Destroy All Humans! 2 Review

Costas Stephanides’s Review

Aliens go crazy in Moscow

Destroy All Humans 2, for the mobile, launches a couple of weeks after the big console titles. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a poor man's console version, it's a totally different storyline and a naturally different gameplay. You still play the part of the human hating alien, Crypto, and your anal probe is never far away.

The plot line is all based around Crypto's battle against the KGB after the shot down his saucer with an Austin Powers 'laser'. The irreverent humour is still there and does give a mild chuckle now and again. THQ Wireless have changed the gameplay to suit the mobile format and created something similar to Doom RPG with a turn-based approach. The game is set in a pseudo 3D environment and the graphics are pretty cool.

There can be a lot of enemies to fight against at any one time and as most of them are more powerful than you, it soon becomes a game of cat and mouse where you pop out from hiding, fire a few shots and then run back and hide to safety. The first few levels (there are 7 in total) have Crypto working on his own obtaining DNA (aka killing people) and recovering some alien secrets. It's not long before you hire a group of mercenaries and subsequent levels involve yourself and three mercenaries working as a team. Before each level, you can equip your team with various weapons and armour and is much like Syndicate in this respect.

There is a slight snag to this game which does over complicate things a bit and detracts from what could have been a hilarious alien romp. Each character has a set number of moves (AP) based on their abilities and the weight of their inventory. The AP is used up by walking, shooting, and healing - basically everything that involves breathing. This usually means that you can only make a few steps before you reach the minimum AP for shooting. The levels can drag out a bit as you take turn after turn just to achieve minimal progress. Having said that, the game is still good fun to play but the urge to explore and complete the secondary objectives is pretty non-existent. The humour that made Destroy All Humans famous is still there during the dialogues between levels although it is mostly quite puerile.

The longevity is not bad. There are 7 levels and two difficulty settings. The levels can be played individually in Skirmish mode after they have been completed in Adventure mode. There's plenty to keep you busy but you need to be of the patient disposition to avoid the frustrating turn based aspect.

To their credit, it's encouraging to see THQ bring out a mobile title at the same time as the console where the storylines are a little different and the smaller, cheaper mobile version can actually exist as a happy accompaniment rather than a replacement for the console version.