Introduction
Duke Nukem wants some more action, this time we are going portable with Duke Nukem Advance, has this game aged well? And how do the graphics look in this day and age? The Game Boy Advance has limited buttons, which can make it hard for some games to work properly! However, a lot of things did not have many buttons back in the day! It is time to once again, get groovy!
What did I think before playing Duke Nukem Advance?
Duke Nukem Advance looked like a fun game to play, I have been wanting to finish up reviewing every Duke Nukem game to make an amazing list of, which Duke Nukem is the best of them all!? There is only one way to do that, by playing more Duke Nukem games! Now, for more information, we went to the Fandom Page!
The Fandom Page
https://dukenukem.fandom.com/wiki/Duke_Nukem_Advance
This page has it all, what kind of weapons you will be fighting, the four main stages, which are actually just twelve levels. And the story, but we will go into that later. If you are looking for a small Duke Nukem Game, this might be one that you will enjoy. However, there are some hefty drawbacks in this game that I will explore later!
Rating
I rate Duke Nukem Advance with a 6.3 before playing.
Just looking at some of the graphics, it is going to bad, not the gameplay but the graphics, oh, we will get to that soon!
Story
The story starts with Duke Nukem arriving in Area 51 to stop the aliens once again. They are working on a new breed, there are even actual aliens this time around! Duke Nukem needs to find out more about these new aliens, and off course, kill them all!
Rating
I rate the story of Duke Nukem Advance with a 7.2.
I actually liked the story of this game!
Gameplay
The gameplay is fairly the same as in most of the first-person shooter games. You will point and shoot at aliens! However, you cannot point up and down. Which is quite bad for a game that released after the year of 2000. This also means, that shooting lower, you will actually hit the alien. Just, look in their general direction.
The missions take place in different places, you will be seeing Egypt for example and other places. You will usually get told by the general what your objective is. It mostly comes down to collecting items or disabling something while kicking ass and shooting aliens! Ammo can be scarce if you do not aim well enough, so make sure to hit those aliens! You can change the crosshair if needed.
It is impossible to open doors or activate things. Most of these things are done by walking against them. You can jump however, jumping is awesome! Take a sprint and fly through the air. While you cannot look up, you do need to look on boxes since these can hold ammo, or even health! When you find a secret, the door will automatically open! These secrets usually hold armor, which can be useful for boss fights!
Rating
I rate the gameplay of Duke Nukem Advance with a 6,7
The options are very limited, there are not many levels, and there are not enough weapons.
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
Oh my god, the graphics are just, horrible. I do not mind the graphics being this horrible as I still enjoy the game but oh my god. I cannot believe, this was once considered good. It is like looking at, I dont even know what to compare it to but a lot of the items actually look like blobs. Is that an alien, or a chair? The actual gray aliens are fun to look at, if you can see them!
Sound
The soundtracks are not very good, and they can distract you, but the quotes that Duke Nukem spits out, are as amazing as always!
Rating
I rate the sound and graphics of Duke Nukem Advance with a 3.1.
What am I even looking at?
What did I think after playing Duke Nukem Advance?
While I had fun with shooting up the aliens and looking in nooks and crannies for secrets. I had to look very hard to distinguish objects from aliens. While it does not bother me much, the graphics shocked me with how bad they are. If you are not bothered by bad graphics, you can still enjoy this game! Just, know what you are going to encounter!
The automatic opening doors can either be your friend, or your enemy! Except for the bosses, most of the aliens are fairly slow with shooting you, or even damaging you. But damn, those bosses are insane! I hope you are ready for a challenge! And, that you do not blow yourself up with the rocket launcher like I did!
Rating
I rate Duke Nukem Advance with a 5,5 after playing.
If you know what to expect, you can still have fun when playing this game!
What are my personal thoughts about Duke Nukem Advance?
I did enjoy playing this game, but it is short, and the graphics can get a bit in your way of enjoyment when you cannot tell the difference between an object, and an alien!
Rating
My personal Rating of Duke Nukem Advance is a 6.6.
Fun, but the fun ends quick.
Last Words
Pros
- Face off with new alien breeds!
- Use fun weapons to kill all those aliens
- Play through four areas as you stop the aliens from destroying earth!
- The levels are short, making it possible to have short game sessions
- Duke Nukem always rules!
Cons
- There are limited actions to perform
- The graphics are horrible!
- Doors open automatically
- Ammo can be scarce
While most likely not the best Duke Nukem game, it can still be a fun game!
Final Rating
5.8
Let me know what you think of Duke Nukem Advance in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
If you liked reading this review, maybe you would like to share this review with your friends!
Even though Duke is an awesome character, I never enjoyed such old-school shooters. I played DOOM and Heretic back in the days, but never managed to finish them, even with cheats. XD
You need some dedication to learn the levels inside out, knowing where the enemies spawn, if these are not your kind of thing, try lowering the difficulty, playing on easy is not bad, the most important part, is to have fun.
I didn’t know this part. Looks weird.
I think even in those days, these graphics wouldn’t have looked very good, especially compared to console and PC games, and would be pointed to as an example of the limitations of portable gaming and the GBA in particular. The poor music doesn’t surprise me either, as sound quality is a common complaint for many GBA games and even the Pokemon games on the GBA have divisive music, I believe because the GBA had many issues and limitations with its sound chip or something like that? Don’t quote me on that, as I’m not too familiar with the specifics of that hardware.
The GBA did have games with darker graphics, but these only came later, the older games had very bright graphics. While it was not the best console, the GBA did pave the way for the future of handheld consoles.
The screen is very bright.
Otherwise, I cannot see the aliens!
I think I got eye cancer from the first screenshot xD
I wasn’t even aware they made a Duke Nukem game for the Gameboy Advance. You learn something new every day!
Keep checking on the site, I love games that are hidden or obscured by time or region locks!
Just needs a mod for RTX 😀
I disturbed when i watch the video. I cant play even i’m sure.
I disturbed when i was watching video, i cant even play this too im sure ^^
Duke Nukem went to Area 51 before anyone else did. Hell yeah!!!
He used the Naruto Run technical, I am sure of it.
Hehe really terrible graphics, interesting why they make it is so bad.
They just did not have tools in those days to make a better handheld game.
Super!
Good game, but hard to watch)
i would have given it a 6.9 at least 😉
I see what you did there.
Good review! The only good thing is the Duke and his voice, remove it and this game is…
Garbage!
Didn’t know there was a GBA one, would have liked to try it since it was my first console
It’s probably not the best experience considering it’s a GBA game
Too bright
The graphics really are horrible.
It could work if played in a small portable device…. but those graphics on a pc emulator….
I even downsized them as much as possible for the PC, it does not look much better on the GBA, trust me.
Reminds me of playing Golden Eye 007 on N64. Good shooter.
You were right, the graphics really do suck lol.
Thank you, they do suck!