DESTROY ALL HUAMNS II REVIEW
FORMAT: PS2/XBOX
MAKER: THQ/PANDEMIC STUDIOS
Have you ever wanted to do something nasty to the ol’ bag in number 40, those kids that keyed your car or perhaps that dog that sh*ts on your lawn? How does liquefying them, making them dance like Austin Powers or bouncing them off buildings sound? Thanks to Destroy All Humans II (DAHII), your prayers have been answered.
Produced by Brisbane/LA-based Pandemic Studios, the first game was a runaway cult hit thanks to its highly amusing affair of sci-fi mythology all tied up in oodles and oodles of all-out destruction ala Mars Attacks.
Basically, DAHII continues from the first game, an open-world parody/shoot ’em up where you played the very Jack Nicholson Cryptosporidium (yes, like Sydney water) 137 – a wee alien bent on destroying earth and its puny earthlings.
Well, Cyrpto is back, though now 138, along with his ship, for more flaming, zapping and liquefying, not to mention a stack of quotes that will have you sitting in a puddle of pee from laughter. The graphics have been turned up a notch on both PS2 and Xbox formats, particularly when dealing with swarms of humans, and buildings and structures are rendered well, though still not accessible. Particle work is particularly good, and fires roar to life with greater realism. It’s all part of the homosapien-hunting fun.
Now the flower-power era, the swingin’ ’60s, there are some truly kooky characters around, with names like Coyote Bongwater among others. Of course, the mind-scanning function always works a treat, though most of the females in the game seemed to be largely preoccupied with sex – not a bad thing in our books.
That said, Crypto is a racist – in that he hates all races equally – so the game journeys though the UK, US and Japan, and even includes one very interesting jaunt to Russia, where you can go head to head with the Soviet forces.
As to be expected, the voice-overs are top-notch, even down to the accents, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more amusing game. You still roam around collecting Furotech cells, but now the level of upgrades and mini-features is vastly more extensive, and it’s unlikely even a month of hardcore playing will see you touch all five worlds and 30–40 missions in each.
One of more exciting aspects of the game is the ability to jet-pack around, scaling fences and small obstacles and later progressing to loftier heights with upgrades. It’s also handy for getting on top of situations when the sight or your ugly mug begins to gather a crowd – something we’re familiar with.
However, what most punters come for in a destructible open-world game like this is weaponry, and DAHII delivers a stack of weapons that are literally out of this world (see Weapons breakout). They include such pleasant items as cortex scans, mind flash, transmogrify, as well as a whole bunch more easily accessible from the abduction vault. DAHII also includes a co-op feature so you can bring a mate in on the action, and believe us, there’s nothing better than blastin’ away with a bud on board. There are even co-op mini-games, with PK tennis soon becoming something of an office ‘I’ll smack you down’-a-thon.
Indeed, Crypto himself is no ET, that’s for sure, and the constant stereotyping is particularly snappy this time around, with plenty of hippie-stoked humour to fuel the fire. There’s also commentary on the space race, cold war and spy movies, with tons of trivia to keep even the most die-hard of of sci-fi and movie buffs coming back for more.
On the downside, some of the character AI seems a little stale, though that’s more than made up for with Cyrpto’s crazy commentary on his surroundings. In all, if you’ve ever wanted to live out your own personal Independence Day, this is the game for you. Not convinced, check out these crazy videos!
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