Released exclusively for the Game Boy Advance in 2002, Duke Nukem Advance was developed by Torus Games and published by Take-Two Interactive, and is a first-person shooter in the infamous Duke Nukem series, with its own unique story, and using graphics and characters borrowed from Duke Nukem 3D.

In this game, the military have lost contact with Area 51, so they send in Duke to chew bubblegum, and to kick ass (and, yes – he’s all out of bubblegum). Teleporting in, Duke loses all his weapons, except for his trusty Desert Eagle, so must find replacements as he progresses.

Enemies start off the same as those in Duke Nukem 3D, but you soon encounter Alien Grays, who can attack you with projected mind beams, and can also raise the dead. What this means is that a Gray will resurrect any killed enemies in the vicinity, so you must take them out as a priority, to stop this from happening.

Duke can jump and kick, as well as shoot, and there are some platforming sections in the game; usually leading you to keycards that are otherwise out of reach. Teleporters are scattered around which link rooms together, and there are also ducts that Duke can crawl through to reach some areas. Exploding cylinders are found in some levels, that can be shot to destroy enemies.

To choose between available weapons, you hold Select while cycling through them with the L and R buttons. Holding down the L and R buttons together allows you to look up and down, and the view will automatically reset back to level when you move backwards or forwards. Pressing Start gives access to a useful map (which you can zoom in and out of, and rotate around), as well as control settings, crosshair types, gamma and auto weapon settings, and music and sound levels.

Gameplay in Duke Nukem Advance is fairly straightforward – complete your objectives and then blast your way to the exit on each level, although the game can be played at four different difficulty levels, so the challenge is there if you want it. There are five save slots, where you record progress in-between levels.

As well as the single-player campaign, the game also has a multiplayer mode, allowing up to four players to deathmatch it out.

The game uses the Southpaw Engine, which Torus used to create their GBA port of Doom II, and it runs fast and smooth, but renders the game in a rather pixelated manner.

Overall, Duke Nukem Advance is a fun game to play, and is arguably one of the best first-person shooters on the Game Boy Advance.

More: Duke Nukem Advance on Wikipedia