Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed PC Review

Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed is a remake of the 2006 open-world shooter by Black Forest Games and THQ Nordic. After the events of the last game the main protagonist Cryptosporidium-137 has died, however a clone - Crypto-138 - has been made to take his place. Crypto is masquerading as the President of the United States and is using his status to make use of his unique feature: he is the only known Furon to have working genitals. The KGB learns of this and plans to destroy both the Furons and take over the USA.

 

Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed takes place on a number of large maps based on real-world cities. Bay City is a spoof of San Francisco during the hippie freelove era. Albion mimics London filled with secret agents and hidden threats. And Takoshima parodies Tokyo under the threat of Godzilla-like monsters. Crypto will also briefly find himself in outer space and the Moon to fight alien rivals called the Blisk.

Players will meet an assortment of allies, many of that serve as quest NPCs or assist at some point. Crypto’s commander, Orthopox 13, was killed by the KGB but uploaded a digital copy of himself to a flying holo unit. The game’s main love interest is Natalya Ivanova, a renegade KGB agent who is against the Soviet Premier. In certain worlds, other allies include the James Bond spoof Ponsonby, the intoxicated hippie The Freak, White Ninja accomplice Dr. Go, and Arkvoodle, the Furon god of crotches.

 

Reprobed’s scenario and plot are unchanged from the original. This is somewhat due to reusing the same script and recorded audio from the sixth generation console version, though cleaned up for quality. This means that many of the jokes and references feel very old and tend not to land. Almost the whole game is crude and nonsensical; however, it doesn’t reach the level of being offensive or memorable and instead winds up just hitting mediocrity.

The main gameplay loop involves finding mission NPCs spread across the map and undergoing their specific mission, just like most Grand Theft Auto games. Typically this leads to fights, chases, or stealth. Most missions don’t particularly flow into one another, with the next NPC possibly being across the map or forgetting who Crypto was (or oddly remembering him while wearing a disguise). Players will also have some downtime to explore the map, looking for additional power-ups or simply harassing the residents.

 

Crypto begins Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed with a basic lightning gun, the Zap-O-Matic. As it drains power, players will need to let it automatically recharge over a few seconds. Later guns and attacks include the Dislocator, which pushes and bounces anyone it hits; Free Love, which causes humans to party down uncontrollably; and Psycokinesis, which throws people long distances. Crypto also has access to hover boots for quick movement, a jetpack to ascend across buildings, and the ability to snatch bodies for stealth and infiltration.

An hour or two into the game, players will gain access to the Furon Saucer. This has many destructive weapons, like a laser incinerating flying craft, a sonic blast that levels buildings, and the ability to drain energy from other vehicles. However, because it is typically fully exposed when attacking, this will almost immediately draw fire and warnings from local police and other alert enemies. Thankfully players can cloak for a short amount of time, though this won’t stop the AI from attacking a player’s last known position. Oddly, the saucer does not have full flying capabilities: it will automatically ascend and descend as needed, which makes movement sometimes disorientating if close to many buildings, trees, or mountains.

 

The original Destroy All Humans 2! was only released on consoles - the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Reprobed is the first foray into PC, and it shows in several aspects. The game is clearly meant to be played with a controller for ease of movement, aiming, and ability use. With a mouse and keyboard, this can instead be incredibly clunky. Many menus have to be directly clicked on, even if the UI already highlights them. At other points, players must press the enter key to progress dialogue or menus, making it awkward for those who keep their fingers on the standard shooter layout of WASD. It is highly recommended to rebind the entire interface or simply plug in a controller.

Despite being a full remake and not a remaster, Reprobed lacks any form of quality-of-life features or gameplay improvements. The game’s balancing is almost entirely centered around introducing more enemies in odd locations rather than making encounters actually tough or interesting. The game does feature a co-op mode, but it is regulated to the classic split screen; there is no online implementation, and even Steam streaming requires the split screen mode. Many of the tutorials are also rather long and verbose, requiring players to read and do every step rather than approach it all naturally in gameplay.

 

Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed is also very poorly optimized; even on high or medium settings, the game can stutter or outright crash once many characters are on screen. Players will need to individually play with each setting as there is no automatic detection of presets to choose from. And even with the advancements in technology and graphics cards, Reprobed still looks like a garish sixth-generation game. Character models may have new shiny textures, but the art direction has not been updated, leading most characters to look hideously deformed, even if they are meant to be attractive or dashing in the story.

Overall, Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed is extremely accurate to the original version. This can make the game come off as old and outdated. But for some, that nostalgia kick may hit just the right spot. As it stands, those who loved Destroy All Humans 2! on consoles should consider Reprobed if they can no longer access their older devices. But the remake doesn’t do enough to change things up, and those who never experienced the game in 2006 may be easily put off.
 

Kurtis Seid, NoobFeed
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