Back in the 90s tech was at a crossroads, best exemplified by the rivalry of Duke Nukem 3D and Quake. On the one hand Quake was clearly technologically superior, with full 3D environments and polygonal monsters, but the problem with pushing tech as hard as it did was that the level of environmental interactivity ended up being almost nonexistent. Duke Nukem 3D, on the other hand, used 3D sprites for its character models and a good amount of scenery but had a big fat bag of tricks to pull from, allowing buildings to collapse and billiard balls to ricochet on a pool table. Both games had their fans and the bickering as to which was better was endless, but Duke’s intricate levels filled with environmental set-pieces left a lasting impression even if the main character’s charm rotted away over the intervening decades. The Last Exterminator is a love-letter to Duke Nukem 3D’s style, and the first-level demo is a destructive sprint through a city block the blond buzzcut hero would have been happy to stomp through.
Unlike the action-hero Duke Nukem, though, Kira Parker is just a broke exterminator living from job to job with her van doubling as home. She’s hard at work when the cockroach-aliens invade, and promptly switches from survival to vengeance mode when after popping a few grunts they blow up her van. If there’s any confusion about comparing this game to Duke, Kira’s comment on those alien bastards shooting up her van makes the homage even more clear. The urban setting, music, enemy design, and overall art style make it a little too close for comfort, in fact, but the level layout and gunplay go a long way towards forgiveness.
The four weapons (plus unarmed punch) all feel good to use, with the pistol being far more effective than you might expect. The real star of the show, however, is the level design, which takes place over several interconnected buildings with a good supply of secrets, shortcuts, and set-pieces to bring the environment to life. The first couple of secrets show up early, hiding extra rooms, enemies, and weapons, and keeping an eye out through the entire level reveals enough extra goodies that even Hard mode is approachable. There’s also a good variety in places to fight, from open streets and rooftops to cramped stairwells, and every once in a while a background building explodes to keep things interesting. The trick, of course, is to keep it up, because an unneeded Duke Nukem 3D homage is to have all the good stuff arrive in the shareware levels.
The Last Exteminator demo released this weekend and is easily worth an hour or two for a couple of play-throughs. It’s only one level but nicely intricate, complicated without being confusing, and that can be harder than it seems to pull off. Head onover to Steamto give it a try, splattering the swarm of cockroach-aliens with a twin-barreled shotgun blast to their skittery insect faces.
