The XBLA version seems just as good as we remeber it, but with some new features.
As those of you who have used the arcade before downloading was quick and simple, allowing me to play straight away. When I started to play, I could not believe how good it looked on an HD TV, with graphics that seem much better than when it was originally created. One criticism I have on looks though is the annoying border that takes up most of the screen but this is fairly minor.
However, it is in gameplay that it really excels. You begin the game choosing from any one of 4 sections-
-LA Meltdown is the shortest but the best to begin with as enemies are not so tough and it provides good background on the other zones.
-Lunar Apocalypse is of medium difficulty and has plenty of levels and secrets (and secret levels) and introduces many new weapons.
-Shrapnel City is where it gets harder with more enemies and longer levels, again with secrets and weapons to be found.
-The Birth is the final zone which comes from the Atomic Edition pack. This is much harder than the other 3 but it is here where fighting and just blowing stuff up is at its best.
Each of these sections or zones contains multiple levels and all end with a boss fight. These range from challenging and tough to just annoying which can let it down a little. When you begin you choose from 4 difficulties which follow the rule of 'easy to learn, hard to master' with the final difficulty being almost impossible. This adds to the replayability factor. Throughout the game you will encounter a wide arsenal of weapons and gadgets, often hidden in secret areas. These include the devastator which fires stinger missiles; the shrinker which shrinks enemies so you can crush them and the freezer which turns enemies to ice! All of the 10 weapons are needed as you face many varieties of enemies who again are either just a nuisance or worth the fight from the annoying sentry drones to the deadly battlelords.
After completing the campaign there is also online play to consider. Co-op is similar to single player but faster paced albeit a little easier whereas duke matches are fun but often hit by bad lag, making it just a little bit tedious. A new feature of the game is that the game records you progress by capturing a video in each level which can then be posted online for others to watch. My favourite new feature is that if you die you can replay from any point in the level which takes away the need to save every few minutes.
All in all, I think that this is a wonderful game which will not disappoint Duke fans with its great mixture of weapons, enemies, humour and of course Duke and his comments!