REVIEW – It is not a reference to a change of tempo in the title but to the backstory: although Crypto is still the protagonist in the remake of the 2006 game, Cryptosporidium-137, the protagonist of the first part is dead, and we control his clone. The difference: we are number 138. Regardless, the fight against humans remains the same.

Here’s the game’s overview from Steam: “Crypto is back with a license to probe. The alien invader returns, groovier than ever. Experience the swinging ’60s in all its chemical-induced glory and take revenge on the KGB for blowing up your mothership. You’ll have to form alliances with members of the same species you came to enslave.”

From San Francisco to the Moon

The game’s design is very much a throwback to the past because although it’s an open-world sandbox game on paper, it’s something that audiences have become used to. A more severe problem is that you can count how many missions there are per location on two (and sometimes ONE) hands. In addition to the main missions, there are side missions or optional tasks. Still, it could be pointed out that the main missions can be completed in up to ten minutes, and the game itself can be completed in 9-10 hours (but it also applies to the original, it is worth noting…), as there are no outstanding “spikes” in difficulty. Hence, the target age range of the game may be much more comprehensive than imagined. Let’s turn back a little bit to the side missions: they could have been mandatory because if you just run through the base game, you miss out on quite a lot (and it should be added that there is not much motivation or inspiration for going off the beaten track; the developers should have thought about that…), and the story doesn’t help much, because after the first part, you get about the same, and Crypto’s voice doesn’t sit well after a short while.

The sixties vibe is there, but not much holds up to it. At first, the humour does get you in the mood, but you have to wonder if it’s enough to take Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed on its back. It depends on the player, but if you’re projecting the experience, created by Pandemic Studios but revamped at Black Forest Games, onto a teenage audience, the answer is definitely yes (especially as the male reproductive organ is involved in the story and this is not some joke from the past: it was highlighted by the Soviet intelligence agency, the KGB; given that we’re in the middle of the Cold War, it’s not a bad joke either). However, knowing THQ Nordic’s mentality, there will be a Destroy All Humans! 3, as they first set the stage with a remake of SpongeBob SquarePants, and now they’re preparing a new game about who lives down there, who’s hiding in the water; Kingdoms of Amalur has received a similar overhaul. (Looks like this branch of Embracer Group is going in this direction.)

Kill, er

The game’s original age is also a positive, as this shooter is out of fashion. Perhaps we may have previously referenced Terracon, released for the PS1 in 2000, in the first game’s remake’s review, too. With a more frivolous style but with the same aim, you can pick up more firearms and beat people up with your UFO, mainly accompanied by excellent graphics. The way you can take control of the NPCs is also good, but the voices are sometimes the same (yet, the voice acting is primarily good). The voice acting may be familiar to those familiar with English cartoons, as several members of the cast of Invader Zim, which ran on Nickelodeon for two decades, appear, so the alien style is assured.

One could also point out how much has changed in a decade and a half in terms of what is considered politically correct, as the developers also point out as a warning that they have not changed the content from 2006, and this thought should be appreciated. They could have kowtowed to today’s demands. Still, the DNA cocktail reinforcement, the shooting (which also has a local cooperative option), is enjoyable because Halo Infinite, one of Microsoft’s big games, recently dropped its planned implementation from the game… lol) it’s still pleasant after a decade and a half. It’s typical of a game that has been forgotten since the end of the PS2 era, but it can be quite a pleasant pastime for a weekend.

Crypto, but not what caused the GPU price to skyrocket

Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed would be better to get two different ratings. For those who have played the original, or perhaps a remake of the first part, treat the score below as an eight out of ten because Crypto delivers as well as you’d expect. However, looking a little further afield, he can’t get a seven out of ten because it’s perhaps too easy to slip over this experience. You can get to the end quickly and not even have to give a hundred per cent. Granted, it’s not a full-price game, so it should be treated a bit more lightly because of that. THQ Nordic must have the third instalment on the way, and it might not end up with a six-and-a-half out of ten rating.

-V-

Publisher: THQ Nordic

Developer: Black Forest Games

Style: Action-adventure

Release: August 30, 2022.