Dynamite Duke
System: Genesis
Release Date: December 1990
Developer: SIMS/Hertz Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Shooter
Shoot ‘em up… shoot ‘em aaaaalllll up in Dynamite Duke! With the ozone layer having deteriorated away to allow UV radiation to engulf everyone, the Global Alliance scientists searched for an answer. Finally creating a life form that could take the deadly radiation, one of the creators disappeared with a case full of classified files. Having created an army of his own, it’s up to Colonel Duke Rippem to gun down everyone in his way, kill Dr. Ashe, and save the world!
I can really sum this game up in one sentence, the NES Punisher game, but on Sega Genesis and unlicensed. The game play is basically the same. The camera slowly moves to the right and enemies come on screen. You need to press the A Button to shoot your machine gun, which unleashes a burst of up to ten bullets. Some enemies die quickly, while others take more hits than you’d like. While you’re shooting, you don’t move when pressing the direction keys, but your crosshairs do. While not shooting, Duke moves along with the crosshairs. You can duck and slide by pressing down and a direction, this is useful for avoiding bullets.
You have a limited amount of ammo that can be replenished by shooting ammo icons that appear after destroying moving item caches or pieces of scenery. Many other items exist, such as flak jackets to give you extra hit points, a bazooka for limited mass destruction power, full auto that grants constant firing for a limited time, the always appreciated medkit, and a Dynamite D that allows you the use of a Dynamite Punch. The powerups seem to be somewhat random between lives.
By holding the B Button, you power up a screen clearing punch. You can only hold nine at a time, but you probably won’t collect that many in normal play. These are useful when the screen gets too full and when you’re fighting a boss you find particularly difficult. Your punches refill when you die, so don’t waste them if they can keep you alive for a little bit longer.
Bosses come at the end of each stage. You don’t get much of a chance to shoot them, but instead, they get up in your face and you need to resort to hand to hand combat. Duke punches and kicks with the B and C Button respectively. You can get uppercuts by holding up when you punch and you can use a gun butt or elbow bash by pressing the A Button and left or right. It’s imperative to learn the patterns of each boss or they’ll bum rush you. If you find yourself having too much trouble, highlight the options menu, Press the C Button 10 times, then press start to get an expanded options menu.
Graphics: 2.0
Sprites and animations are merely average, along with the backgrounds.
Sound: 1.0
I find the sound effects quite annoying and bad, while the music is subdued and unmemorable.
Gameplay: 2.0
It works, but it’s pretty one dimensional. The hand to hand combat with the bosses doesn’t feel good.
Difficulty: 2.5
Sometimes there’s just a ridiculous number of enemies on screen all shooting at you. Health powerups are few and far between.
Fun Factor: 2.0
It was pleasant enough because it was quick. A longer game would have worn out its welcome.
Overall Rating: 1.9
Dynamite Duke earns a C. This is an alright game. Probably would have been better as a light gun shooter as opposed to a controller based game, but this is what we get.