Crypto is back and this time enjoying and exclusive ride on the Nintendo Wii
If you have played any of the previous games in the series you know what to expect here. If you are new to the series then what Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleashed is all about is action, destruction and humor. The theme of this game takes place in the 1970's with a 50's sci-fi feel. You play as Cryptosporidium a member of an alien race hell bent on taking over the pathetic humans any way they can. In the case of this game it usually means that in order to accomplish this you will have to kill many humans as possible. Varied mission types chance the pacing of the game but you can look forward to much killing. Assisting you with the killing is an assortment of interesting weapons and with you saucer complete with laser beam and sonic boom attacks.
The game starts off with Crypto about to begin a new decade on Earth while trying to take it over. This time around the theme and attitude is all 70's. If you are what us reviewers like to call smart people than you might get a drift of some of the gags and atmosphere presented in the worlds. This style however trails far behind the first game in the series like a slow chubby kid chasing the ice cream truck. Back in 2005 the first game had an amazing over the top style with not only the story but also the little bits that made it memorable. Non-player characters interactions with you, the design of the streets and even side quests all filled that 50's sci-fi vibe. The first game even included the full version of Teenagers From Outer Space. For the Wii version you almost get a full game and nothing else. In short the game feels like a diet version of a much better tasting game released before.
Crypto has survived another decade on Earth, paired once again with his boss of all bosses Pox they must defeat the evil Colonel Kluckin. It quickly turns out that Pox has been harvesting all the humans that Crypto killed in the earlier games and grinds them into burger patties to serve at Pox's local Big Willy restaurants. You must do various tasks throughout the game to hide the burger patty secret from the public and try to defeat Colonel Kluckin. The story definitely seems very cheesy and thoughts of Soylent Green flood the plot but it pretty hilarious at times. Going a bit more over the top with the references to human burger patties might of helped such as showing a menu of human made meals.
The game has really funny bits and the tongue and check nature our child side of humor. If you are at that age where fart jokes, big butts and innuendos roll you to laughter this is a perfect match for you. The game is not offensive but just be prepared to enter the mind of a kid when playing this game. The humor and charm is fun to an extent but the first game really nailed this on the head something straight out of a 50's sci-fi film. Even Crypto jokes about how ridiculous all the innuendos become about the big willy.
Killing humans is the number one objective of your Jack Nicholson sounding avatar in this game. Crypto has the wit and charm of an eight year old and it comes through in the over the top approach of his dialogue as well as the mission objectives. The game is setup in a free roaming map where you can pick to go to story missions or a handful of side missions. Going on side missions gets you upgrade points which you can spend on your ship and weapon upgrades. Some side missions must be unlocked later after you complete story missions. You can always go back to earlier worlds which is a great feature. One you go back however all the destruction you caused will be reset. It is really hard to miss the missions so no wandering around where they are. Bright green or yellow indicators on the map help guide the way so only the blind won't be able to find them. In each rather small world there are a handful of story missions and items to collect. Like in many free roaming games you can collect a certain number of collectibles all of which help you upgrade your ship, Crypto or your weapons. These are not really necessary to collect and completing the game without many upgrades is possible.
One of the new features that heavily ties in with the story is that you get to drive around your own mechanized monster the Big Willy itself. The Big Willy is of course a spoof on the Big Boy chain or restaurants and once you get the controls down it's a lot of fun to rain destruction upon groups of weak humans. The Big Willy has a variety of attacks including the puke and fart attacks. You will fill like you are six again using these gross but humorous weapons to win your objectives. The Big Willy becomes more and more of an important tool later in the game. Chuckles will fill the air as you create havoc in the cities smashing anything in your way, it is quite the experience.
Sonic booms and anal probing looks amazing I bet in HD unfortunately for this release on the Wii we get something that the PS1 might be able to achieve. How can you take a step back from the Gamecube in terms of graphics? This looks like your growth stunned cousin, you can't take him anywhere because he just embarrasses you. The draw distance is so low that you hardly feel like the levels have any life in them at all. There are hardly many people wandering around and cars seem to be lifeless when driven. I would of liked to see more variety in the cites and be able to go inside of some of the buildings. There are a lot of chances for charm with each level but it feels wasted, sparse and overall last gen. The same unfortunately can be said about the sound in the game.
The Wii offers some really unique control schemes for games. When the Wii was announced visions of controlling everything from your microwave to each individual hair on Mario's head came about. While the big N brand games are certainly using the Wii remote in unique ways the same can't unfortunately be said for all game companies, enter Big Willy Unleashed. When trying to destroy helpless humans it feels like the game is almost broken as if the programmers themselves got zapped by Crypto in the making of this game. There is no reason the camera control should be this wonky if that is even a word. When you're main driving force in the game is the assortment of weapons and ship combat how you can not have the best of the best when it comes to control? The worst thing that I can say about the controls is that I wish I had a standard control for this game or at least the option.
Having my share of adventure with the game I can safely put it away in the value knowing that I killed just enough humans to make me want to play the next game in the series. The game may lack some things but it is by no means a budget title. If you are in the mood for mindless killing with great one-liners then you might want to check out Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleashed for the Wii. If for nothing else next time you head to your local fast food chain you will most certainly get a laugh that Crypto would be proud of.