''Destroy All Humans!'' is an
open world action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
video game franchise that is designed as a
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
of
Cold War-era
alien invasion
The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people ...
films. ''
Destroy All Humans!
''Destroy All Humans!'' is an open world action-adventure video game franchise that is designed as a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films. '' Destroy All Humans!'' and '' Destroy All Humans! 2'' are available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbo ...
'' and ''
Destroy All Humans! 2
''Destroy All Humans! 2'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the sequel to '' Destroy All Humans!'' and the second installment in the '' Destroy All Humans!'' f ...
'' are available for the
PlayStation 2 and
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
, ''
Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed
''Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed'' is an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by Locomotive Games and published by THQ for the Wii and is the third installment in the ''Destroy All Humans!'' franchise. A PlayStatio ...
'' is available for the
Wii, and ''
Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon
''Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon'' is an action-adventure video game developed by American studio Sandblast Games and published by THQ. The game is set in the 1970s and is the fourth installment in the original ''Destroy All Humans!'' fran ...
'' is available for the
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
and
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
(in Australia and Europe). ''
Destroy All Humans!
''Destroy All Humans!'' is an open world action-adventure video game franchise that is designed as a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films. '' Destroy All Humans!'' and '' Destroy All Humans! 2'' are available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbo ...
'' and ''
Destroy All Humans! 2
''Destroy All Humans! 2'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the sequel to '' Destroy All Humans!'' and the second installment in the '' Destroy All Humans!'' f ...
'' were added to the
PlayStation 4 on October 17, 2016 and November 28, 2016 both being emulated at 1080p. On April 23, 2018 ''
Destroy All Humans!
''Destroy All Humans!'' is an open world action-adventure video game franchise that is designed as a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films. '' Destroy All Humans!'' and '' Destroy All Humans! 2'' are available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbo ...
'' was added to Xbox's backwards compatibility program. A remake of the original game was developed by
Black Forest Games
Black Forest Games GmbH is a German video game developer based in Offenburg. The company was founded in July 2012 by a team of 40 staff members, including chief executive officer Andreas Speer, previously employed by Spellbound Entertainment, ...
and was released in 2020.
The two main protagonists of the series are voiced by
J. Grant Albrecht and
Richard Steven Horvitz
Richard Steven Horvitz (born July 29, 1966) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his voice work in animation and video games. His voice credits include the original Alpha 5 on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', ''Power Rangers Zeo'' an ...
, with the exception of the game ''Big Willy Unleashed'', in which actors Sean Donnellan and
Darryl Kurylo
Darryl Hughes Kurylo (born November 17, 1965) is an American voice actor. He is best known for being the voice of Kazuma Kiryu, the protagonist of the ''Yakuza'' video game series in the English versions of the game, as well as Asher Mir in the ...
portray the characters. The musical score for the series is performed by composer
Garry Schyman
Garry Schyman is an American film, television, and video game music composer. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in music composition in 1978, and began work in the television industry, writing music for such t ...
.
Setting
The games take place mostly on
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
where the Furon Cryptosporidium, also known as Crypto, is tasked by his superiors to gather Furon
DNA locked inside human brain stems in order to save his race from cloning themselves to extinction. In ''
Destroy All Humans!
''Destroy All Humans!'' is an open world action-adventure video game franchise that is designed as a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films. '' Destroy All Humans!'' and '' Destroy All Humans! 2'' are available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbo ...
'', Crypto's objectives also include investigating what happened to his previous clone. ''
Destroy All Humans! 2
''Destroy All Humans! 2'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the sequel to '' Destroy All Humans!'' and the second installment in the '' Destroy All Humans!'' f ...
'' features Crypto hunting for revenge, after the
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
try to assassinate him and successfully destroy the mothership and his mission officer, Orthopox-13 (Pox), as well as exterminating the Furons' enemy from the
Martian
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pr ...
War, the Blisk. ''
Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed
''Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed'' is an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by Locomotive Games and published by THQ for the Wii and is the third installment in the ''Destroy All Humans!'' franchise. A PlayStatio ...
'' involves Crypto protecting Pox's new
fast food chain using a giant robot mech disguised as the restaurant's mascot, called "Big Willy". ''
Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon
''Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon'' is an action-adventure video game developed by American studio Sandblast Games and published by THQ. The game is set in the 1970s and is the fourth installment in the original ''Destroy All Humans!'' fran ...
'' is available on
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
(and
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
only in
Australia and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
), and involves Crypto seeking enlightenment to help him stop a conspiracy that threatens the Furon empire. ''
Destroy All Humans!
''Destroy All Humans!'' is an open world action-adventure video game franchise that is designed as a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films. '' Destroy All Humans!'' and '' Destroy All Humans! 2'' are available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbo ...
'' takes place in 1959; ''
Destroy All Humans! 2
''Destroy All Humans! 2'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the sequel to '' Destroy All Humans!'' and the second installment in the '' Destroy All Humans!'' f ...
'' takes place in 1969; ''
Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed
''Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed'' is an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by Locomotive Games and published by THQ for the Wii and is the third installment in the ''Destroy All Humans!'' franchise. A PlayStatio ...
'' takes place in 1975; ''
Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon
''Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon'' is an action-adventure video game developed by American studio Sandblast Games and published by THQ. The game is set in the 1970s and is the fourth installment in the original ''Destroy All Humans!'' fran ...
'' takes place in 1979.
Games
''Destroy All Humans!'' (2005)
During the year 1959, Cryptosporidium 137 first arrived on
the Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...
to investigate the planet and search for his predecessor clone, Cryptosporidium 136, who disappeared in 1947 after Orthopox 13 sent him to Earth on a similar mission. Pox sends Crypto on a mission to harvest human brain stems (which contain a small amount of pure Furon DNA due to an encounter between Furon warriors and humans in ancient times) to prevent his species from going extinct. To accomplish his mission, he must defeat Majestic, a shadowy government organization led by a black-clad figure named Silhouette. After accomplishing this, Crypto takes over the United States by posing as the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
.
''Destroy All Humans! 2 (2006)''
Ten years have passed since Crypto defeated Majestic and replaced the
US government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
. Orthropox 13 has died after a Soviet nuclear missile destroyed the Furon
mothership
A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft.
Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental airc ...
. Pox has downloaded his consciousness into a personal holographic projector designed to communicate between Furons on Motherships and planet surfaces. Pox's unit, dubbed a HoloPox, allows him to communicate with, advise, and vex Crypto down on Earth. Crypto 137 has died of unknown causes, but appears in ''
Big Willy Unleashed'' and Crypto 138, a clone with pure Furon DNA harvested from human brains, has taken his place as the President. Crypto 138 is the first Furon in millennia to possess
genitalia
A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
, as his pure DNA has not been corrupted by radiation. When the KGB destroy the mothership and Pox, Crypto must find a way to stop them from destroying what he has worked so hard on to achieve. Along the way, he is supported by Natalya Ivanova, a rogue KGB agent whom he constantly hits on. He also comes across the Blisk, the dreaded enemy that the Furons thought they defeated in the Martian War.
''Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed (2008)''
''Big Willy Unleashed'' takes place after ''Destroy All Humans! 2''. Crypto and Pox start a fast food restaurant that serves human meat from all the people Crypto has killed harvesting more Furon DNA. Later, their rival restaurant, Colonel Kluckin' (a parody of
Colonel Sanders
Colonel Harland David Sanders (September 9, 1890
December 16, 1980) was an American businessman, best known for founding fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (also known as KFC) and later acting as the company's brand amba ...
), discovers their secret, whereupon Crypto must protect the restaurant with the Big Willy mascot mech.
''Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon (2008)''
Using the money earned from the Big Willy fast food franchise that Orthopox started in ''Big Willy Unleashed'', Pox and his destructive Furon warrior minion Crypto have opened a "family friendly"
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
which they use to obtain a steady financial income and human
DNA. Crypto has lost his motivation because of the death of Natalya (which was a clone with a four year lifespan), and has forgotten what it means to destroy humans. He drinks too much alcohol, watches too much television, and has ultimately become lazy. Later Crypto is attacked by mysterious cyborgs called Nexosporidium Warriors, who arrive from his own planet, which frightens both Crypto and his commander Pox. Soon Crypto finds himself face-to-face with a conspiracy from his own homeworld that, if not stopped, could destroy his entire race. In the midst of all the chaos, Crypto hears a voice in his head, telling him to go to the city of Shen Long. Later, Crypto, while in Sunnywood, is shot in the neck, faints, and then wakes up in a
Kung Fu
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
where he is greeted by a Furon martial arts expert known as The Master. The Master beseeches him to submit to his tutelage, and train in mind and firepower, to help him defeat these new threats. Now Crypto is about to go down the path to enlightenment, shape his own destiny, and uncover who is behind this frightening conspiracy.
''Destroy All Humans!'' (2020)
The franchise intellectual property (IP) holder,
THQ
THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...
, went bankrupt on December 19, 2012 and its many IPs were subsequently sold off. In 2013, Nordic Games, now known as
THQ Nordic
THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were re ...
, purchased the rights to ''Destroy All Humans!'' among other IPs for $4.9 million. In late 2016, the PlayStation 2 versions of ''
Destroy All Humans!
''Destroy All Humans!'' is an open world action-adventure video game franchise that is designed as a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films. '' Destroy All Humans!'' and '' Destroy All Humans! 2'' are available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbo ...
'' and ''
Destroy All Humans! 2
''Destroy All Humans! 2'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the sequel to '' Destroy All Humans!'' and the second installment in the '' Destroy All Humans!'' f ...
'' were released on PlayStation 4 as part of a selection of
PlayStation 2 games emulated on PlayStation 4, and were rendered at 1080p with additional features that supported trophies and remote play.
In 2018, the Xbox version of ''
Destroy All Humans!
''Destroy All Humans!'' is an open world action-adventure video game franchise that is designed as a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films. '' Destroy All Humans!'' and '' Destroy All Humans! 2'' are available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbo ...
'' was added to the
Xbox One's backwards compatibility catalog.
In 2019,
THQ Nordic
THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were re ...
announced a remake of ''
Destroy All Humans!
''Destroy All Humans!'' is an open world action-adventure video game franchise that is designed as a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films. '' Destroy All Humans!'' and '' Destroy All Humans! 2'' are available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbo ...
'' via a reveal trailer shown at E3. The remake was developed by
Black Forest Games
Black Forest Games GmbH is a German video game developer based in Offenburg. The company was founded in July 2012 by a team of 40 staff members, including chief executive officer Andreas Speer, previously employed by Spellbound Entertainment, ...
and released on July 28, 2020 for
Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 4,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, on December 8, 2020 for
Stadia
Stadia may refer to:
* One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums"
* The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes'').
* Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey
* Stadi ...
, and on June 29, 2021 for
Nintendo Switch.
''Destroy All Humans! Clone Carnage'' (2022)
A standalone multiplayer spin-off, titled ''Destroy All Humans! Clone Carnage'' was released for Microsoft Windows via
Steam,
Epic Games Store
The Epic Games Store is a digital video game storefront for Microsoft Windows and macOS, operated by Epic Games. It launched in December 2018 as both a website and a standalone launcher, of which the latter is required to download and play gam ...
, and
GOG.com
GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...
, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 31, 2022.
On November 2, 2022, the Xbox One and PC versions of game were made
free-to-play
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
.
''Destroy All Humans! 2: Reprobed'' (2022)
In 2021,
THQ Nordic
THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were re ...
announced a remake of ''
Destroy All Humans! 2
''Destroy All Humans! 2'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the sequel to '' Destroy All Humans!'' and the second installment in the '' Destroy All Humans!'' f ...
'' via a reveal trailer shown with development being handled by
Black Forest Games
Black Forest Games GmbH is a German video game developer based in Offenburg. The company was founded in July 2012 by a team of 40 staff members, including chief executive officer Andreas Speer, previously employed by Spellbound Entertainment, ...
. It was released on August 30, 2022 for Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 5 and
Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 202 ...
.
References
External links
''Destroy All Humans!''official website
*
{{THQ Nordic
Alien invasions in video games
Open-world video games
Embracer Group franchises
Video game franchises
Fiction about psychic powers
Video games about extraterrestrial life
Video games about psychic powers
Science fiction comedy
Parody video games
Alternate history video games