Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
"There's a worm in the Big Applesauce. Radioactive green GLOPP has flooded the city's water supply, turning every sewer dwelling creature it touches into a man hunting mutant. This was no accident -- it's the work of Morphix, a brilliant mastermind gone mad. But when things go bad in the city that never sleeps, there's one man who can be counted on to take out the trash: Duke Nukem. Hail to the king, baby!"—Game's intro
"Babes, bullets, bombs... damn, I love this job!"—Duke
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is the fourth entry in the Duke Nukem franchise. It's a sidescrolling platformer, somewhat in style of the first two Duke Nukem games, developed by Sunstorm Interactive and published by ARUSH Entertainment in 2002.
The game is set after the events of Duke Nukem 3D. This time, Duke faces another Mad Scientist, Mech Morphix, and his army of mutants and robots. Morphix wants to use a radioactive slime called G.L.O.P.P. to mutate insects and other species into giant monstrousness.
Manhattan contains the same side-scrolling gameplay of the first two games, but with the environment itself constructed in 3D, producing an interesting 2.5D hybrid of the earlier games, plus Duke's attitude and mannerisms from Duke Nukem 3D.
A port of this game was released for Xbox Live Arcade in 2010, made directly by 3D Realms.
Manhattan says at the end that Duke Nukem will return in Duke Nukem Forever. Little did everybody know that the "Forever" in the name was... a bit literal, but that's for that page.
- Alliteration: The episode titles: Rooftop Rebellion, Metro Madness, Unholy Underworld, Fearsome Factory, Tanker Trouble, Deviant Drilling and Orbital Oblivion. So far, only the second episode (Chinatown Thriller) averts this.
- Badass: Duke has his share of quips here:
- Killing a giant mutant roach in the subway:
"Mimic that!"
- Before the first boss battle (against Morphix in a helicopter)
"There're only two ways this can end. And in both of 'em, you die!"
"New York... If I can kill them here, I can kill them anywhere!"
"Time to de-worm the Big Apple!"
- Breaking the Fourth Wall:
- After freeing a babe strapped to a mutant bomb:
"You must be 18 years old to ride."
- A lampshade by Duke, after freeing a babe:
"This is why they have games named after me."
- Double Jump: A key gameplay mechanic.
- Dual-Wielding: The gator grunts.
- Evil Is Not Well Lit: The G.L.O.P.P. factory levels.
"Jeez, you'd think Morphix could afford a few light bulbs."
- Exploding Barrels
- Expy: Mech Morphix was originally supposed to be Dr. Proton, the villain of the first Duke Nukem game (as well as the original iteration of Duke Nukem Forever), but was changed to be an entirely different character during development. The two characters look virtually identical.
- FemBot: The Femmechs, obviously.
- Frictionless Ice: Featured on "Tanker Trouble".
"I don't remember buying tickets for Disney on Ice"
- Fun with Acronyms: G.L.O.P.P. stands for Gluon Liquid Omega-Phased Plasma.
- Game Engine: Prism3D.
- Guide Dang It: There's a secret boss battle, accessible during the last part of the last mission, but only with requirements such as collecting every Nuke in every difficulty level, then collecting them all in Hard difficulty and going to a specific place in the last part of the last level.
- High Altitude Battle: Several of the levels.
- Inconveniently-Placed Conveyor Belt
- Inexplicable Treasure Chests: The game puts ammo and health in ordinary-looking crates and barrels.
- Innocent Bystander: Hostages.
- King Mook: Except for the helicopter in level 1, the giant Queen Roach in the middle of the game, and the final boss, all the game's level bosses are simply more powerful versions of standard enemies.
- Level Editor
- Lock and Key Puzzle: Lampshaded somewhat: Duke will even openly complain about looking for keys on various occasions.
- Ludicrous Gibs: The game has its own fair share. Pull off the right kind of kick and you can gib the organic enemies in the game without anything explosive. Quite a few of Duke's deaths also qualify.
- Mad Scientist: Morphix.
- Nice Hat: The gator grunts.
- No OSHA Compliance: The "Fearsome Factory" episode. Lampshaded by Duke:
"Seems like Morphix puts security first... right after everything else."
"Something tells me this won't pass any safety inspections."
- One-Hit Kill: It's possible to terminate the Pig Cops by Goomba Stomping them.
- Refuge in Audacity
- Rescue Sex: As the ending says:
"The Big Apple and the world is saved. Mech Morphix space station will splashdown somewhere in the South Pacific.
What's Duke to do? Well, let's just say that all those babes he saved from the bombs are ready to show Duke just how much they appreaciate him. Manhattan Project has just begun..."
- Score Screen: A similar stats screen to Duke 3D.
- Shareware: Possibly.
- Shout-Out: Check the page.
- Slipknot Ponytail: The Fem-Mechs, except the Level 3 ones.
- Super Drowning Skills: Unlike it's predecessors, it's played straight here. Water won't hurt you, unless you're trying to swim.
- Take That: The intro to Deviant Drilling:
"Morphix and his GLOPP reign will go down faster than Enron."
- Taking You with Me: The Gator Grunt Boss will blow himself.
"The fortune cookie didn't say anything about this! You will never take me alive! If this doesn't kill you, the bombs in the subway will!"
- Tempting Fate: After fighting the Queen Cockroach, the underground base starts to collapse, and a boulder falls on her. Then, Duke takes a train and escapes from her...
"Ah, just in time."
- ...only for her to reappear again. Cue the Boss Battle:
"Maybe I spoke too soon."
- Timed Mission: The fourth boss fight against the Queen Cockroach is this and a Traintop Battle. Also the sixth boss battle, against a Flyoid Boss.
- Underground Level: Metro Madness, Unholy Underworld (both taking place in a subway station) and Fearsome Factory. (Taking place in a mine factory)
- Whip It Good: The Fem-Mechs.
"I am the king of the world, baby."