Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
Encyclopedia
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a platform game
developed by Sunstorm Interactive
, produced by 3D Realms
, and published by Arush Entertainment
. It was released on Microsoft Windows
on May 14, 2002 in North America and on June 14, 2002 in Europe. A port of the game was later released through Xbox Live Arcade
from Xbox 360
on June 23, 2010 by 3D Realms directly.
, 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 monsters in order to take over Manhattan
island, New York City
. These enemies include mutated alligator
s, giant cockroaches, and even the Pig cops from Duke Nukem 3D
. Duke also faces a few enemies who are not mutants, such as Fem-Mechs, lethal whip
-wielding gynoid
s. Levels in the game contain recognizable parts of New York City.
Manhattan Project is not a direct sequel to any earlier Duke game. Manhattan Project is much like the original Duke Nukem due to its many similarities, such as 'Mech Morphix' looking and acting very similar (e.g. half a metal face and also a mad scientist) to 'Dr. Proton', the main antagonist of Duke Nukem. The side scrolling element also pays homage to the original.
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
. Though in the end, Forever does not feature Proton at all.
The game is organized in 8 chapters, each one having 3 parts. In each part, the player must rescue a "babe" strapped to a GLOPP bomb and find a coloured keycard to unlock the way to the next part. At some parts, the player gets 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, player 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.
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. 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, rumours 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. A port of Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project was released to the Xbox Live Arcade
on June 23, 2010 for 800 Microsoft Points (MSP). The release includes two avatar awards (Jetpack and Duke Nukem logo T-shirt) that can be unlocked in game.
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 3D Realms' webmaster Joe Siegler in their online forums, most recently in June 2006. Of the situation, Siegler said:
Sometime after the bankruptcy, the official website for Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project was allowed to lapse and as was registered by a domain squatter. Fortunately, before all the materials were lost, Joe Siegler was able to recover a copy of the contents of the official Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project website from a former ARUSH employee, and now hosts the former contents on the 3D Realms Website.
In late February 2009, the online gaming distribution site GOG.com
announced some Apogee Software titles as being available in the future for sale on their site. On this list was Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. The game actually became available again for sale on March 10, 2009 through GOG.com's online store. When queried about this chain of events, Joe Siegler responded with a post on the 3D Realms forums, saying that some legal work was being done in 2008 to unstick the rights to the game. It would appear that these rights have been cleared up, but the exact nature of the issue (or more to the point, the resolution of the legal quagmire) is currently unknown.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
developed by Sunstorm Interactive
Sunstorm Interactive
Sunstorm Interactive is an Indianapolis-based video game developer founded in 1995 by Anthony Campiti, which specialized in hunting simulators and first-person shooters...
, produced by 3D Realms
3D Realms
3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987...
, and published by Arush Entertainment
ARUSH Entertainment
Arush Entertainment was a video game publisher and developer based in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. It published interactive entertainment software for personal computers and advanced entertainment consoles...
. It was released on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
on May 14, 2002 in North America and on June 14, 2002 in Europe. A port of the game was later released through Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
from Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on June 23, 2010 by 3D Realms directly.
Synopsis
Manhattan Project features the humorously chauvinistic action hero Duke NukemDuke Nukem (character)
Duke Nukem is a fictional character and action hero who has been the protagonist in over a dozen video games.The character first appeared in the 1991 video game Duke Nukem developed by Apogee Software...
, this time fighting Mech Morphix, a mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
who is using a radioactive slime dubbed G.L.O.P.P. (Gluon Liquid Omega-Phased Plasma) to mutate
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
creatures into deadly monsters in order to take over Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
island, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. These enemies include mutated alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s, giant cockroaches, and even the Pig cops from Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter computer game developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Interactive Software. The full version was released for the PC . It is a sequel to the platform games Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II published by Apogee...
. Duke also faces a few enemies who are not mutants, such as Fem-Mechs, lethal whip
Whip
A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage...
-wielding gynoid
Gynoid
A gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
s. Levels in the game contain recognizable parts of New York City.
Manhattan Project is not a direct sequel to any earlier Duke game. Manhattan Project is much like the original Duke Nukem due to its many similarities, such as 'Mech Morphix' looking and acting very similar (e.g. half a metal face and also a mad scientist) to 'Dr. Proton', the main antagonist of Duke Nukem. The side scrolling element also pays homage to the original.
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
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
clashes with Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem Forever is a 2011 first-person shooter video game for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 developed by 3D Realms and Triptych Games and finished by Gearbox Software and Piranha Games...
. Though in the end, Forever does not feature Proton at all.
Gameplay
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project was built using a 3D engine known as Prism3D. The levels and characters are fully three-dimensional, and both the camera and Duke can move along any axis, but movement is restricted to a two dimensional plane. 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 8 chapters, each one having 3 parts. In each part, the player must rescue a "babe" strapped to a GLOPP bomb and find a coloured keycard to unlock the way to the next part. At some parts, the player gets 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, player can also move the camera to any angle and take screenshots. The game CD includes a level editor
Level editor
A level editor is a software tool used to design levels, maps, campaigns, etc and virtual worlds for a video game. In some cases the creator of a video game releases an official level editor for a game, but other times the community of fans step in to fill the void...
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.
Development
In 1996, George BroussardGeorge Broussard
George Broussard is a game producer and designer known in the PC game community as one of the creators of the Duke Nukem series ....
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. The project was later cancelled, with the name Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem Forever is a 2011 first-person shooter video game for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 developed by 3D Realms and Triptych Games and finished by Gearbox Software and Piranha Games...
reassigned to the true Duke Nukem 3D sequel. When Manhattan Project was first shown to the public, rumours 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. A port of Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project was released to the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
on June 23, 2010 for 800 Microsoft Points (MSP). The release includes two avatar awards (Jetpack and Duke Nukem logo T-shirt) that can be unlocked in game.
Legal status
In 2004 Manhattan Project developer ARUSH EntertainmentARUSH Entertainment
Arush Entertainment was a video game publisher and developer based in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. It published interactive entertainment software for personal computers and advanced entertainment consoles...
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
3D Realms
3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987...
has inquired about retrieving the rights, but has been unable to do so. This has been detailed a few times online by 3D Realms' webmaster Joe Siegler in their online forums, most recently in June 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.
- ScottScott Miller (programmer)Scott Miller is an American entrepreneur best known for founding Apogee Software, Ltd. in 1987.- Personal life :...
& 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 was registered by a domain squatter. Fortunately, before all the materials were lost, Joe Siegler was able to recover a copy of the contents of the official Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project website from a former ARUSH employee, and now hosts the former contents on the 3D Realms Website.
In late February 2009, the online gaming distribution site GOG.com
GOG.com
Good Old Games is a computer game sale and distribution service owned by Polish company CD Projekt.- History :The service sells older PC games. In order to ensure compatibility with newer versions of Microsoft Windows, some games are pre-patched or bundled with Open Source emulation and...
announced some Apogee Software titles as being available in the future for sale on their site. On this list was Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. The game actually became available again for sale on March 10, 2009 through GOG.com's online store. When queried about this chain of events, Joe Siegler responded with a post on the 3D Realms forums, saying that some legal work was being done in 2008 to unstick the rights to the game. It would appear that these rights have been cleared up, but the exact nature of the issue (or more to the point, the resolution of the legal quagmire) is currently unknown.