| Introduction
Well, after numerous delays, and what seems like
an eternity on everyone's want list, it's finally here.
Duke Nukem is arguably one of the most famous personalities
to inhabit the First Person Shooter scene, so as soon
as it was accepted that a FPS could be successfully
produced on the GBA, it was only a matter of time before
he made an appearance. This was always going to be ambitious
project though, as Duke is widely known as a sharp talking,
no nonsense, one man war machine and to get the substantial
levels of gameplay from a PC to a GBA was going to take
an impressive and imaginative development team. Were
Torus Games the right people to achieve the impossible?
Let's hope so.
GamePlay
As with the classic PC version your first task is
to choose the level of play you wish to tackle. There
are four of these which range from 'Piece of Cake' to
'Damn I'm Good!' but most players should probably head
for the average setting of 'Let's Rock' to get comfortable
with the game. Every mission starts with a short briefing
detailing your requirements for completion and success.
This could initially be something simple like recovering
an information disc or finding a laptop to upload information
but further on in the game things get a lot more complicated.
You'll be in touch with your command post and General
Graves throughout, he's usually worth listening to as
he has some handy tips on what to look out for. You'll
find that, to a certain extent, the game treats the
player fairly so you shouldn't find yourself backed
into a corner with no idea what to do or where to go.
Obviously there's also destruction and Duke Nukem
comes with enough of this to satisfy most gamer's needs.
For starters there are the various enemies who, even
on the easy setting, can be quite tough. There's also
the weaponry, which ranges from the standard handgun
to rocket launchers with every other conceivable type
of firepower in-between. What's really unique though
is the quantity of seemingly harmless objects that can
be destroyed, even fire extinguishers can do considerable
damage when hit by a single bullet. Avid gamers will
quickly realize that the enemy AI is reasonably intelligent,
any FPS that's void of this usually makes for a quick
and unsatisfying gaming experience. Pressing the 'start'
button brings up a handy map feature and as the levels
become more complicated you'll discover this is an essential
piece of equipment. It doesn't however detail the many
secrets, switches and pass cards that you have to locate
before you move on to the next level.
A decent Multiplayer option is essential in any FPS
and here, once again, Duke Nukem does not disappoint
although you do require an extra copy of the game for
each additional player. There are two modes to choose
from - Deathmatch and Tag. Although we didn't really
indulge in 'Tag' we did have a two player Deathmatch
and I'd urge anyone who gets this game to give it a
go, as it's incredibly enjoyable. Finally, just to complete
a very impressive cart, everything is saved to a handy
battery backup.
Controls
Obviously most home computer based FPSs have a reasonably
complicated interface and the GBA really isn't capable
of anything like that. Fortunately there seems to have
been a fair slice of development time given over to
the design and testing of the interface. This should
allow for an almost instant 'pick up and play' experience
but if you're still unhappy with the layout you'll find
another three control sets in the options.
Graphics
Handheld FPSs have obviously come a long way since
Back Track (the first to appear on the GBA) and are
now not only more varied but better looking. In
some ways the visuals here are actually an improvement
on the first Duke Nukem I played on a PC. Everything
appears to have been finished off with both floor and
ceiling textures throughout and, as a result, it doesn't
suffer from the awkward looking environments that have
plagued some other titles. Then there are the special
effects, and, as almost anything can be destroyed, you'll
encounter some great explosions. Just don't get too
close to them. The lighting and transparencies are also
very impressive. Torus seems to have utilised every
single bit of the GBA's capabilities to forge a dramatic
and immersive atmosphere. It is all is held together
with some well-rendered cut screens, which forward the
plot in a very effective comic book style.
Sound & Music
As soon as you fire up Duke Nukem the music kicks
in and you know you're in for some unstoppable shooting
action. It doesn't play during the game unfortunately,
but rather than an oversight this is actually one of
the GBA's limitations as only a certain number of sound
channels can be active at any given moment. In-game
audio is given over to the sound effects, which are
also fantastic. There are explosions, gunshots and,
best of all, Duke ranting about 'Alien Scum'. It's incredible
how effective, not to mention complementary to the gameplay,
this is so you'll want to root out a pair of headphones
just to get the full effect.
Final Comments
Before Duke Nukem arrived on the GameBoy Advance
the clear winner in the FPS race had always been 'Ecks
vs. Sever' but now that's all changed. The developers
here have done a remarkable job as almost every feature
of the PC original game has been pushed into this small
but perfectly formed version. I could go on for hours
talking about various aspects of the sound, visuals
and gameplay but all you really need to know is that
everything's here and in quality measures. It's another
'must have' title that everyone should have in his or
her collection even if it's only to demonstrate to your
friends just what the GBA is capable of. Get it now!
|
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