As I sit in my chair on the back porch and stare up at the night sky, a flurry of questions bounces around in my head. Is a piece of a satellite ever going to fall on my house?
Are there Borg-like life forms looking to one day simulate us? And what if little green aliens with flying saucers and laser guns really do exist and plan to DESTROY ALL HUMANS?
Thankfully, years of counseling have reaffirmed that snarky little green aliens only exist in video games and particularly the Destroy All Humans! franchise. Back in 2020, I reviewed Destroy All Humans! and called it a “Fantastic Remake”. So, my expectations for Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed were high. Developers Black Forest Games proved they could bring our beloved Crypto back from the would-be-forgotten realm of video games and that there is a place for such a game in the modern gaming landscape.
Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed is a complete remaster of 2006’s Destroy All Humans! 2. We have 4K visuals, enhanced environmental audio, new character models, and location texture designs. The voice acting is the same but cleaned up and normalized to fit with all the surrounding upgrades. Right from the beginning, one could notice all of the beautiful changes to Bay City. The colors, lighting, and shade effects bring Bay City to life and instantly motivate you to want to explore every inch.
Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed takes place in the year 1969. Cryptosporidium (Crypto) has died but was cloned. Commander Orthopox 13 discussed this process in the first game. The KGB has not only discovered the Crypto clone but also the mothership which they destroyed.
Commander Orthopox 13 physical body was destroyed but not before he was able to transfer his consciousness into a holographic device called a HoloPox. How the KGB discover all is rather comical and I won’t spoil it here. Just know the commander’s HoloPox is in Bay City along with Crypto and the goal is to reestablish contact with the base planet while also getting payback for the KGB destroying the mothership.
Honestly, if you haven’t played the first Destroy All Humans! then you’ll be fine. The game does a great job filling you in on all of the backstory in the opening minutes. Now Crypto is an interesting character and can be played in a variety of ways. For example, during conversations with the commander and other key NPCs, you will have dialogue choices. The outcome is the same regardless of what you select but some of Crypto’s dated humor can be avoided.
You will at times see an option to give a joke response or just obtain more story-based info. Now personally I never had an issue with his sense of humor but for some, it was a bit too much so it’s nice to see it can be completely avoided. Another nice touch is when talking to the commander, you will have a dialogue choice to have him re-explain what the new objective is, and in short, he will break down what steps need to be taken next.
Now, what makes Destroy All Humans! a blast is the actual gameplay. There’s a multitude of mission types and weapons to keep you pushing forward in the campaign. Some may require you to clone a particular target in order to obtain additional info while others may require you to hop in your flying saucer and use a tractor beam to pick up moving vehicles and dump them in the harbor. All the missions are coated in the over-the-top whacky story.
Bay City is a fun sandbox for you to inflict space alien carnage. If at any point you feel like taking a break from the main story, you can just take out your trusty Zap-O-Matic and begin blasting away at the local hippies. Or you could put on the new Freelove visor which can cause a single or group of people to dance. This is also a useful tool when trying to enter particular areas undetected.
Of course, you can strap on the jet pack and pull out the brain-popping anal probe and disintegrator weapons along with a few new ones. Just keep in mind that causing all this chaos will alert the police and to call off the chase you will need to clone a civilian and interact with any public street phone. Crypto will call the police dispatch and inform them the issue has been resolved. You can also randomly interact with the phone to hear Crypto make some prank calls. Also, remember there is a time limit while cloned and you will see the bar deplete above you and Crypto will begin to stumble around like something is wrong as time runs out. Civilians will also take note of this and make comments which could lead to someone calling the police.
When it comes to multiplayer Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed brings back local split screen co-op. So you and a friend can play the entire campaign together. Unfortunately, there is no online co-op play. You also have Dual mode and PK Tennis which is pretty hilarious. There is a large selection of outfits to choose from to better differentiate yourself., for example I put on an evil clown outfit to channel that killer clowns from outer space vibe.
Overall, I think Developers Black Forest is 2 for 2 with the Destroy All Humans! franchise. Reprobed looks and feels like a modern release to the point that one doesn’t need to know it’s a remaster of a 2006 game. So, if you’re looking to have some ridiculous alien fun, especially with local co-op play then this is a no-brainer. (Pun intended)
This review was written based on a digital review copy of Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed for the Xbox Series X provided by Black Forest Games and THQ Nordic.
