The first Destroy All Humans game was certainly a sleeper hit. Developer Pandemic tapped into a lot of great ideas and created a well-rounded game that was fun at its core, but suffered from some tedious stealth missions and general filler. With the follow-up, Pandemic has taken all it’s criticisms to heart, nearly eliminating all stealth missions and creating the game we all wanted with the first title: a slapstick comedy with alien probing and lots of explosions and action.
Once again we take the role of Crypto, an alien hell-bent on destroying as many meatbags as possible. However, this isn’t the same Crypto we have come to know and love. In fact, this is his clone, Crypto 138, and he has found himself smack dab in the middle of the hippie revolution. The game is set in 1969, over a decade after the original, and this time you will have to deal with KGB agents as they plot to eliminate you and any chance of you taking over the world.
The game does a great job of poking fun at just about every generational cliché and even takes the time to jab at itself. I won’t ruin the plot too much, but this journey seems more focused on alien objectives and less on world domination. While the plot is a bit thin by today’s standards, the game makes up for it with great writing and interesting side missions. Even the plot twist half-way through the game doesn’t make up for the seemingly lackluster narrative.
As I mentioned earlier, DAH!2 relies less on stealth and more on action, which makes playing through it less of a chore than last time. You are still required to take over human form to obtain information, but Pandemic has made the process simpler with less of a chance of being unmasked. Now when you take over a human, if you have any witnesses, simply walk up to them and probe their mind causing them to dance uncontrollably and completely forget what they just saw. The days of retrying missions simply because you blew your cover are over, making the game’s pace much more enjoyable than its first outing. The only downside to the main quest is that some missions require you to perform the dreaded escort mission, which can be frustrating at times due to lackluster AI and the barrage of enemies the game throws at you.
All the weapons from the first game are back with some impressive new upgrades. The collection of new weapons includes the Dislocator, which fires purple discs that can propel anything from a human to a tank in random directions. There is also the Meteor Gun, which, when fully upgraded, is one of the most satisfying weapons this side of the Cerebral Bore from Turok. The upgrade system has also been revamped gracefully. You now collect Furotech cells scattered throughout the world and by completing side missions to spend on upgrades. You can only do the side missions once and there are a limited number of cells spread across the world so obtaining them is important but not vital to completing the main single-player game.
Aside from the main quest, there are also a number of side missions and items to collect throughout the game. The side missions, called odd jobs, are scattered throughout each area and feel just as fleshed out as the main game itself. There are also missions you can do for Arkvoodle, in which you must show worship to the idol by clearing the area of humans or even scattering cars on rooftops to show your praise. The world of DAH!2 is chock full of hidden items and unlockables and will take the average player a huge chunk of time to see all of them.
If all of that isn’t enough, Pandemic has also thrown in a co-op mode to play with a buddy. You can play any part of the single-player game via split screen, and your cohort can jump in and out at any time. The drawback to this mode is that both players must stay close to each other at all times or be forced to warp back to player one. This does limit the mode and make you wish they had added an online portion of it, but as it stands it is a nice addition that does add some replayability to the game.
The graphics engine is almost identical to the previous title, complete with the lovely fog effect for distant objects. While the game does an exceptional job considering the scope of the worlds and the hardware it is running on, it would have been nice to see 720p support for HDTV owners and perhaps some sharper textures. As it stands the game certainly won’t hurt your eyes, but it could have benefited from some next-gen muscle, but that is what sequels are for.
The audio on the other hand is stellar. From the faux Jack Nicholson voiceover for our protagonist to the loony dialogue of the resident hippies, the game is full of outstanding audio. The sound effects blast through your speakers, especially if you have surround sound, and the environmental ambience is great. It also doesn’t hurt that the dialogue itself is downright side-splitting at times.
If there is a guide on how to make a sequel, Pandemic read every chapter a dozen times. Taking everything that made the first game good, taking out everything that held it back, and adding just enough to make it fresh is certainly a recipe for success. DAH!2 is a perfect example of how to keep a franchise moving ahead while satisfying all the fans of the original. If you are still holding onto the last generation of hardware you would be hard pressed to find a funnier and more action packed romp this fall, definitely worth your time.
