| Making the Taskbar Vertical | ||
| Platform: Windows 95/98/NT | User Level: Beginner | |
| If you’re a power user with a newfangled PC with tons of memory and acres of screen real estate, you might want to consider moving the taskbar to the right or left of the screen, in a vertical orientation. It may seem a little disconcerting at first, but there are two main reasons for this. First, a screen is 33% wider than it is tall. That means you can spare more room horizontally. Secondly, as a power user you will probably be running several programs at the same time, maybe over a dozen. The vertical orientation allows the programs to line up neat and clean so it’s easier to keep track of them. | ||
Duke Nukem: Time to Kill is a shoot 'em up game in which you control Duke Nukem, one of the last hopes for human survival. In the game, you must travel back in time to places like Rome and the Wild West. Duke trying to stop an evil band of alien warthogs, and save the world.
The story takes place in the near future, in which alien's have invaded Earth, and the only human strong enough is Duke Nukem. Loaded with an arsenal of weapons, Duke must put an end to all the chaos erupting on Earth. Traveling back in time, to different periods of great civilizations, he might be able to put an end to it all.
Duke Nukem is a pretty basic game, but nicely done. It is complex, although some things in the game are not necessary to beat, which adds quite a variety of things. You are able to talk with other people in the game, as the game progresses. Duke also says many different phrases throughout the game, depending on what you are doing, or looking at. But for one thing, this game won't leave you unfulfilled.
The gameplay is not very complicated, and the controls are very simple and basic. The controls might get a tiny bit confusing after a while, but you will soon get the hang of it. You are looking at Duke from a third person POV, but can also hold a button to make him look from a first person view while shooting, which make aiming the gun a whole lot easier. Your life is in percentage, each time you get hit, the percent goes down, depending on the enemy that hit you. The gameplay, although a little confusing at first, should be no problem as the game progresses.
The Graphics in this game, are well done. You won't find many flaws with them. They are much like Tomb Raider graphics, and the surroundings and landscapes are almost identical to what you see in real life. The graphics are not blocky and rough, but they are very smooth, and have a sharpness to them. The explosions and fire in the game, look real, and you see a lot of it throughout the game. The graphics are nothing to be amazed at, but they are good enough to bring out the quality of game that this is.
The Sound FX are really cool in the game. You hear Duke talking most the time, and when he isn't, you'll hear the sounds of squeeling pigs, explosions, and gun shots according to what you are doing at the time. Duke also says things as you pull out the type of gun you want, or if you just want to use your boot during battle. All in all the Sound FX's will keep you awake.
This game gets a little addicting after you get into it. It is very nicely done, and the multiplayer really adds on to the game, so if you have already beaten it, you could get a friend and duel to the death. Although the game lacks some features that could be added, it is a very well produced game, that won't leave you bored with nothing to do.
| • | Spam killer: SpammerSlammer |
| • | Zip utility: WinZip |
| • | Speech recognition software: NaturallySpeaking Preferred |
| • | Chat client: Visual IRC 97 |
| • | Crash protector: RealHelp Extra Strength |