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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Action Developer: Locomotive Games Publisher: THQ |
For being an alien that was sent to the planet to wipe out the human race, Crypto, everyone’s favorite large headed anti-hero has
become quite comfortable on the planet Earth. This could be the only explanation as to why he is still on Earth after two decades and
has found himself in the age of disco, afros, bellbottoms and activists. “Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed” is the first time that
the series has landed on the Nintendo Wii; however it is not the best adventure to probe the system.
Once again players take control of Crypto who has lived on Earth and has experienced the 1950s and the 1960s with what is left of Pox,
who isn’t only Crypto’s intergalactic Furon supervisor but is also a gadget inventor. It is now the 1970s and Pox reveals to Crypto that
he not only has a large sum of money invested in a restaurant chain called Big Willy’s Restaurant, which may look very similar to Big
Boy, but also tells Crypto that the food at the restaurant is actually made of humans. This of course catches the attention of heiress
Patty Wurst, inspired by Patty Hearst, and Colonel Kluckin’ who is on a mission to dominate the fast food business with his fried
chicken. There are also many other elements that will get in the way of Crypto and Pox.
Like other games in the series, this newest addition uses and open-world environment for Crypto to run around and cause mayhem.
Players are able to start missions at any time that they feel in the mood. The problem is that on the Nintendo Wii, the environment is
much smaller than it was in previous games leaving little room for exploration. Even the number pedestrians and interactions have
been decreased. Luckily Crypto’s rampages still bring out the police and military in full force along with armed radicals and Colonel
Kluckin’s loyal employees.
Armed with his handy Furon blaster, capable of electrifying, vaporizing, probing and blowing things up, Crypto can still handle large
numbers of foes without much trouble. This time he has a new upgrade that allows him to turn humans into zombies and a weapon
upgrade that shoots a ball of lightning that electrifies anyone and anything within a certain area for a short duration of time. Crypto also
makes use of his Furon abilities including the PK Throw, Hypnotize, Body Snatch and Transmogrify inanimate objects to create more
ammo. Players also have a flying saucer and the newest addition, the Big Willy mech which shoots lasers out of his eyes and is able to
pick up people on the street and bite off their heads. What more could a person ask for?
Along with the lack of open environment to run around in compared to the original game and its sequel, the areas feel empty. Of course
there are people to terrorize and probe, but the world doesn’t feel as full as it should on a next generation system. The most
disappointing of all the features of the game are the controls. Using the Wii-More and Nunchuk, players move Crypto and point a target
that allows Crypto to face the wanted direction, but the controls are somewhat unresponsive and awkward, causing the game to be very
difficult and frustrating at times. When the controls do actually work smoothly, players will be able to use the Wii-Mote to flick people into
the air using PK abilities or toss cars around using the Big Willy mech. Flying the saucer can be a bit difficult at time as well, although
players will probably be steering the mech around the city.
The various missions that players are set to do are something of a letdown. The missions start out to be somewhat fun as players try
to keep Patty Wurst and the police from discovering Big Willy’s secret ingredient in the food. However, later in the game the missions
become too simple to be much fun. Luckily the game hasn’t lost the sense of humor that it has been accustomed to having. Despite a
few crude jokes, there are many hilarious sight gags and jokes aimed at the 1970s including roller skating, “Fantasy Island” and
Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Unfortunately the game’s graphics are nothing spectacular, considering they are fairly flat and the color are washed out. The game may
remind players of a GameCube title instead of a Nintendo Wii title. Luckily the animation is smooth and visual effects of humans
disintegrating are handled well.
Luckily for the game, the original soundtrack and the licensed disco music are good. Also, the game brings a very solid voice acting
cast that brings all of the main characters to life in the game. Sadly, the background noise for the environment feels much like the city
as a whole, lifeless. Occasionally the pedestrians will shout at Crypto, but they are often repeated many times, making the lack of a
crowd feel like a crowd at all.
“Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed” for the Nintendo Wii is a flawed game that captures a few of the elements that made the
series great, but it just isn’t enough to make the game a worthwhile addition to the series, let alone the Wii. For fans of the series, this
would probably be a great addition to a collection, but for anyone else, this may be a weekend rental that isn’t out of this world.
become quite comfortable on the planet Earth. This could be the only explanation as to why he is still on Earth after two decades and
has found himself in the age of disco, afros, bellbottoms and activists. “Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed” is the first time that
the series has landed on the Nintendo Wii; however it is not the best adventure to probe the system.
Once again players take control of Crypto who has lived on Earth and has experienced the 1950s and the 1960s with what is left of Pox,
who isn’t only Crypto’s intergalactic Furon supervisor but is also a gadget inventor. It is now the 1970s and Pox reveals to Crypto that
he not only has a large sum of money invested in a restaurant chain called Big Willy’s Restaurant, which may look very similar to Big
Boy, but also tells Crypto that the food at the restaurant is actually made of humans. This of course catches the attention of heiress
Patty Wurst, inspired by Patty Hearst, and Colonel Kluckin’ who is on a mission to dominate the fast food business with his fried
chicken. There are also many other elements that will get in the way of Crypto and Pox.
Like other games in the series, this newest addition uses and open-world environment for Crypto to run around and cause mayhem.
Players are able to start missions at any time that they feel in the mood. The problem is that on the Nintendo Wii, the environment is
much smaller than it was in previous games leaving little room for exploration. Even the number pedestrians and interactions have
been decreased. Luckily Crypto’s rampages still bring out the police and military in full force along with armed radicals and Colonel
Kluckin’s loyal employees.
Armed with his handy Furon blaster, capable of electrifying, vaporizing, probing and blowing things up, Crypto can still handle large
numbers of foes without much trouble. This time he has a new upgrade that allows him to turn humans into zombies and a weapon
upgrade that shoots a ball of lightning that electrifies anyone and anything within a certain area for a short duration of time. Crypto also
makes use of his Furon abilities including the PK Throw, Hypnotize, Body Snatch and Transmogrify inanimate objects to create more
ammo. Players also have a flying saucer and the newest addition, the Big Willy mech which shoots lasers out of his eyes and is able to
pick up people on the street and bite off their heads. What more could a person ask for?
Along with the lack of open environment to run around in compared to the original game and its sequel, the areas feel empty. Of course
there are people to terrorize and probe, but the world doesn’t feel as full as it should on a next generation system. The most
disappointing of all the features of the game are the controls. Using the Wii-More and Nunchuk, players move Crypto and point a target
that allows Crypto to face the wanted direction, but the controls are somewhat unresponsive and awkward, causing the game to be very
difficult and frustrating at times. When the controls do actually work smoothly, players will be able to use the Wii-Mote to flick people into
the air using PK abilities or toss cars around using the Big Willy mech. Flying the saucer can be a bit difficult at time as well, although
players will probably be steering the mech around the city.
The various missions that players are set to do are something of a letdown. The missions start out to be somewhat fun as players try
to keep Patty Wurst and the police from discovering Big Willy’s secret ingredient in the food. However, later in the game the missions
become too simple to be much fun. Luckily the game hasn’t lost the sense of humor that it has been accustomed to having. Despite a
few crude jokes, there are many hilarious sight gags and jokes aimed at the 1970s including roller skating, “Fantasy Island” and
Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Unfortunately the game’s graphics are nothing spectacular, considering they are fairly flat and the color are washed out. The game may
remind players of a GameCube title instead of a Nintendo Wii title. Luckily the animation is smooth and visual effects of humans
disintegrating are handled well.
Luckily for the game, the original soundtrack and the licensed disco music are good. Also, the game brings a very solid voice acting
cast that brings all of the main characters to life in the game. Sadly, the background noise for the environment feels much like the city
as a whole, lifeless. Occasionally the pedestrians will shout at Crypto, but they are often repeated many times, making the lack of a
crowd feel like a crowd at all.
“Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed” for the Nintendo Wii is a flawed game that captures a few of the elements that made the
series great, but it just isn’t enough to make the game a worthwhile addition to the series, let alone the Wii. For fans of the series, this
would probably be a great addition to a collection, but for anyone else, this may be a weekend rental that isn’t out of this world.
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