Destroy All Humans! is a video game developed by
Pandemic StudiosPandemic Studios was founded as an independent developer in 1998, it became an Electronic Arts-owned developer from 2007 to 2009, when it was officially closed. It was an Australian and American video game developer with offices in Brisbane, Australia and Los Angeles, California...
and published by
THQTHQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
. It was released for the
XboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
on June 21, 2005. The game is set in the late 1950s in the U.S. and parodies the lifestyles, pop culture, and politics of this time period. The player controls Cryptosporidium 137 (a reference to the protozoan parasite
CryptosporidiumCryptosporidium is a protozoan that can cause gastro-intestinal illness with diarrhea in humans.Cryptosporidium is the organism most commonly isolated in HIV positive patients presenting with diarrhea...
), a member of the Furon race of
aliensExtraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
, who has come to Earth to harvest
DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
from humans to continue the
cloningCloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
process of his species.
Destroy All Humans! is an open world game.
Plot
The game begins with a Furon,
CryptosporidiumCryptosporidium is a protozoan that can cause gastro-intestinal illness with diarrhea in humans.Cryptosporidium is the organism most commonly isolated in HIV positive patients presenting with diarrhea...
-136, hovering over a launch site with military personnel testing a rocket. The rocket is launched and destroys the ship carrying Cryptospiridium-136, and leaves him fatally wounded. Crypto-136 is later captured, by the U.S. Army. Some time later, Cryptosporidium-137 travels to Earth with another Furon, Orthopox. Cryptosporidium (nicknamed 'Crypto') comes with the intention of rescuing 136, while Orthopox (nicknamed 'Pox') desires to extract human brain stems for study. Crypto arrives at Turnipseed Farm in the Midwest, where Pox mistakes Cows for Earth's dominant life-form. The Majestic agency is alerted to the Furon presence when Crypto decimates an army brigade passing through the area. Pox, communicating with Crypto through a hologram-like device, then reveals to Crypto that the reason he requires human brain stems is because they contain Furon D.N.A. handed down to them by Furon scouts eons ago when the Furons stopped on Earth for "shore leave" following a war with
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
(which was rendered uninhabitable by the Furon Empires).
After several missions in the Midwestern town of Rockwell and the California suburb of Santa Modesta, Crypto and Pox become aware of the Majestic, and begin crippling government attempts to stop them by performing acts such as destroying Area 42 (a parody of
Area 51Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
) with an atomic bomb and killing an air-force General named "Armquist". Throughout the game, Crypto's various acts are covered up by the government and media, which attribute them either to freak accidents or to
CommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
.
The game climaxes in Capitol City (a parody of
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
), where Crypto assassinates President Huffman (a parody of president Truman) and brutally slaughters all members of the US Congress. Soon, the U.S. government seemingly surrenders to the Furons. Crypto meets Silhouette, leader of Majestic, in front of the Capitol. After a brief scuffle with Silhouette, Crypto discovers that "he" is a woman. Silhouette unveils the Roboprez, which is a towering mech controlled by President Huffman's brain. Crypto defeats Roboprez in his flying saucer, and then defeats Silhouette in a final battle at the Octagon (a parody of
The PentagonThe Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
). As Silhouette dies, she reveals that there are other Majestic divisions all over the world. Crypto, however, is confident that without Silhouette's leadership, Majestic will be totally powerless to resist the Furon takeover.
The game ends with Huffman making a televised speech, assuring America that the recent events were the work of communists, who have poisoned the U.S. water supply, and that as a result testing centers have been set up all across the country to scan people for harmful toxins. People are then shown being herded reluctantly by Army soldiers into strange machines, apparently for brain stem extraction. Huffman is then revealed to be Crypto in disguise.
Characters
Furons: Coming from the planet Furon, mistaken for Gorta in 'Destroy All Humans!' by the majestic, in the
Proxima CentauriProxima Centauri is a red dwarf star about 4.2 light-years distant in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest known star to the Sun, although it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye...
system. Pox corrects the planet's name in 'Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon'. The
Furons are aliens that have a similar appearance to the Greys, aside from having mouths full of sharp teeth. Furons are named after diseases (such as Orthopox and
CryptosporidiumCryptosporidium is a protozoan that can cause gastro-intestinal illness with diarrhea in humans.Cryptosporidium is the organism most commonly isolated in HIV positive patients presenting with diarrhea...
), and are a highly advanced race who use their technology for harsh, unsympathetic
scienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and vicious
warWar is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
. Unregulated atomic weaponry caused a fatal mutation in the Furon race whereby they could no longer reproduce due to their lack of genitalia. Using their advanced biotechnology, they began cloning themselves, rendering each Furon virtually immortal, memories and personality being technologically transferred to each new clone. However, with each new clone errors appeared in the genetic material, leading to unpredictable results. Without an infusion of uncorrupted Furon D.N.A., they will clone themselves into extinction.
Setting
Destroy All Humans! is set in the United States in the Late 1950s and consists of six settings;
Turnipseed Farm (a Midwestern farm community),
Rockwell (a North Dakota town),
Santa Modesta (a parody of
Santa MonicaSanta Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
),
Area 42 (a parody of
Area 51Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
),
Union Town (an
Eastern seaboardThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
industrial city) and
Capitol City (a parody of
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
).
All buildings and structures in these environments can be destroyed (save for trees and rocks) , and humans can become alarmed by Crypto's presence at these locations. While some run or hide, others are armed and fight back. An alert system, much like
Grand Theft Auto'sGrand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
"wanted level" denotes how much attention Crypto has attracted. Depending on the alert level, police, military, and eventually the Majestic will attempt to defend civilians from Crypto.
Military technology in the game is depicted as being far more advanced than it actually was in the 1950s, with the US Army having possession of
sentry gunThe sentry gun is a gun that is automatically aimed and fired at targets that are detected by sensors. The earliest functioning military sentry gun was the Phalanx CIWS, a radar-guided gatling gun platform that defended ships from missiles....
s, automated anti-air batteries, gigantic, ultra-radioactive
tesla coilA Tesla coil is a type of resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is used to produce high voltage, low current, high frequency alternating current electricity. Tesla coils produce higher current than the other source of high voltage discharges, electrostatic machines...
s, and mechanized walkers. The Majestic group also seems to be equipped with energy weapons, reverse-engineered Furon technology.
The hub of the game is the Furon mothership in orbit around Earth, which vaguely resembles the Alien mothership from
Close Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
. From there players can receive missions, upgrade weapons, and view unlocked content. This is also the portal to each of the game's Earth settings.
Gameplay
In
Destroy All Humans!, players assume the role of Cryptosporidium 137 (Crypto for short), a warrior and member of the Furons—a race of war-like extraterrestrials with a Galactic Empire constantly seizing new worlds through conquest. After centuries of warfare against inferior species using unchecked
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
ry left their species impotent and without genitalia, the Furons were unable to sexually reproduce and became forced to turn to
cloningCloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
as means of reproduction, as well as a process by which to achieve
immortalityImmortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
. However, after generations of clones, the Furon
DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
is degrading, and each clone is becoming less and less stable.
Fortunately for the Furons, one of their scout ships came across Earth many millennia ago while returning from the Conquest of
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. The Furon space travelers impregnated the "nubile" ancestors of the human race to "let off a little steam", inserting a strand of Furon DNA into the human gene pool.
Because of this each human contains 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, and spearhead a Furon invasion of Earth. The game is set up in a sandbox fashion. The player has a selection of weapons and mental abilities at their disposal, as well as access to Crypto's
flying saucerA flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
.
Destroy All Humans! implements the
HavokHavok Physics is a physics engine developed by Irish company Havok. It is designed primarily for video games, and allows for real-time collision and dynamics of rigid bodies in three dimensions. It provides multiple types of dynamic constraints between rigid bodies , and has a highly optimized...
physics engine, allowing for
ragdollIn computer physics engines, ragdoll physics is a type of procedural animation that is often used as a replacement for traditional static death animations.-Introduction:Early video games used manually-created animations for characters' death sequences...
effects on bodies and destructible environments.
Weapons and abilities
Crypto possesses advanced Furon weaponry in both his flying saucer and on his person. The saucer is equipped with a
Death Ray which can burn humans, vehicles, and buildings; the "Abducto Beam", a tractor ray that can lift up people and objects and hurl them into the air; the Quantum Deconstructor; a highly powerful nuclear weapon that can launch highly built radioactive bombs that melt the blast radius victims like
acidAn acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
; and the "Sonic Boom", a bomb that can explode on contact and shock the blast radius like a strong
tremorA tremor is an involuntary, somewhat rhythmic, muscle contraction and relaxation involving to-and-fro movements of one or more body parts. It is the most common of all involuntary movements and can affect the hands, arms, eyes, face, head, vocal folds, trunk, and legs. Most tremors occur in the...
. On foot Crypto has an arsenal of four weapons, of which include the Zap-O-Matic, a gun that emits an electric charge, shocking its victims; the Anal Probe, a powerful rod that goes into the victim's
rectumThe rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus. The human rectum is about 12 cm long...
and uproots a D.N.A. enriched brain: the Disintegrator Ray, which turns the target's flesh and organs into ashes and renders only a charred skeleton; and the Ion Detonator, the Furon equivalent of a grenade launcher. He also is equipped with an upgradable
jet packJet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
to help him traverse long distances.
The Furons have a psychokinetic ability nicknamed
HoloBob to imitate the appearance of any nearby human. This allows a Furon to travel amongst humans unnoticed. The HoloBob requires
PSIA psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
energy, called "concentration" in the game, which can be continually replenished by reading the thoughts of unknowing humans or other animals. This disguise is not without flaw, as the Majestic have the ability to see through and destroy the disguise. Crypto will flash red when near a Majestic agent; if he comes too close, the disguise will vanish. Additionally, he is able to use an ability known as
PK or PsychoKinesis that allows one to
psychokineticallyThe term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...
move objects around.
Concept, sequels and spinoffs
The game was conceived of by
Matt HardingMatthew "Matt" Harding , is an American traveler, video game designer, and Internet celebrity known as Dancing Matt for his viral videos that show him dancing in front of landmarks and street scenes in various international locations...
while he was working at Pandemic Studios following
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's rejection of a more family-friendly game concept. Harding never worked on the game, since he "didn't want to spend two years of [his] life writing a game about killing everyone". He left soon after on his Asian walkabout, and began recording some of the footage that eventually became the "Where The Hell Is Matt" videos.
Due to the game's success several sequels have been made:
Destroy All Humans! 2Destroy All Humans! 2 is a video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles and is the sequel to Destroy All Humans!. It was released on October 17, 2006, in North America. It marks the last game in the series to be developed by Pandemic Studios...
, which takes place in the 1960s and marks the first time Crypto invades across the globe,
Destroy All Humans! Big Willy UnleashedDestroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed is a third-person shooter video game developed by Locomotive Games and published by THQ for the Wii video game console...
, a spinoff set in the 1970s in which Pox and Crypto run a fast-food chain, and
Destroy All Humans! Path of the FuronDestroy All Humans! Path of the Furon is a third-person shooter video game published by THQ. The game is set in 1979 and is the fourth Destroy All Humans! game to be released, and is the third game in the Destroy All Humans! trilogy, released December 1, 2008 in North America for the Xbox 360...
, which also takes place in the 1970s and begins with Crypto and Pox running a lucrative gambling casino called the "Space Dust".
On October 26, 2005, THQ announced that
Fox BroadcastingFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
has purchased the rights to the game and is planning a computer-animated comedy, based on the game, to air in prime time. Jim Dauterive, previously of
King of the Hill, will be a writer and executive producer of the TV version of
Destroy All Humans! As of 2011, nothing has been unveiled. The show is also referenced in
Destroy All Humans! 2Destroy All Humans! 2 is a video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles and is the sequel to Destroy All Humans!. It was released on October 17, 2006, in North America. It marks the last game in the series to be developed by Pandemic Studios...
, in the Salad Days bonus video, in which Pox and Crypto reminisce on the past game, and talk about the possibilities of the game's future.
Reception
The game was released to generally positive reviews, receiving an average of 77% on GameRankings and 76% on
MetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
IGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
praised the presentation of the game, stating "Phenomenal. Good behind the scenes extras. Great cutscenes. Excellent layout. Really, nicely done." Team Xbox cited excellent graphics, saying that "
Destroy All Humans! is delightful to gaze at.".
GameZoneGameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
enjoyed the depth of destruction: "the levels themselves have the potential for a lot of damage".
IGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
thought the game could use a more in-depth stealth aspect: "As it happens, not developing stealth to its fullest potential turns out to be one part of a greater underlying problem with Destroy All Humans."
External links
- Destroy All Humans! official website
- Destroy All Humans! videos at GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...