It's been quite a few years since we've seen Duke Nukem on the PC screen. Despite the fact that there hasn't been a PC game of Duke Nukem since the add-ons for the Build-based Duke Nukem 3D ran out of steam, Duke is still one of the most requested icons of first person shooters, spawning a legion of wannabes like Serious Sam. He's made the jump to consoles and done splashy debuts there but so far, nothing with one of the most recognizable franchises of the PC industry has emerged for its home platform - until now. But this time, the man himself is back in person in Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. Manhattan Project pays homage to the original Duke Nukem that started it all: the Duke Nukem platform games. Rendered now in a true 3D engine with copious amounts of lighting and artistic flare, Duke runs around Manhattan, saving the world from the pandemonium (and creating a little pandemonium of his own) of a new alien threat. An alien slime known as G.L.O.P.P., unleashed by a power-hungry villain, Mech Morphix, threatens to mutate the Big Apple as we know it, changing rats into mutated killing machines and creating countless other horrors. Manhattan Project is a spin on the first person shooter motif that really propelled Duke Nukem to fame. It uses the latest 3D graphics in a different way, like how Raven adapted their 3D engine for Take No Prisoners and MageSlayer or Heretic II. The action is not all top down, although it can be in at times. The action is not all sideways like a platform, but Manhattan Project plays that way too. It's sometimes behind the back but generally, the action is portrayed in the most cinematic angle possible, something like a cross between those games and Resident Evil. There are no camera issues here because the developers have kept it simple: press right to move forward and press up to toggle switches and enter buildings. Like all Duke games, Manhattan Project is all about action and Sunstorm Interactive definitely offers its share of violence. For much of the game you'll be running head first into enemy infested rooftops and streets, guns blazing and with enough pyrotechnics to light up the New York skyline. Duke's arsenal includes a variety of pistols, shotguns and assault rifles, as well as spicier weapons like pipe bombs and pulse cannons. While the graphics may have the gritty New York feel to it, there's nothing realistic about the action. Duke takes an enormous amount of damage and leaps off grossly high buildings. His trip through eight unique New York locales will have him cruising through Chinatown and industrial districts. And what's a romp through New York without an obligatory trip to the subway station? Duke clubs down his arch nemeses, the pig mutated cops but this time, they're joined by new friends and dressed in new uniforms. You'll meet up with SWAT-trained pigs and their new mutated friends. Mech Morphix is hounded by Duke's sarcastic insults as well as his guns. In one of the early levels, our hero is hanging off a helicopter, lobbing pipe bombs to try to bring the chopper down over in the midst of the New York city. It doesn't get crazier than that. So let's recount what we have in Manhattan Project: we've got Duke, we've got busty babes, we've got pick-up lines, we've got enough gratuitous violence to lay waste to a few city blocks, and villains wanting to play meltdown in a big urban city - what more could a Duke Nukem fan ask for? Manhattan Project looks to melt away the competition when it hits stores later this month. Questions or comments about the upcoming release of Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project? Talk to us! [ E-Mail Fwiffo ][ Comment in our Forums ]

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