Destroy All Humans

Destroy All Humans!
Developer(s)	Pandemic Studios
Publisher(s)	THQ
Designer(s)
Engine
Latest version	{{{version}}}
Release date(s)	June 21, 2005 (NA), (EU)
Genre	Third person shooter Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox, Mobile phone
Media
System requirements
Input

Destroy All Humans! is a video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ. It was released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems on June 21, 2005. The game is set in 1950 U.S. and parodies the lifestyles, pop culture, and politics of this time period. The player controls Crypto, a member of the Furon race of aliens, who has come to Earth to harvest DNA from humans to continue the cloning process of his species.

The game

In Destroy All Humans!, players assume the role of Cryptosporidium-137 (Crypto for short), a warrior and member of the Furon alien race. After centuries of warfare against inferior species using unchecked nuclear weaponry and a nuclear war with the Martians left their species impotent and without genitalia, the Furons were unable to reproduce sexually and became forced to turn to cloning as means of reproduction, as well as a process by which to achieve immortality. However, after generations of clones, the Furon DNA is degrading, and each clone is becoming less and less stable.

Fortunately for the Furons, a Furon scout ship came across Earth many millennia ago after returning from destroying the Martians. The Furon spacefarers eventually inbred with the ancestors of the human race at some point in time, therefore inserting a strand of Furon DNA into the human gene pool.

Because of this, it is revealed that humans contain a small amount of Furon DNA in their genetic code. Crypto is sent to Earth to harvest this DNA from human brain stems, locate and rescue his previous clone, Cryptosporidium-136 (referred to as his brother in the instruction manual), and spearhead a Furon invasion of Earth. The game is set up in a "sandbox" fashion, much like Pandemic's January 2005 game, Mercenaries. The player has a selection of weapons and mental abilities at their disposal, as well as access to Crypto's flying saucer.

The 1959 B-movie Teenagers from Outer Space becomes available to view once the main story campaign has been completed.

Characters

Cryptosporidium-137 — Wise-cracking protagonist of the game. Has an unlimited amount of clones that will take his place if he dies in a mission, all having the same personality, but an increasing number in the name, depending on how many times you get killed (Die once, become Crypto-138. Die twice, become Crypto-139, ad infinitum). Voiced by Grant Albrecht.

Cryptosporidium-136 — Our hero's "brother" that he is sent to Earth to find.

Orthopox-15 — A Furon scientist who sends Crypto on his missions, and supplies Crypto with saucer and weapon upgrades. Called "Pox" by Crypto. Voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz, of Invader Zim fame, among other roles.

Bert Whither — Respected radio newscaster, used by the Furons because of the influence he has over people. With Orthopox tracking his broadcasts throughout the game, he also serves as an informant. Voiced by Jim Ward (of "The Stephanie Miller Show").

General Armquist — Leader of the American military, out to destroy all Furons (and Communists). Voiced by John Cygan.

Silhouette — Shadowy masked figure who seems to be leading Majestic against the Furons. Not much is known about this person. Voice withheld for spoiler purposes.

President Huffman — President of the United States of America. Voiced by André Sogliuzzo.

Minor Characters — Farmer and Mrs. Martha Turnipseed, Miss Rockwell, "The Mayors" of both Rockwell and Santa Modesta, Sleepy Ernst.

Weaponry

As an alien, Crypto has extreme technological superiority over the humans; he can single handedly fight off troops of soldiers and tanks. His arsenal includes the Zap-O-Matic (blue), the Anal Probe (green), the Disintegrator Ray (yellow, much like the alien weapons in Mars Attacks!), and the ion detonator (red). Crypto also has mental powers available, including psychokinesis, hypnosis, mind reading and mind control. His flying saucer is armed with War of the Worlds-style heat rays and abduction beams. All weapons are upgradable by obtaining and spending "DNA", the game's currency. Destroy All Humans! implements the Havok physics engine, allowing for ragdoll effects on bodies and highly destructible environments.

Setting

Destroy All Humans! is set in 1950s-period United States. The game consists of six settings, all accessible from the mothership. These include two rural communities, a California suburb, an Area 51-style military base (which is where Crypto-137's brother is kept), an Eastern seaboard industrial city, and Washington, DC. Humans in these locations become alarmed by Crypto's presence, and while some run or hide, others are armed and will fight back. An alert system, much like Grand Theft Auto's "wanted level", denotes how much attention Crypto has attracted, leading to police, military involvement, and eventully a group called the Majestic will join the chase. Most buildings and structures in the game can be destroyed.

The hub of the game is the Furon mothership, in orbit around Earth. From there you can receive missions, upgrade weapons, and view unlocked content. This is also the portal to each of the Earth settings in the game.

Furons

Coming from the planet Gorta in the Proxima Centauri system, the Furons are led by their emperor. They have a similar appearance to Greys. They are a highly advanced race, but use their technology not only for science, but also for war. And since they are a warlike race, their weaponry is extremely deadly. Orthopox was sent with Crypto-137 to Earth to harvest the brain stems of the ruling race there, like on many other worlds all set of Furon invasion, and also to find out what happened to Crypto-136, Crypto-137's brother.

Furon Weaponry

The Furons have a wide range of weaponry. The clones sent down to Earth, called Cryptosporidium, carry four weapons with them. The first is the Zap-O-Matic which emits electricity at the enemy, but in a limited amount, unless upgraded. The second, the Anal Probe, shoots a green beam into the anus of the victim and retrieves the brain stem, which once collected gives DNA to the clone. The third is the Disintegrator Ray which fires either a single, double or triple shot at the enemy, disintegrating them instantly. The fourth and probably most destructive is the Ion Detonator. It launches a sort of grenade into the air then on the second pull of the trigger it explodes, ionizing everything in its blast radius.

Saucer Weaponry

The Furons method of travelling is a saucer and of course that comes heavily equipped with weapons too. The first weapon is the Death Ray. This shoots a red beam at the target incinerating it (creating the sound of fire burning). The second is the Abducto-Beam which, when activated, picks up anything from humans to tanks and brings it with the saucer wherever it goes. The third is the Sonic Boom, which fires a small bomb at the target damaging everything in the blast radius. The fourth and most lethal of all Furon weaponry is the Quantum Deconstructor. This launches a bomb at the target, obliterating everything in its area of destruction.

Mental powers

The Furons have many mental abilities. Psychokinesis lets them move any target using only their mind then throw them into the distance. They can scan any living thing for its thoughts, allowing them to know about anything. They can also hypnotise the living to create a distraction, walk back to the saucer or even fall asleep. The final thing is to extract a human brain stem. Once extracted and collected the brain stem gives the clone more DNA.

HoloBob

The Furons can imitate the appearance of any nearby human. This allows the furon to travel amongst humans unnoticed, or in some cases, take the appearance of a public figure to send out a message to humans. The HoloBob requires psy energy, which can be continually replenished by reading the thoughts of unknowing humans nearby. This disguise is not without flaw, as the Men-in-Black of this game, the Majestic, have the uncanny ability to see through the disguise. (Crypto will flash red when nearing a Majestic. Take the agent out with your PK or run away quickly to keep the guise working!)

Reception

Upon release, Destroy All Humans! received mostly positive reviews [1], although some reviewers complained of "repetitiveness" in mission design and gameplay. Graphics were described in a mostly good light, except for the large amount of pop-up in the game. Most praised was the game's satirical tone and comedic gameplay, highly derived from 1950's sci-fi movies. With Crypto's mind-reading abilities an important feature of gameplay, much humor comes from the repressed thoughts these inhabitants of this supposedly-innocent period of American history hold, including their fantasies about taking Bettie Page and Rock Hudson over Doris Day, and reactions to the findings of one "Dr. Kinsey", current and possible-future presidents, and, of course, the Red Menace. Of course, just standing idly by a group of people talking while HoloBobbed often also yields some funny comments. The phrase "My mind says ___, but my heart/body/stomach says ___" pops up a lot as well. The game was written by Tom Abernathy.

Sequel Rumors

At the end of the game, there are some scenes that leave an opening for a sequel. After you defeat the final boss, Silhouette mentions that America is not the only area on Earth with humans and the Majestic will be everywhere that people are. And at the end of the Outro Movie, it shows "THE END" across the earth. Then it turns around to Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia and shows a question mark, making it a "THE END?".

There has been no announcement of a sequel from either THQ or Pandemic.

Marketing

Those who pre-ordered Destroy All Humans! received either a soundtrack CD or a copy of the 1959 Ed Wood sci-fi movie Plan 9 From Outer Space. The game contains many references to the movie, including actual scenes from the movie shown at a drive-in theater.

TV Show

On October 26, 2005, THQ announced[2] that Fox Broadcasting has purchased the rights to the game and is planning a computer-animated comedy, based on the game, to air in primetime. Jim Dauterive, previously of King of the Hill, will be a writer and executive producer of the TV version of Destroy All Humans!

External links

• Destroy All Humans! Official website
• Destroy All Humans! at MobyGames