Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
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| Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project | |
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| Developer(s) | Sunstorm Interactive/3D Realms |
| Publisher(s) | ARUSH Entertainment |
| Engine | Prism3D |
| Release date(s) | May 14, 2002 |
| Genre(s) | Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) OFLC: MA15+ |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Media | CD-ROM (1) |
| System requirements | Windows 98/ME/2000/XP DirectX 8.1 P III 500 or faster CPU recommended 64 MB RAM 300 MB hard disk 32MB graphics card recommended |
| Input | Keyboard, Joystick |
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a side-scrolling run and gun computer game developed by Sunstorm Interactive and published on May 14, 2002 by ARUSH Entertainment [1].
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[edit] Overview
Manhattan Project (in itself, the second video game ever to refer to the Manhattan Project in the title; the first was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project) features the humorously chauvinistic action hero Duke Nukem, this time fighting Mech Morphix, a mad scientist who is using a radioactive slime dubbed G.L.O.P.P. (Gluon Liquid Omega-Phased Plasma) to mutate creatures into deadly enemies in order to take over Manhattan island, New York City. These enemies include mutated alligators, Fem-Mechs (female android mutants), and even the Pig cops from Duke Nukem 3D. Levels in the game contain recognizable parts of New York City.
The game is a side-scroller, but it is built around a 3D engine called Prism3D: Levels and characters are fully three-dimensional, and both the camera and Duke can move along any axis, although the paths are fixed. It is not a direct sequel to any earlier Duke game, however each earlier game in the series featured a completely different story and a new enemy force for Duke to mess up as well, with only the second and third games directly connected chronologically.
[edit] Gameplay
Utilizing the 3D engine, the player can zoom in and out focusing either on the enemy approaching or an overall view of the field. Duke can crouch, run, jump and slide kick underneath small counter space. The game is organized in 9 chapters, each one having 3 parts. In each part, you must rescue a "babe" strapped to a GLOPP bomb and find a keycard to unlock the way to the next part. There are no vehicles, but at some parts, you get to use a jetpack to fly over large voids or hazardous ground. The controls are also quite easy to get used to, with buttons only for jumping, moving, firing, and weapon changing. Using a cheat, you can also move the camera to any angle and take screenshots.
The game CD includes a level editor named PrismEd, but level-creation activity for the game never reached popularity among the players, and only a tiny level editing community is currently active.
[edit] Weapons
- The Mighty Boot: The famous melee attack, Duke's booting causes significant damage to any type of enemy.
- Golden Eagle Pistol
- Shotgun
- Assault Rifle (although its in-game skin is actually an M240 light machine gun)
- Pipe Bomb: The original Pipe Bomb from Duke Nukem 3D also makes its return.
- GLOPP Ray: a weapon that fires green slime onto enemies. Mainly used for reducing mutated enemies back to their original form where they can be stomped on by Duke.
- Pneumatic RPG (Rocket-Propelled Grenade) Launcher
- Pulse Cannon
- X-3000: Unlocked by beating the game on Hard difficulty with ALL Nukes, this incredibly powerful weapon pulls down lightning and blows up all enemies on the screen. (Note: When you have it out, thunder can be heard in the background, even during cutscenes, and it does not work on multi-stage bosses.)
[edit] Power ups
- Double Damage: Duke glows red and does double damage for a limited time.
- Force Field: Three green things rotate around Duke making him invulnerable for a limited time.
[edit] Similarity to Duke Nukem Forever
In 1996, George Broussard was interviewed about future 3D Realms projects: he said that a Duke Nukem side-scroller called "Duke Nukem Forever" was in production and was supposed to come out by Christmas 1997. [2] The project was later cancelled, with the name Duke Nukem Forever reassigned to the true Duke Nukem 3D sequel. When Manhattan Project was first shown to the public, rumors began to spread about it actually being the cancelled Duke Nukem Forever side-scroller, but this has since been clarified: Manhattan Project is a game original to ARUSH.
[edit] Reviews
Manhattan Project received ratings mostly in the range of 7-8 out of 10. However due to its side-scrolling format and its Mature 17+ rating, sales of the game were relatively low.
- GameSpy - 83%
"A slick platform arcade game at a reasonable price…captures Duke perfectly; great system performance; clever use of 3D."
- GameSpot - 7.9/10
"It's straightforward and good-looking…the levels are huge, and most have several paths you can take."
- Game Over- 81%
"Movement is kept at a brisk pace and there are plenty of monsters to blow away…a refreshing evolutionary step for the platform game without play devolving into a third person behind-the-back affair"
- IGN - 7.7/10
"Manhattan Project is a polished, tried, and true title…worthy of a recommendation, especially given its keen price point and familiar antihero."
[edit] Facts
- Duke's primary enemy in the game was originally supposed to be his old arch-nemesis Doctor Proton, but this was changed to avoid possible continuity clashes with Duke Nukem Forever.
- The historical Manhattan Project was the effort during World War II to develop the first nuclear weapons of the United States with assistance from the United Kingdom and Canada. It can be seen how it would be an appropriate title for a Duke Nukem game, which has never been subtle in its depiction of "nuclear content".
- Initial release copies of the game came with a bonus metal keychain. This keychain contained the Duke Nukem logo and Statue of liberty on one side, and a NYC subway token imprint on the other side. Subsequent releases of the game lacked the keychain. The only exterior difference between these two versions was a sticker on the outside saying "All New Duke: Special Edition Keychain Inside!". Later prints still had the "All New Duke" sticker, but without the keychain language. A further version of the box had no sticker at all.
[edit] Legal status
In 2004 Manhattan Project developer ARUSH Entertainment was bought out by HIP Interactive. Soon afterwards, HIP went bankrupt, and took Arush down with them. Because of bankruptcy proceedings, the legal rights to Manhattan Project are now held by a court appointed bankruptcy firm.
3D Realms has inquired about retrieving the rights, but has been unable to do so. This has been detailed a few times online by Joe Siegler of 3D Realms in their online forums here and here, most recently in June of 2006. Of the situation, Siegler said:
- Arush got bought out by a larger company. The parent company went belly up, and took Arush down with 'em. DNMP is now the legal property of a court appointed holding company involved in the bankruptcy proceedings of the parent company whose name I can't remember.
- Scott & I tried to contact them about either getting the rights back so we could sell it ourselves, or just releasing it as freeware. Unfortunately, said company "isn't interested in dealing with us", per Scott.
- So DNMP is in rights hell, unfortunately. I would wager being the folks who "are" Duke Nukem, we could probably fight that and get the rights back, but it wouldn't be worth it, really. A lot of court costs just to release a game as freeware, or sell it when it didn't sell much in the first place.
Sometime after the bankruptcy, the official website for Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project was allowed to lapse, and as such was picked up by a domain squatter. [3] Fortunately, before all the materials were lost, Joe Siegler of 3D Realms was able to recover a copy of the contents of the official Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project website from a former ARUSH Games employee, and now hosts the former contents on the 3D Realms Website [4].
[edit] External links
- Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project page at 3D Realms
- Demo
- Duke Nukem Editing Project (DNMP level editing community)
- Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project at MobyGames
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Duke Nukem video games
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Computer: Duke Nukem • Duke Nukem II • Duke Nukem 3D • Manhattan Project • Duke Nukem Forever |
