Destroy All Humans!

If you want to talk about a title that packs a lot of entertainment value onto one disc, you have to be talking about Destroy All Humans.

Pandemic Studios (the makers of Full Spectrum Warriors) has a hit on their hands with this somewhat warped view of aliens on a mission to conquer the Earth. THQ put the game up for a little hands-on preview during its' Gamer's Day event in San Francisco on January 26.

The game focuses on a race known as the Furons. Ages ago, on a trip back from defeating the Martians, before their physical form started to devolve, the Furons visited Earth. The result of that visit was that the DNA code for the species lays dormant in humans. So rather than just obliterate the planet, it falls to gamers to conquer and extract the DNA. Gamers take on the role of Crypto, a relatively inexperienced Furon warrior. During the course of the game, he will develop his skills and be able to fight in a variety of ways. Not only does he have psychokinetic powers (PK in this game refers to the psychokinetic powers, not to player-kill), but he can use weapons as well. He can read thoughts, extract body parts (brain cortexes from humans to build on the DNA library of the Furons), and even fly his space craft and do some damage from above. And, of course, being an advanced race, the Furons can even fly to a certain extent.

Of course, those pesky humans are not about to stand about and wait for the end of their civilization to rain down upon them. They will fight back, and unless you are careful and fully aware of everything happening in this remarkably rendered three-dimensional world, you can wind up a headline in the local paper about how the humans foiled the invasion efforts.

The first thing that stands out about this title is the graphics. The environments are incredible, and the world is believable. This game really demonstrates the capabilities of the platforms that it is destined for. The Furons almost were reminiscent of the Martians from the feature film Mars Attacks! but without the bubbles over their heads. And this time, it is the humans whose heads blow off in a fountain of green goo.

But after the graphics impress, the next thing that pops up is the dialogue. This is really done tongue-in-cheek and is very cleverly written and quite funny. Though there are some sexual overtones in areas, most of this is good-natured humor that pokes fun at pop culture, clichés and a host of other topics. One of the levels is called Earth Women are Delicious!

This title is definitely a shining star in the galaxy of THQ titles for early 2005. The game is easy to pick up and play, and it lures you in with the graphics, captivates you with the humor, and entertains with the challenge.