Merry Christmahanakwanzaa!
We’re now into the second week of December, inching closer & closer to my favorite holiday. Many other people are equally excited for Christmas, but the one thing I bet that some of you aren’t happy about is the snow. For some, the cold creates discomfort, and perhaps a broken bone or two. If you’re living a really chilly area, you’re probably a little more pissed off. See an opportunity to warm hearts, and maybe create a smile or two, I thought “What would be the perfect thing to review to accomplish such a feat?” Well, if you remember my little teaser from my last review, then you know that today’s subject is Duke Nukem once again, and today we have the final official expansion. So get your sunscreen on your face, your swimming trunks & Hawaiian t-shirt ready, and enjoy my final Duke Nukem review of Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach!
Story
Taken from the Duke Nukem Wiki:
“Aliens have set up a new breeding ground in the Caribbean, terrorizing the islands. Duke, being on vacation, quickly responds to the situation. Players once again take the role of Duke Nukem through one new episode set in the hot Caribbean, destroying the aliens who wrecked his vacation.”
As per all the other expansions (And the original game), this has a simple & easy story.
Setting
In a big change from the previous Duke Nukem games, the levels in Life’s a Beach are much more lighthearted. In fact, the whole expansion is much more bright & sunny, but I’ll talk about this more & more throughout the rest of the review. With the levels, you journey through a variety of Caribbean-themed levels, including a beach side hotel, a cruise ship, and a casino. You even come across the alien lair, and even then it feels a little sunny. These’s levels are bright, colorful, and don’t have the serious look & feel that the other levels have (With maybe the exception of Nuclear Winter).
As for the level design, it’s a rewind back to Duke It Out In D.C. Some of the levels have a confusing layout (Nowhere near as bad as Duke It Out In D.C., but can still be a little confusing), while the others are made more simplistically than the rest (On par with maybe Nuclear Winter, but not in a bad way). Overall, despite some level changes, they’re pretty fun to move around through.
Characters
As per the norm, Duke Nukem takes center stage in this expansion. In an interesting change, Duke isn’t voiced by Jon St. John, but instead is voiced by Dave Manuel. Dave does an incredible impersonation of Jon St. John, and if you put the two voices side by side, you won’t be able to tell the difference. I should also say that this version of Duke Nukem is much cleaner than the DN3D edition: he only uses 1 or 2 swear words (Ass, and I believe bitch/shit is the other word), and his Caribbean-themed one-liners make him sound considerably goofier & hokey. Duke Nukem also has a new set of attire, thanks to the Caribbean makeover that has been applied to everything else. Just take a look at the picture below to see what I mean!
Gameplay
Gameplay has essentially remained the same as that from the previous Duke Nukem expansions, and by extension, Duke Nukem 3d. You still wander around, shoot aliens, pickup key/items/weapons, etc. However, there have been changes.
For starters are the aliens. Due to the graphical changes made, they all look relatively different (With the exceptions of the Protozoid Slimers & Sentry Drones, who still look the same). The Pig Cops now wear shorts, Hawaiian t-shirts, and sunglasses, the Assault Troopers look like the little guy from Fantasy Island, etc. There are also 3 new enemies introduced in the expansion: Seagulls that drop duces on you but are easy to kill, Inflatable Sea Monsters ridden by Pig Cops (They deal a lot of damage, but are easy to kill like the Seagulls), and Beach Babes, who really aren’t enemies, but act more like distractions. There were also supposed to be Iguana enemies, but they weren’t put into the final edition of the game (Screenshots were placed on Sunstorm Interactive’s website, but have long since been taken down).
Weapons have also been changed, as they all have been reskined & renamed. The Pipebombs have become Pineapples, the Rocket Launcher has become the Coconut Launcher, etc (Physically they look different, but they function just like their normal counterparts). Items that went to the inventory also received a new coat of paint, as Steroids are now Hot Sauce, and the Portable Medkit has become a Crate of Bananas (The only item to not receive any Caribbean change is the jetpack, as you can only get that item right at the end). Even the keycards can’t escape the Caribbean theme, as they’ve now become credit cards (Which are named Vista, which is a parody of Visa Credit Cards).
In a rather odd inclusion, many of the exit symbols are placed on a little wooden ship. The name of the wooden ship, by the way, is Kobayashi Maru, which was the name of the training vessel from Star Trek. Star Trek fans on the development team, perhaps?
Graphics & Sound
Graphically, Duke Caribbean: Life’s A Beach runs on the same Build Engine as all of the other DN3d games. What is different is the various textures used. A host of new Caribbean/Tropical themed textures have been created for this mod, including new signs, bamboo, etc. They really do convey the expansion’s warm & inviting feel. You do come across older textures, but these are taken aback so that the new ones stand in the spotlight.
As for the sound quality, it’s improved a little. Some of the redesigned weapon make new noises, but that’s not what’s improved the most. Each of the levels in the expansion have new, Caribbean-themed music made for them. The introduction, for example, is a mix between the original Duke Nukem 3d theme, and Hawaii Five-O (Click “***” to listen to it). The other little songs have steel drums, saxophones, and other instruments you’d hear when you’re in the Caribbean. There’s only 1 song that sounds like something from DN3d, but even then it somehow manages to sound fun.
Overall & Rating
If Nuclear Winter was the worst expansion, and Duke It Out In D.C. is the okay expansion, then Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach is the best of the three expansions. It has the best theme, best look, and even the best character so to speak. If you’re looking for a familiar hero with a new twist, then go right for Duke Caribbean: Life’s A Beach, and enjoy your fun in the sun!
Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach gets a 9 out of 10.
See you all later this week, when it’ll be springtime around the Hinata Apartments. Until then, stay Otaku!
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Quick Little Fact: You can find the original DN3d game, along with the expansions, under the moniker Duke Nukem: Megaton Edition. It’s currently priced at $9.99, which is a great price when you consider the content it has (And how hard it is to get physical copies of the expansions now). If you would also like to look at my two previous Duke Nukem expansion reviews, then click on the links below (In order of release).
Duke It Out In D.C.: “***”
Duke - Nuclear Winter: “***”
Quick Little Fact 2: Duke Caribbean - Life’s a Beach & Duke - Nuclear Winter were released within a day of each other (Caribbean on December 30th, and Nuclear Winter on the 31st). Coincidence?
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