Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project Review
The levels in Manhattan Project are well-designed. There are numerous
secret locations and the player never seems to be stuck in endless loops looking
for hidden exits. While there are some puzzles of the "destroy something
to reveal a new area" variety, getting through each level involves finding a
keycard, releasing a trapped babe, and then proceeding to the next level to do
it again. Oh, and jumping. Lots of jumping.
The enemies in Manhattan Project are not particularly intelligent, and once you figure out their particular attack moves, you should handle them without too much trouble. The biggest adversary you'll face in several of the levels is your timing skills. Moving on in some areas will require a series of jumps and flips, so if you're gamepad skills are wanting, you might find the game pretty frustrating at times.
Overall, Manhattan Project can be quite fun at times. The designers did a good job of capturing Duke's persona, and he makes his way through the game with his signature one-liners. However, the biggest question is the game's staying power. Experienced gamers can make it through the game in fairly short order, but even so there is a feeling of redundancy after playing the game for a while. Duke's one-liners do get old after a bit, and searching for one keycard after another can grow old as well. Manhattan Project sells for under $25, so if you're a Duke Nukem fan or enjoy side-scrolling platformers it is definitely worth a look. If you're looking for deep gameplay or a game that you'll want to come back to again and again, you might not find what you're looking for with this game.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 76%. A good-looking game at a great price, but if you're looking for staying power or don't like side-scrolling platformers, look elsewhere.
System Requirements: Pentium II 350; 64 MB RAM; 8 MB
Video RAM; 8x CD-ROM; 300 MB Hard Drive
Space; Mouse.
