It’s fair to say there have been more than a few standout badguy sims over the years. THQ Nordic gave one of the best, Destroy All Humans, the HD treatment a few years ago. And now, sequel Destroy All Humans 2 has been given the full THQN treatment.

THQN is the firm that gave us the Re-Mars-tered version of Red Faction Guerrilla and Warmastered Darksiders. Suitably, their Destroy All Humans! 2 remaster comes with a cringe-inducing pun ‘Reprobed’ moniker.

Take Us to Your Sequel

Destroy All Humans 2 was the 2006 follow up to the 2005 smash hit. Destroy All Humans! first instalment based on the 1950s sci-fi aesthetic and captured the public’s imagination with its humour and note-perfect parody of a time and place in film history.

Destroy All Humans 2 sees you once again take control of Cryptosporidium-138 (aka Crypto) – the pint sized, wise-cracking extra-terrestrial. Crypto has a real ‘Jack Nicholson’ vibe and his mission is out to take over the world and get some revenge for some previous unpleasantness.

The game is set in the year 1969 (around ten years after the original game) and jumps right into the action. The Soviet KGB see the Furons as a threat to the Soviet Union who then destroy the Furon mothership with a nuclear missile.

Crypto first has defeat the KGB and exexute his and Pox’s ultimate plans. Along the way you’ll well get some payback for them destroying the mothership. And it’s at this point you spot the focus of the tale switching from being B-movie sci-fi fun, to more of a James Bond-esque tale with a real spy vibe running through it.

A Different Era, A Different Vibe

The transition from 1950s sci-fi B-Movie, the home of dodgy aliens, to the suave spy tale does shed some of the original premise’s charms. Though Destroy All Humans 2 does a good job of being a parody of that era for the most part and is crammed with plenty of satire and social commentary. The fun factor is also mostly preserved from that original title.

The gameplay is basically the same as Destroy All Humans! but on a bigger scale. You’ll be doing a bit of globetrotting – going from the US to the UK and Japan and a little beyond that. Each locale has its own character, vibe and standout features, and the different areas act as mini open worlds. In each location, you’ll do main missions and find a host of optional side missions, collectables and unlocks to find if you explore the area.

Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed makes it worth your time doing these side activities. The XP you earn will help upgrade your kit and keep you ahead of the difficulty curve of the main missions.

Battlefield Earth

Combat is refined from the original using the same core button lay-out as the first remaster, meaning you have a good few of Crypto’s tricks right away – like being able to mind-read and bodysnatching NPS.

This means that what you get in terms of powers and weapons is for the most part – all new and over-the top-fun. For example, the meteor gun, which as the name suggests, calls in an extremely destructive meteor storm.

Given it’s a remaster, a lot of the quality-of-life improvements are lifted directly from the first game’s rerelease. The refinements work well here Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed, stuff like a clearer mini-map and easier to read HUD are nice enhancements but nothing special.

Technically Speaking

Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed looks good overall but there is a fair bit of texture popping especially while jet-packing around the maps. The game often runs into framerate issues when there is a lot of action on screen. For a remaster of a PS2-era game, the performance is disappointing.

A number of odd things that happened in our time with the game reflecting a lack of polish. From NPCs just disappearing, vehicles randomly exploding, audio being stuck in a loop and missions not triggering right away.

Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed is still a fun and over-the-top follow up to the original remaster. While quite a bit rougher at times, it serves as a good holdover for a possible Destroy All Humans! 4.

Though we’ll probably get remaster of the third and often totally forgotten instalment in the series Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed before a 100% new title.

Review code provided by publisher