Destroy All Humans! [PS2]

Even a cursory look at the popular media, "educational" films, and general psychological climate of 1950s America shows an era deeply uneasy on many levels. J.D.s are out to harrass you, the commies out to pulverize you, The Bomb coming to vaporize you. 1950s film-aliens were a bunch of xenocidal, bloodthirsty bastards, and in Destroy All Humans!, you get to be one -- otherworldly powers, cool flying saucer, and all.

Destroy All Humans! is a mission-based action/combat game steeped in smirking 1950s references, jokes, and stylings. It puts players in the space-boots of an extraterrestrial "Furon" named Cryptosporidian 137. At first glace, he's your obligatory 50s-era "gray"... but with mirrored eyes, a toothy snarl, and the attitude and vocal swagger of a decent Jack Nicholson impersonator.

Furons replicate by repeated cloning, and the gene pool has been steadily degrading; now it's time to harvest Earth for its recessive Furon DNA (from long-ago alien seedings). Collecting brain stems from the roving NPC humans is a quick, messy tapping of the B button that causes it to rip out of the body with a wet sound and roll away until collected (it shouldn't be humorous, but somehow, it is). DNA functions as the game's currency, and can be used to purchase intermission weapon and saucer upgrades, such as ammo capacity and fire rates, back on the mother ship.

DNA-farming aside, Crypto 137 frankly just doesn't like humans either, and players are rewarded for bringing destruction and mayhem in many forms. On foot, Crypto 137 can zap humans with a lightning/ray gun, hit them with an "anal probe," deal heavy long-range damage with a disintegrator gun, and lob powerful ion disruptor grenades that can scatter even heavy vehicles in their blast radius. Buildings, like homes, bunkers, and bowling alleys can also take damage and explode. So can cows, when they get in the way, and/or when the current mission obliges them to.

When even greater destruction is required, Crypto can climb into his saucer and, if necessary, burn down entire towns or bases from the air with searing death-rays and area-effect "sonic boom" charges, or snatch up people and things with an "abducto-beam." The sheer firepower and easy maneuverability of the saucer (seen from above) makes for some satisfying razings, but the saucer interludes are largely simplistic and not terribly challenging.

Cryto's additional abilities are the real gems of the game, however -- and while some of them seem gimmicky or a bit awkward, a little practice makes them indispensable. Crypto can mentally scan passersby to see what's on their minds (in the form of some humorous voiceovers cracking wise on the 1950s mindset), or to absorb a little needed mental energy. With a stronger mental push, Crypto can appear to humans as a fellow human, or make them gibber or fall asleep. With a stronger push still (after an upgrade or two), he can fling people, cows, or police cars to the horizon with a single press of the Y button.

There are obvious free-form similarities to Grand Theft Auto, among them the security level warning showing how much you've made the Earthers notice you. Showing your true alien form to a civilian will cause them to run; drop a few humans, and the police will start responding; cause a lot of death and the army gets involved; and finally, if you become too much of a threat, the Majestic -- in other words, the Men in Black -- start showing up, complete with reverse-engineered Furon weaponry!

Some of the game's sub-missions are uninspired and derivative -- race around the neighborhood landmarks, kill 12 random humans, things we've all seen before. And the game as a whole takes some time to get rolling properly. But once the greater story starts, you'll face some great combat (the "Area 42" assault), moments of pure oddness (like making a brainwashed politician B.S. his way through a public speech), great little period touches, and some cool bits of humor from the alien who thinks he's Nicholson.

The Destroy All Humans! experience markedly improves after a full mission or two. If you're up for a little xenophobic, mission-based combat with constant jabs at America's nerdiest decade, Destroy All Humans! is definitely worth a probe.