Review for Destroy All Humans!. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 31/07/2020
Between 1950 and 1960 the public witnessed an exponential growth of science fiction films; in fact, more and more directors and authors found themselves riding the wave of success of this cinematographic genre. Thus we saw the birth of different styles and ways of representing automatons, technologies and the more classic “little green men”. About 40 years later, and more precisely in 1996, Tim Burton wanted to take up the themes and style of science fiction films of the 50s to create "Mars Attacks!".
We are talking about a parody particularly linked to the "B movies" of the period and full of black humor, which over time has become a real cult of cinema. Similarly, almost 10 years later, Pandemic Studios gave birth to a parodic title of American films about the cold war and alien invasions: "Destroy All Humans!". The game was quite successful and thrilled many players mainly due to its humor and the freedom and fun it had to offer.
Later three more chapters dedicated to the franchise were released (for a total of four games), although the most successful ones remained the first two chapters: "Destroy all Humans!" and Destroy all Humans! 2". Today we return to talk about the series for the release of the Remake of the first chapter. Before starting, we specify that, since it is a remake, the game has been rebuilt while maintaining the entire basic structure of the original with the necessary additions and improvements to make it more “palatable”. The whole thing was developed by Black Forest Games and published by THQ Nordic for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Screen
Destroy All Humans! will put us in the shoes of Crypto (to be precise Crypto number 137), an alien in charge of subduing and preparing the planet Earth for the invasion by the Furon Empire. Our planet has already received the visit of the Furon in the past who have, however, only grafted their DNA into ours and then leave us free to multiply and develop; now is the time to collect and recover the original alien genetic material, as theirs has gradually become distorted due to the cloning process.
In the process of submission of mankind we will also be accompanied and helped by Orthopox (Pox for friends), a real alien mad scientist who will supervise our every move, as well as being our "friend". Our adventure will begin right after Pox has finished cloning our "current self" as a replacement for Crypto-136, which ended up missing following an accident during the first attempt at contact with the human race. From this moment on, we will have to rise to the top of the American people to complete submission and, at the same time, suppress any attempt at defense or rebellion.
We will thus find ourselves visiting from the small countryside suburbs to Area 51 (here called Area 42) and Washington. Despite the intellectual inferiority of our victims, ours will not be an easy task, especially because of the Majestic, an initially non-governmental organization with cutting-edge power and technology. All this through a very simple plot at the base but characterized by a pungent sense of humor full of grotesque satire relating to the historical period (between cover-ups, little green men and the ever-present "red threat").
gameplay
Destroy all Humans! puts us in front of gameplay enriched in some respects but substantially unchanged compared to the original game. We will in fact be placed in front of a total of 22 main missions set in 6 more or less large game areas. The missions will take place in delimited areas within these maps, but they will all be freely explorable at any time; these thus form real sandbox areas in which to dedicate ourselves to bringing death and destruction with humans who, to counter us, will send us against the army, Majestic, armored up to heavy armored robots (all regulated by an increasing alert system ).
Each of these macro areas will be accompanied by a variable number of collectibles to collect (probes with DNA) and four different types of challenges (race, devastation, kidnapping and armageddon) which will guarantee you an additional income of genetic material. Each main mission will also feature a variable number of secondary tasks useful for obtaining further rewards and to unlock additional costumes for our protagonist. In fact, there will be four skins for customization, including one inspired by Death from the Darksiders series. An unreleased mission originally removed from the 2005 version also appears in the main campaign.
In Destroy all Humans! our Crypto will be equipped with a jetpack for three-dimensional movement and a respectable arsenal consisting of four types of weapons unchanged from the original, from the disintegrator rifle (with the always funny death animation extremely similar to that caused by the weapons of Mars Attacks) to the most devastating ion detonator. To these then our telekinesis powers are added to throw humans and others away, the ability to disguise ourselves as a human being by stealing his appearance (the HoloBob, essential for when a stealth approach will be required), that of reading minds and the practice "Brain Extraction" to obtain DNA from human brains.
Each of these elements can then be enhanced by Orthopox aboard our mother ship by paying with the collected DNA. These, present in greater numbers than in the 2005 game, will allow us to improve weapons in various aspects, increase our survival skills by enhancing the shield or dodging or our telekinesis powers up to being able to launch heavy armored vehicles. Furthermore we wouldn't be a true invading alien without our very own UFO; also in this case the spacecraft will be equipped with different weapons of destruction (three to be exact) and other abilities, all of which can always be improved thanks to Pox.
Longevity
The overall duration of Destroy All Humans! it is around 7-8 hours for the completion of the main campaign alone. As already mentioned above, however, thanks to the presence of secondary objectives for the missions (which will all be repeatable at any time via the Holopox Bridge on our ship), challenges in the six maps, collectibles (connected to the extension of each area ) and numerous upgrades the overall duration can increase without problems.
Technical Department
Since this is a remake, the greatest upheaval occurs on a technical level and, above all, on a graphic level. The new Destroy all Humans! it was in fact polished for the occasion with new models, textures, effects, lighting and animations (with the inclusion of motion capture by the developers) of an excellent level and able to give a general glance of all respect. The only flaws from this point of view are the lack of detail linked to some buildings and the not excessive variety and consequent reuse of the models of some civilians and secondary characters, including those shown in the cutscenes. However, these are minor "defects" that do not particularly affect the gaming experience, but their absence would have been appreciated.
At the audio level, the game has the same voiceovers and dialogues in English as the original title, which have only been cleaned up and improved from a sound point of view. It is undoubtedly a choice that fans of the series will appreciate very much and that can evoke the "pleasant memories of death and destruction of 15 years ago". In the same way, the audio effects of weapons and music (many characterized by the Theremin in full 50s style) give a pleasant feedback. Also in this case, however, in the case of the secondary characters that inhabit the game world we have voices that are very often repeated. Finally the game remains stable on PlayStation 4 Pro with no framerate drops and, fortunately, no problems to report from the point of view of bugs and glitches except for some sporadic temporary freezes.
The Black Forest Games team has undoubtedly succeeded in bringing to light one of the most popular and fun titles of its generation with a technical sector made definitely to the best of its potential. This new remake of Destroy all Humans! has all the credentials to compete with the titles of the current generation, despite a gameplay and a plot (the latter above all) of 15 years ago, as well as being able to remind Crypto fans why they have grown fond of origin. It is, therefore, a very suitable title not only for old-time players who have already had the opportunity to learn about the events of this bloodthirsty alien, but also for all those who want to meet him.
► Destroy All Humans! is a Shooter-Adventure type game developed and published by THQ Nordic for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 31/07/2020
