Destroy All Humans! 2

"Killing In The Name Of..."

Many may remember Destroy All Humans as a nutty, fifties era satire which involved a little grey man named Crypto trying to save his species from extinction. As memorable as the games humorous take on that idyllic era of American history was, the gameplay was sadly lacking. I'm happy to report that the second time around, the game is much improved across the board.

With the conclusion of the original Destroy All Humans, Crypto had successfully saved his race from extinction by harvesting Furon DNA from humans and managed to become the President of the United States. With the fifties gone, Crypto is now enjoying life (along with his newly acquired genitalia) in the swinging sixties, all while avoiding his duties as President. However the age of free love has caused new problems for the little grey man. The mothership gets blown up by the Russians, killing Pox (but not before he copies his mind to a computer) and scatters debris and alien technology across the planet. To make matters worse, the Hippy home-front seems to be collaborating with the enemy. Firmly entrenched in his new life of wanton debauchery, Crypto sets out to save America and take the fight to those freedom-hating Commies.

The basic principle of the game remains the same with its open world structure and ability to tackle missions at your leisure. But as previously stated, the game has been vastly improved in any number of areas. For instance the stupid side missions of the first, which had Crypto doing such asinine tasks as racing across rooftops with his jet-pack, have been replaced with fun ones that actually tie into the plot. For instance, there are the Arkvoodle missions which involve Crypto converting people to the native Furon god. Even better, mandatory brain collection is nowhere to be found (which makes sense given that it was a plot element from the first game). This means that players won't ever have to quit doing real missions in order to fulfill some arbitrary collection requirement.

In spite of the overhaul side missions have received, main missions are decidedly vanilla and haven't been improved much. Most of them simply involve running from place to place, shooting anyone who gets in the way. More often than not there is some fun plot reason as to why it's all happening but that does nothing to mask the repetitive nature of most missions. However, it seems that Pandemic is now acquainted with the idea of checkpoints, as being killed in the middle of a mission no longer means having to start all over.

The weapons were a highlight of the first game and the favorites return, mostly in their original forms. The Zap-o-Matic electricity gun, the Disintegrator ray, the Ion Detonator grenade launcher all return more or less as they were. The Anal Probe is now pretty much useless given that there's no need to collect brain stems and it uses ammunition instead of a recharging meter. One new addition to the lineup is the Dislocator, a weapon that shoots plasmatic Frisbee's which attach to anything and subsequently toss them around the environment. Once again, weapons can also be upgraded, now through a much better form of currency known as Furotech cells which are found around the world and given after completing missions. Upgrading weapons gives better damage, more ammo and certain special effects such as arcing electricity with the Zap-o-Matic.

Crypto still has his telekinetic abilities as well. In addition to being able to pick up and throw anything that isn't nailed down, Crypto can read minds, coerce people into following him and snatch human bodies. There are also a few other abilities such as Free Love, which causes everyone in the vicinity to start dancing uncontrollably, allowing Crypto to escape or kill them without harassment.

The UFO, the use of which was necessary and painful in the original, has also received a dramatic overhaul. Minor (but very much welcomed) changes include the ability to skip the lengthy take-off and landing sequences as well as the addition of an ability to adjust flight altitude. Bigger changes include the ability to siphon health-replenishing energy from vehicles and a cloaking device, both of which significantly reduce the frustration level. However, one of the more irritating things from the original remains, that being the military that shows up almost as soon as the UFO takes off, which makes it seem like there's a military base in every city.

A plethora of other cool and usually welcome additions have popped up as well. First and foremost, there is now a map so getting from one place to another much easier. There's also a new mechanic that involves mixing the DNA of abducted citizens for special extras such as artwork and the ability to body snatch quicker. There is at least one useless addition, that being the branching conversations. When picking up a mission, Crypto can sometimes choose a branching dialog path that offers nothing but a few chuckles. Strangely, even when there are no other dialog options players still have to select the single choice.

There are a few remaining frustrations from Destroy All Humans as well as a few new ones. As before, it is ridiculously easy to get a full wanted level going. You'd think that the police force would be a little more skeptical of people claiming to have seen a little grey spaceman… And it now takes quite a long time to snatch a persons body, which means by the time Crypto has actually done it many people have probably seen him making the whole process a bit redundant. Still, the aggravation is somewhat alleviated by the fact that in a policeman's body Crypto can call off his wanted level.

Like the first Destroy All Humans, the graphical style is very bright and vibrant (perhaps more so now than previously). Overall, it's a much better looking game yet it still suffers from unseemly amounts of popup. There are way too many texture problems, as most are very muddled. Aside from Crypto most character models look terrible up close. Some even possess PSOne era rendering with pixilated textures and blocky bodies.

Audio design remains a highpoint of the franchise. The satirical rasp of Crypto's Jack Nicholson voice is as hilarious as ever, and the 60's music (some of it authentic licensed stuff) is catchier than I thought music from that era could be. The game also retains a good amount of its satirical edge, though the hilarity of the fifties has been replaced by somewhat less funny sixties jokes. Come prepared to hear lots of jabs at drug use, hippies and the ever-popular scapegoat of Communism.

THE VERDICT
Overall, Destroy All Humans 2 is a much better game than its predecessor. Much of the core gameplay has received its desperately needed tuneup, which results in a much smoother and more enjoyable playthrough. Things like revised mission designs, altered UFO sequences and the introduction of a (somewhat lackluster) checkpoint system have taken much of the frustration out of the game. Even so, some snagging points remain and the franchise still hasn't reached the heights it is obviously capable of.

HIGHS
- Better UFO sequences
- Better side missions
- Lots of other minor additions make the game a much more enjoyable play

LOWS
- Ugly
- Not as funny as before

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/09

Game Release: Destroy All Humans! 2 (US, 10/17/06)