Croft. Hee hee.

Time to Kill has no bonuses (save for a few interesting codes) and very little in the way of extras. There is the now mandatory multi-player game that pits you against a friend in small but well-laid out arenas filled with secret alcoves and stashes of powerful weapons. There are also hidden rooms in every level of the game, offering everything from new weapons to scantly- clad women. Though hardly worth the effort, there are multiple endings that vary only slightly in vulgarity. Aside from these offerings (which is really standard issue for a console game in this day and age), there aren't any surprises to look forward to. Oh, by the way- there's absolutely, positively no nudity code hidden anywhere in this game!

Fans of Duke Nukem will undoubtedly love this game despite its minor flaws and the vastly different game engine. Fans of Tomb Raider, on the other hand, might not appreciate the crass humor but should enjoy the abundance of action this title has to offer. At the very least, give this one a rent to decide if it deserves a place in your library.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/12/09

Game Release: Duke Nukem: Time to Kill (US, 09/30/98)