We have finally completed the new Crypto-138 adventure in Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed: let’s find out together what are its strengths (and which definitely not) in this complete review
Remake operations nowadays seem to be daily bread for lovers of the whole videogame industry. Just think of the recent years: Demon’s Souls, Final Fantasy VII, the various Resident Evil and, why not, let’s also insert The Last of Us Part I. A riot of good IPs that are taken and recreated from scratch in a practically identical way to ‘ original (no, we’re not talking about Square Enix of course) and rebuilt in such a way as to be more appealing, graphically and technically speaking, to modern gamers.
The same work was done by THQ Nordic with Destroy All Humans, a relatively more recent IP (the first chapter was produced for sixth generation consoles in 2005) and which has had much less impact in the gaming world than those we have mentioned before. . Not for this, however, we were disappointed by the remake operation of the original adventure of Cryptosporidium-137, and indeed we praised its merits (while underlining the many defects) in two separate reviews, one for the PS4 version and one for that Nintendo Switch.
Almost two years later, THQ has decided to bring, this time only on next-gen consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X | S) and PC, the remake of the second chapter, subtitled it “Reprobed”. The choice to use exclusively the new hardware was dictated by the great attention paid to the technical and graphic sector, only partially succeeding in bringing, on the screens of all gamers, a truly worthwhile Destroy All Humans 2, but let’s slowly begin to delve into this review. Make way for Crypto-138!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl8fokvSrTw
She Changes Like the Weather
The story of Destroy All Humans 2 begins 10 years after the end of the first chapter, and also with a new protagonist. Our Crypto-137 has indeed died in mysterious circumstances, giving way to its new clone, Crypto-138, which took his place as president of the United States of America. That is until Holy Mother Russia uncovered the deception and, through her KGB agents, destroyed Crypto’s mothership, leaving us on foot and our mentor, Pox, like an agglomeration of digital data that flutters to. left and right.
Obviously every narrative aspect, as well as every “twist” (note the quotation marks), is based and enhanced by a great, inevitable interference: sexual jokes. If this was true in the first chapter of Destroy All Humans (from here we will call it in friendship DAH), in this sequel everything has become almost maddening, bordering on ridicule. At each dialogue, inevitably, there will be a joke about the size of our Crypto-138, about the forms of its supporting role, or various and incessant double meanings. If in the first hours of the game it could also be fun, in the long run it started to be sapping and devoid of spirit. And no, hippie jokes aren’t funny now, in 2022.
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Of course, this is not a problem of the remake, God forbid: the game is exactly the one released 16 years ago on PlayStation 2. And perhaps this is exactly the problem: society has changed over time and, inevitably, the game has also changed. sense of humor. Maybe in 2006 they made laugh allusions and double meanings, maybe even the hippie jokes were funny, but in 2022, definitely, we are not there. Not anymore. And if you’ve played the first DAH remake recently, you’ll notice even more this obsessive pursuit of the easy joke, but one that doesn’t make anyone laugh. Maybe the Boomers (I really wanted to say it, [ndr.])
Something funny in Destroy All Humans 2 to underline in the review, there is, and how if there is: its gameplay. Rejuvenated to the right point, as happened with the first chapter, and after eliminating several corners, adding various quality of life options, hand pad DAH 2 is fun, very much. Crypto-138 will have a decent weapon wheel at its disposal, with some historical relics (such as the Zap-o-Matic) and some new fun additions, rather varied and with different types of use. And so is our Disco Volante Furon, also updated and with an expanded arsenal compared to the first chapter.
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Our raids weapon in hand in the various settings of DAH 2 were particularly pleasant, both in the mission (primary or secondary that is) and for the simple search for collectibles or fun. Crypto’s telekinetic powers are always the funniest and most responsive part of the arsenal and everything can be upgraded in two different ways. Real weapons, to be upgraded, need Furon Cells and Reactors. The first we will find them walking around the game maps as collectibles and we will get them, in greater quantities, by completing the primary or secondary missions. The latter are much rarer and can be obtained by completing important parts of the plot.
To enhance the psionic powers, however, we will have to resort to “Blender-Geni” of the Disco Volante which will provide us with numerous… “recipes”. Through the Slurpmaster-V8, one of the weapons of our favorite mount, we will be able to “collect” human beings of various types, from the Mafiosi to the KGB Agents, passing through Soldiers and Scientists, scattered throughout the various game maps and… blend them together. Once the recipe is complete, our psionic power will move to the next level, unlocking other possibilities.
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There is also a big “but” here: yes, all of this is fun, but also shallow. Starting from the Crypto arsenal, which is variegated and diversified, but which will inevitably lead you to choose a single weapon (the one most congenial to you) and to use it throughout the game after having carefully upgraded it. The same can be said of the idea of the Frulla-Geni, which, once the last recipe is completed, will seem to you to be exclusively a somewhat anachronistic way to make you spend a few more hours riding the Disco Volante. The psionic powers on the other hand are really cool, that was also true in 2005.
Then there is also to say that, like the first chapter, the open world of DAH 2 is, to put it simply, completely empty and with few effective interactions (if you don’t want to just raid and destroy everything, that is). Everything becomes more interesting if played in local split-screen with a friend next to you, this is true, even considering that now there are very few titles that allow you to play the same story in company (if we exclude titles like A Way Out or It Takes Two which, however, are completely built on this concept).
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The choice of the developers to bring DAH 2 exclusively to next-gen consoles allowed them, obviously within certain limits, to amplify the graphic and visual experience of the title. While certainly not on a par with other exponents of the modern “open-world” genre, the Crypto adventure is unquestionably of good aesthetic impact, with an excellent use of light and shadow and a very varied color palette in the various settings. The animations have obviously been redone and, net of everything, graphically speaking Destroy All Humans 2 is really nice to experience.
This is if, of course, you manage to extricate yourself fromhuge and intricate maze of glitches and bugs that still today, more than three weeks after the release of the title, harass the console version of the game. We had to restart story missions several times because some points of interest were not appearing, or restart the game after a software crash (especially on Xbox consoles). Audio glitches were now the norm at the end of the DAH 2 adventure, as were frequent drops in frame rates, a symptom of poor optimization for the console version.
Too bad because, in terms of sound, the guys from THQ Nordic did a great job. The new audio effects are really well done, especially in the headphones, and the dubbing is as perfect as ever, albeit with some questionable dialogue lines, as we have already said. Italian adaptation availablewhich deviates slightly from the spoken English language, but still well managed.
Praise Arkvoodle!
In short, concluding this review of Destroy All Humans 2 Remake, the title adds practically nothing to the original experience, going to modify only some aspects of the quality of life and, of course, improving the graphics sector. The main problem, however, is only one: DAH 2 is “old”. And maybe the first Remake was too, this is certainly true, but in this sequel everything seems to have amplified in a negative sense. Old is the management of the open world, old is the humor. Its gameplay is largely saved, which still managed to entertain us today, albeit in its simplicity. In short: we recommend it to all those who have played the first, but approach Destroy All Humans 2 with the knowledge that, on balance, you are playing a 2005 game only much, much more aesthetically refined. And now… are we waiting for 3?
Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed is now available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X | S. Let us know if you have played it and what you think of it below in the comments, we will continue to keep you updated with all the news, guides and reviews on videogame and tech! And if you are interested in game keys at affordable prices, we recommend that you take a look at the InstantGaming catalog!
Crypto is not like wine!
Points in favor
- Pad in hand is always fun …
- Played in co-op it gives the best of itself
Points against
- … but very limited
- Long series of glitches and bugs
- Aged badly, especially in terms of humor