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Developer: Pandemic Studios
Publisher: THQ
Genre: Action
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 17 Jun 05
User Rating
9.8 (128 votes) -
- Pandemic Studios takes what we love about campy alien B-Movies and turns it into this relentlessly funny and solid action title.
Overview
A lot of times when I write these reviews I feel as though I am repeating myself over and over again, because of the lack of creativity on the developers in making the same games over and over again. Well today we have a game that is not the same as the rest, but instead one that is much different from what we have normally seen from the action genre. It is the game Destroy All Humans! from Pandemic Studios, based on a great blend of silly B-movie style humor and solid shooting action. So does it pan out to be an enjoyable experience? Read our full review to find out?
Gameplay
So many games try to go with the safe roads, the roads that have been traveled so many times that we can usually predict what's going to happen before that event actually takes place in the game. But it is the games that take the road less traveled; go for something different, those are the ones that are usually remembered. Destroy All Humans may not be all that different from the rest of the gaming world, but it took a different approach to many areas of which we will discuss in the review of the game.
In Destroy All Humans! you play the game as an alien named Cryptosporidium-137, or Crypto 137 for short. Crypto 137 is on a mission to suck the DNA out of the humans and rescue his clone counterpart in Roswell, New Mexico. The story in the game is light hearted, up-tempo, and for me it really never missed a beat. The humor in the game kept on rolling from start to finish, and if you don't mind just having a few laughs you will find that Pandemic Studios did a great job making this story.
Once you get past the game's storyline, you will find that this game is setup in a way that is both linear and open-ended, something that is being used more and more as of late. It is in this that the game lets you roam around the environment you are in, but does not have one big world but many different locations that you can choose to roam and complete the missions. The game also includes many different mission types, which really allows you to get a much diverse outlook on the game because there are both missions on land as well as in your flying saucer.
When playing as Crypto on land, you are given a lot of different types of missions, in which you are going to be required to complete. Some of these missions are going to require some reconnaissance work and others are going to entail all out destruction. Crypto is equipped with the ability to pick up objects including people, and later on other items, as well as being able to for a short time takes the form of a human.
When you are not on land you will be in your flying saucer, which also is full of abilities, and upgrades that you can purchase throughout the game. The flying saucer moments are neat at the beginning of the game but really lost my interest after a while, as they did not seem to have the variety or the fun nature that the on-foot missions had. With that being said the majority of your time is not going to take place up in the saucer anyways so these missions are just breathes of fresh air to get away from the core of the game.
I can't say that Destroy All Humans! is a perfect game as it does get repetitive at times and the game never really faces any true difficult challenges, but I can say that the story and the gameplay put into one really made for a solid playing experience that technically ran great, and which offered new abilities and environments throughout the game.
Graphics
What is nice about Destroy All Humans! is that it really takes a very fun and unique 50' b-movie style approach to the game, which for me worked well for the game. Crypto himself is more of a blue colored Alien but is commonly referred to as green throughout the game (one of the many jokes found in the game). He has quite a bit of detail and does take on the typical alien style, which for me I really enjoyed.
The environments I can't say were overly detailed but they still did enough to get the job done to make the game look good throughout. I have to say that I think above all I enjoyed how light hearted the graphics felt, they weren't in your face, they were just nice and simple, and for me I really enjoyed the visuals of this game.
Fun Factor
Destroy All Humans! was a game made to be a fun experience, and I think no one will argue with that. And for me that succeeded quite easily in making this game a fun experience, as there is just no getting tired of using Crypto's powers to throw things around and suck the DNA out of all the humans. The game does have some slow moments in the middle, but in the long run I have to say that this game that was made to be fun, is a lot of fun.
Overall
Destroy All Humans! is not a game for everyone, but is a game for those of us who would like to just enjoy a comedic approach to the whole aliens versus humans concept. I think Destroy All Humans! is going to really impress who ever picks it up, as it is just a light hearted fun experience that for me was one of the more enjoyable experience of this year.
Take your Destroy All Humans! crave further with wacky wallpapers, videos and soundtrack. You can even share your UFO sighting experiences at the official website.
- Gameplay
8.0 - Graphics
8.0 - Fun Factor
8.0 - Overall
8.0
