Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project Reviews

Now that the word is out on the DN:MP patch, we want to bring you up to speed with some Manhattan Project reviews that have appeared since last Monday. Since there's a lot of 'em we'll just get right to it..

First up is a review by David Laprad over at Adrenaline Vault. David is a long time fan of Apogee, so we were curious to see what he would think of the game - he loved it. Make sure to check out his review, there's tons more praise from David that we can't cover here.

If, like me, your PC gaming experience began with Apogee's shareware side-scrollers in the early 1990's, then you owe it to yourself to play Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project.

the maps are so intricate and full of movement they invoke a sense of exploring and interacting with a real world.

From elaborate rooftops with TV antennas and jets of steam to the vastness of the space station with its crisscrossing laser traps and floating debris, the environments in Manhattan Project contain more fine points than a dozen other budget games.

ARUSH and Sunstorm give action gamers one hell of a good trip in Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project.

Second is a review by Marcus Spears over at Gamepen. Marcus too likes the game, and it was awarded their "Numb Thumb Award". Here's what Marcus had to say in their review of the game..

this game blends the traditional side-scrolling platform format with the sarcastic wit of DN3D and a fully 3D graphics engine. It�s an interesting, and in my opinion highly successful, mix.

Well, to say the least, both the sound and graphics are astounding.

Does it have a legitimate claim to the Duke Nukem title? Definitely. Is it fun? Absolutely! Is it worth my $25? Well, I certainly think so.

The reviews keep coming today, and our next one is from the gonegold.com site. They had a lot of nice things to say, too:

So why is this game so much fun? Manhattan Project makes sure that it pours the Duke attitude over every aspect of the action. 3D Realms knows that Duke is all about guns, babes, and one-liners, and they make sure lots of each are sprinkled throughout the game.

"This is a surprisingly fun game...a fun homage to Duke's origins, and bears repeated playing."

Finally today, we have a review from loadedinc. The review was penned by Paul Younger, who seemed to really enjoy the title. Here's some of Paul's remarks:

to be honest it�s great to see a title like this make it onto the scene, shooters are ten a penny these days.

DNMP sees Duke more vocal than ever before and you won�t be disappointed if you�re looking for comments that some may find a little close the knuckle.

Overall DNMP is well worth a look, it�s fun, addictive, the voice of Duke is superb!

Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:25 PM

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project v1.01 Patch Released!

Today a patch for Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project v1.01 has been released. This fixes a number of issues with the game - here's a list of what v1.01 fixes:

* boss bar no longer lingers when its active as you load your game to somewhere else
* game now pauses correctly when ESC is hit during a respawn and again after play resumes
* all active maps now saved when game state saves, even if player is not within them.
* fixed glopp ray sometimes allowing you to shoot through thin walls
* some old resource load attempts cleaned up
* fixed a message error in end part screen
* TCP/IP protocol is no longer a necessary requirement to run the game
* AMD K6-2+ and K6-3+ crash on startup fixed
* OpenGL resolutions now properly queried for selection
* Memory hunk allocation made more robust
* Resource pack files now log their expected checksum when mounted
* removed some obsolete client variables
* ogg sound libraries moved to root install folder to avoid conflict with system folder
* some things cleaned up in the log file generation
* kill and secret counts adjusted
* gator boss fixed so all nukes are dropped if you kill him in one large blast
* fixed the lasers so they save their state properly
* fixed quit screen so it won't interfere with save game dialog on shutdown
* fixed graphics options so the cancel button does not skip back further than necessary

Special note about save games and Episode 8. Saved games in Episode 8 must be REPLAYed to prevent crashing and allow proper recovery of game state. If you PLAY from a game saved in Episode 8, you will crash. You must REPLAY any Episode 8 part after applying the v1.0.1 patch.

You can see what version of DNMP you are running if you open the console ( ~ ) and then look at the number in the lower right corner of the console.

Here's a list of download locations.

* ftp://ftp.3drealms.com/patches/dnmp_101.exe
* 3D Gamers
* Shacknews
* Fileplanet
* Gameplex (Switzerland)

For more information on Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project, visit the official site at this page.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:30 PM

More Manhattan Project Reviews

The first review comes from Game Club Central. Here's a bit of what they had to say:

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a fun action game that is full of the one-liners, bra-busting women, and pigs, pigs, and more pigs.

The game is fun, addictive, and you will not want to stop until you have completed the game.

With some decent visuals, addictive gameplay, and some of the funniest on-liners to date, Duke Nukem has entered 2002 without missing a step. Manhattan Project is a good action shooter that any fan of Duke Nukem shouldn't miss.

Next up is a review from Action Vault over at IGN, who really seemed to dig the game, which had this as a summary:

In a genre that has become increasingly saturated by tactical shooters vying to deliver stomach-knotting realism, it's refreshing to see a developer take a stand and produce a title which not only eschews current trends, but that offers an instantly accessible and enjoyable gaming experience. Rather than taking a retrogressive step, Sunstorm has managed to combine classic gameplay mechanics with pleasing visuals, to produce a fluid experience that bests what is found in many contemporary titles. For sure, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project's irreverent demeanor will not find favor with everyone.

Sunstorm has delivered a worthy homage to one of the action genre's most illustrious heroes.

There's also a review of the game over on Justgamers.com, but it's in German, so it's hard to summarize a review not written in English for us at 3D Realms. Yeah, you could use one of the web translators, but they don't work 100% accurately. Here it is if you want to check it out, too.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:40 PM

Virus Information

Just a quick notice about some viruses currently making the rounds. Please take a moment and read this. As 3D Realms is a fairly popular website, our URL and various email links contained within are stored in a lot of folks' browser caches everywhere. Some viruses (like W32.Sircam and W32.Klez) will scan your computer's internet browser cache and look in the files for email addresses to spread themselves to. They will also masquerade as other people so the virus isn't always looking like it's coming from you. Anyway, when they find something to send to, they'll use email addresses in your browser cache to fake sender IDs and scan HTML files for pieces of text to use as the subject line. This has the effect of making the virus infested emails look like something from a friend of yours (or you) - and something you're likely to open and further infect yourself (or the poor sap you sent it to).

As a popular gaming site, we get a rather large amount of these things all the time - and it would help us (and the rest of the world too, for that matter) if you can take some time and scan your computer for viruses and help kill the Klez virus (as well as any others that might be on your machine). Below are some links to info about the Klez virus at McAfee & Symantec.

* McAfee
* Symantec

Thanks to the Winace site for the idea for doing this.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 3:45 PM

More Manhattan Project Reviews

Well, today we're bringing you just one, but it's a decent one. It's by The Electric Playground - check it out...

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project does a great job of bringing Duke back to the PC.

It's good for what it is and entertainingly kills the hours, particularly if you've been without Duke for a long time.

But after all is done, it's a pleasant little trip.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 1:35 PM

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project Cheat Codes

A short news update, but one we've gotten many requests for. This afternoon, we've posted the cheat codes for Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project on our web site in our cheat codes area. If you were looking for them - look no further!

Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:10 PM

More Manhattan Project Reviews

It's Monday morning (OK, it's Tue, but our net connection was down all day yesterday, and we couldn't post this) and we're here with some new Manhattan Project reviews. Let's get right to 'em..

First up is a really glowing review from Fragtopia, who really seemed to love the "throwback" feel to the title.

What we've got here is basically an old sk00l platform/side scroller type game. And you know what? It's an absolute blast!

Definitely the prettiest side scroller I've ever seen.

The music in the game is excellent, a combination of techno and heavy industrial.

A fun little game, and well worth the purchase price. DNMP presents itself very well with excellent 3D graphics, great level design and sweet music and sounds.

Second up is a review of the game by Gamitopia. They seemed to enjoy the game - here's a bit of what they had to say:

The fun factor of the game is incredible. It's amazing how fun such a simple concept can be.

Huge levels, high replay value, low system requirements, extremely humorous.

A decent title that is worth a look.

Finally today we have a review from Gaming Excellence who really seemed to dig the sound in the game..

From the well rendered environments to the slick sound effects, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a well-rounded title, and has proven successful as a side scroller, something that hasn't been done in a long time.

Without a doubt, the sound effects are the best part of Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project.

The vast selection of entertaining comments are what make this game so much fun.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 11:45 AM

More Manhattan Project Reviews

Today we bring you three more reviews of Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. There's lots to check out in 'em, so let's just get to them...

First up is a review by the site Avid Gamer, who really seemed to dig the game's 'throwback feel' and gave it their "Reviewer's Choice" recommendation.

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project.. is very refreshing. Too many of today�s shooters are nothing more graphical updates of existing games.

Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is overall an excellent title. This game is pure addictive fun.

Next up is a review from the site Viper Lair who labeled it "Viper's Lair Recommended".

Using the Prism3D engine, the game pulls off some impressive visuals. Textures are nicely done, and character models are above average for a platform shooter.

Manhattan Project differs from the last Duke game, in that it's not a first person shooter, but rather an console'ish side scroller. Actually, this is how Duke Nukem started out, and the developers are bring Duke back to his roots.

Manhattan Project should be available everywhere by now, and should fall into the budget category of 25$. Considering the quality of some games that cost more, you can't really go wrong with this one.

Finally today we have a review from Gamesdomain UK who rated Manhattan Project a "Top Game".

Nostalgically entertaining and just plain fun!

Manhattan Project's strongest point is the way it captures the comedy and style of the past Duke games.

...it should be considered a must for old fans of the Duke games, those who feel like settling into some comfortably nostalgic gameplay while enjoying modern graphics, or even those who just feel like something different from the norm.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 3:40 PM

Gamespy Reviews Manhattan Project

A great review of Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project has been posted over at Gamespy. Here's some quotes from the full review:

The good news is that Sunstorm did a fine job creating Duke's world with the Prism 3D engine. Gamers view the action predominantly from the side, in the traditional cutaway view as Duke moves through a level. Control is smooth and Manhattan Project runs fine on entry-level machines.

The many things that made Duke 3D a little different from your typical shooter also make Manhattan Project special.

And, when the game reloads after several failed attempts at a puzzle, Duke empathizes with the player saying, "Now I'm really pissed off." It's great that Duke's character comes through so well, even with a development team different from the one that made Duke 3D.

They did have a very cool intro quote about the game, too:

In a sea of games teeming with cardboard characters that strive to be more, Duke Nukem is unashamedly one-dimensional. The macho Duke is Al Bundy and Arnold Schwarzenegger rolled into one, puerile and chauvinistic without apology. He gets by on American cowboy shotgun diplomacy, and doesn't try to shoehorn forty seconds of video into his games and call it a story because he knows there isn't one. Duke may be not be a classical hero, but at least he's honest. He's not afraid to make fun of himself and everything about gaming, and his one-liners are better than anything ever mouthed by Arnold. If that's the Duke you know and like, then you'll probably enjoy Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 4:00 PM