Destroy All Humans PS2 Preview

Over the years we've seen many films portray aliens in a variety of different forms. We've seen them come to earth and attack, we've seen humans go on the offensive and attack them and then there are the B-Grade films. Destroy All Humans aims to capture the B grade film genre in a video game. Earlier last year we got to see our first glimpse via a demonstration by the developer. Late last year we got an updated look at the game complete with the game's producer on hand to show us through the latest build and give us an update on what is sure to become one of the best action games of 2005.



Destroy all Humans tells the story of a young Furo alien named Cryptosperidium. Considering the B grade style of the game it is of no surprise that they are typical stereotyped aliens with round heads and beady eyes. The Furons rely on an energy source only found in the stem of a human brain meaning that the humans must be destroyed. Rather than using a tactical element, the aliens launch an all out attack via crypto who is to prepare the entire world for the Furons to come and take over. This is where you come in playing as Crypto.



Destroy all Humans is a third person action game with a few differences. We've seen a lot of use of psychological powers lately in games such as Psi-Ops and Destroy All Humans will be no different. Along with Crypto's heavy weaponry, he also has the ability to mind control the weak humans. This allows Crypto to move about unnoticed by the humans. There are two ways you can take on the tasks the game has, with stealth aided by the powers Crytpo has or just destroying everything in your path getting the long arm of the law on your back in the process.



Keeping with the B grade movie theme, Crypto also has to avoid Men in Black, a FBI style force who can see Crypto even when disguised. These men known as Majestic and G-Men are the enemies of the game for the most part and the storyline explains that they have a great deal of power over the White House such as delaying the entry into World War II as they had to recover Furon samples from Germany. One of the most interesting aspects to the storyline is the fact that Majestic killed Crypto's brother during the Rosewell, Mexico incident.



The presentation focused on two levels, one level quite far into the game, and the first mission of the game. It started off with Crypto having been captured by the G-Men and stuck in a prison style cell. Crypto then mind controlled a scientist who duly let him out. Crypto was then tasked with escaping and also finding his ray gun. The level then really turned into a third person shooter, except that shooting was not a requirement. Humans react adversely to seeing an alien so getting a human body is the first priority and then they just go about their work. The aim of the level was for Crypto to find his UFO which had been captured. Once available the developer then proceeded to show us another level which is actually the first level in the game. Crypto lands in a farm on the outskirts of town. The B grade humor comes across well here with Crypto's boss mentioning that the cows must be the superior life form because the humans milk them and thus Cryptos first mission is to talk to a cow. It really is quite funny to watch.



To balance out the game a lot determines of the actions of Crypto. You could go through the game using stealth tactics and probably not encounter much resistance but there is also the opportunity to just scare the daylights out of the humans with your UFO and running around in alien form. When this occurs however expect to see the police and the army trying to take you out, although you really have the upper hand against their feeble weaponry with Crypto having weapons such as a brain exploder and sonic boom. This usually will only occur when Crypto has been tearing up the countryside with his UFO. The UFO is not just used for destruction and you can abduct cows and humans into the ship.



Continuing again the B grade theme of the game, it is set in the sixties and thus you will find people in clothes relevant to the era as well as vehicles. Also you will find real world buildings such as Capitol Hill to destroy which is no doubt included to keep the B grade style going. The visuals are still looking good and now with the game in a playable form the environments are also coming together. The environments are also highly destructible which is what the UFO is mainly used for. The version demonstrated to us was the PS2 version and if it's anything to go by the Xbox version will feature some fantastic graphics.



Destroy all Humans was recently delayed to give the developers a bit more time to polish the game. This will allow the developers to make sure everything is what in what could become one of the most humorous and best action games to release on consoles in 2005.