Cryptosporidium and its alien cohorts first landed on Earth in 2005 when THQ and Pandemic Studios created an alternate world to ours with Destroy all humans!, a Sci-Fi story full of foreign spies and alien conflict. Pandemic did it again in 2006 with Destroy all humans! 2, bringing the ridiculous story of the aliens further into the gaming mainstream during the days of PS2 and Xbox dominance. Of Destroy all humans! 2 Re-probedthe second remake of THQ Nordic and Black Forest Games in the Destroy all humans! series, Crypto and friends have a chance to boost the new generation of gamers, but the game doesn’t always live up to those expectations.
The game is hindered from achieving glory by the limitations imposed on it being an older title, but retains its outrageous satirical humor while looking stunning with its improved graphics. This remake seems made for those already committed to the short and evil alien clone, but everyone else will see a game with some interesting mechanics and good looks that fall short both inside and outside the pandemonium.
The game’s story is simple: a decade after the events of Destroy all humans!, players take control of Cryptosporidium 187, who became the president of the United States in 1969, and party with gangs of hippies in the fictional Bay City. While celebrating love, the KGB finds and destroys Crypto’s mothership with a nuclear missile. The ship’s destruction rains rubble on the city and Crypto’s disguise is destroyed, imposing his true form on the unsuspecting populace. A mix of revenge against the KGB, disdain for humans and a desire to ensure the safety of his “package” fuels Crypto’s adventure around the world and beyond. It’s not the kind of story to keep anyone on the edge of their seats, but it should keep players somewhat entertained all the time.
The Generation Limitations of the PS2 and Xbox Impact and Drag Destroy all humans! 2 Re-probed more down than any other negative facet of the game. In the heyday of the generation, most would not have noticed the smaller playable areas common in the open-world adventure games of the early 2000s, but experiencing map sizes limited to what the Xbox and PS2 can handle in today’s world. gaming landscape, is shocking. Destroy all humans! 2 Re-probed does a good job of hiding it at first glance, but the moment players board Crypto’s flying saucer, the edges of the map are easy to notice and hard to ignore. It also limits the number of collectibles the game can hide, as it wouldn’t be fun to hide the game’s soundtracks and artwork around every other building. The old technology also means a lack of variety in mission types, which amounts to the basic pick-up, escort and destroy missions.
Fans of the original Destroy all humans! 2 will undoubtedly love the game’s revamped look. Textures, especially those found on Crypto and various NPCs, use every available trick and ounce of power the Unreal Engine 4 can muster to present something delightful to the eyes. The spots on Crypto’s skin when the camera zooms in close to his face, his slowly pulsating head holes, and even the curves in his suit are a testament to the work and effort Black Forest Games put into visually upgrading the character. Each level also makes it abundantly clear how focused the developers were on adapting the game’s visuals to current-generation specs, with revamped smoke and fire effects that look astronomically better than the 2006 version. NPC faces are an interesting one. mix of real life and a slightly exaggerated cartoon style that are even visually impressive when players first see them. However, the fun starts to fade when every third person has the same face, and it gets even crazier when players, after mastering someone, address a crowd of identical-looking clones. Those who can suspend their disbelief will have an easier time dealing with these kinds of legacy limitations from the PS2 and Xbox days.
Players start with a few gadgets and guns to fight against Crypto’s enemies and progress through the story more wacky tools that can be used to force people to dance, maim them, blow them up or be probed against their will and Lake. After Crypto, these are the stars of the game and the reasons most players fell so in love in 2006, and each one has the ability to wreak havoc. Users returning to the game after all these years will love the effects of each weapon and how they look now. Some of Destroy all humans! weapons will get used a lot more than others (like the Disintegrator Ray), but the psychokinesis skill the player starts out with downplays a lot of the game on its own. Slinging people dead across the map negates any fear of being knocked down by humans during the game’s missions, only to be checked halfway through by an enemy impervious to Psychokinesis. Humanity is easy to handle this way and is probably the least threatening enemy group from start to finish.
Crypto is once again beautifully voiced by actor J. Grant Albrecht, and he gives the alien a gritty attitude that sometimes strays into an imitation of Jack Nicholson’s Joker. NPC voices range from good to fair, and reading most of them results in jokes that can sometimes feel out of place or eye-rolling, while others can have a genuine laugh. Despite the somewhat dated dialogue, the music and sounds of Destroy all humans! 2 Re-probed blend well with the game’s locations, merging into a soundtrack that feels right at home in the 1969 Cold War aesthetic.
It only takes about 15 hours to blast through the main story, and aside from collectibles and changing objectives to hear various interaction dialogues, the game doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of replayability. The length could be another byproduct of an earlier console generation, so those looking to put in a ton of hours in games won’t find enough content to satisfy themselves once the chaos gets old. Those who replay it years after their first playthrough are likely to play through even faster, barring technical issues. The game has fun and crazy moments scattered throughout the game, but most of the joy to be found is in the chaos that Crypto wrecks create, which may not be enough to hold people’s attention for long.
Destroy all humans! 2 Re-probed‘s is solid on the technical side with few dips below 60 fps depending on the chaotic destruction of each level. Jumping into the flying saucer is the only time minor graphical issues, such as characters entering from a distance, are noticeable. There were a few non-graphical issues that could cause frustration, such as a respawn bug on the last mission that forced a save/stop. Vehicles controlled by NPCs are also linked to the coded directions of the previous version, causing them to clip through each other and drive in zigzagging lines instead of straight, while showing no response when cars explode all around them.
The game brings back previous multiplayer modes for wreaking havoc with or against friends with PK Tennis, a versus mode, and the ability to play through the game in co-op story mode. There’s not a lot of depth to these point-based multiplayer minigames, though they’re something else to do. The co-op story mode will be the mode of choice for most players, as sounding people and destroying buildings is almost always fun with friends.
Destroy all humans! 2 Re-probed is a beautiful, destructive romp through multiple cities that gets swept up by the limitations of the original platforms. Detaching Crypto from the limitations of previous gaming hardware might allow it to fly to new heights, but it’s unknown to what extent a new game would be able to maintain the raunchy spirit of its predecessors. Perhaps enough interest in these remakes will encourage THQ Nordic to think about creating new adventures for the constantly aggravated and diabolically evil Furon called Cryptosporidium.
Destroy all humans! 2 Re-probed is out August 30 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Game Rant has been given a PC code for this review.
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