For an
extraterrestrial who means to wipe out the human race, our favorite big-headed
anti-hero has – strangely enough – become accustomed to our planet. How else can
you explain his lengthy stay on Earth as he seen two decades pass and now finds
himself in an age of disco, bellbottoms and radical activists. Destroy All
Humans!: Big Willy Unleashed is the first time the series lands on the
Nintendo Wii but sadly this isn’t our favorite alien’s best adventure.
Yep, just another day in Los
Angeles.
Once again we
take control of Crypto who has lived through the 1950s as well as the 1960’s
with what is left of Pox – who was not only Crypto’s intergalactic Furon
supervisor but also gadget inventor. It’s now the 1970s and Pox reveals to
Crypto that he not only has a big investment in a restaurant franchise called
Big Willy’s Restaurant (which is inspired by the Bob’s Big Boy restaurant chain
that’s now long gone) but also that his food is actually made of humans. This
little fact, of course, stirs the interest of a Patty Hearst-like heiress (named
Patty Wurst) and Colonel Kluckin’ who is hell-bent on dominating the fast food
business with his fried chicken. To top it all off there are other elements that
will get in Crypto and Pox’s way.
Like past games
in the series, Big Willy Unleashed uses an open-world environment for
Crypto to run around and cause mayhem and you can start a mission whenever you
feel like it. The problem is that on the Nintendo Wii the environments are
actually smaller than it was in past games so there’s very little room for
actual exploration. In fact, even the number of pedestrians and environment
interaction has been minimized. Thankfully, Crypto’s rampages still bring out
the police as well as the military force and this time around you’ll also have
to go up against armed radicals and Colonel Kluckin’s loyal employees.
Armed with his
Furon blaster that is capable of electrifying, vaporizing, probing or blowing
things to pieces, Crypto can still go up against a large number of foes. This
time around he has a new upgrade that allows him to turn humans into zombies as
well as another weapon upgrade that shoots a lightning ball that electrifies
anyone and anything within the coverage area for a short duration. Crypto also
makes uses of his Furon abilities such as PK throw, hypnotize, body snatch and
transmogrify inanimate objects to create more ammo. You even have your flying
saucer handy but the interesting new addition happens to be the Big Willy mech
that hilariously fires lasers out of its wide eyes and is able to pick up people
to bite their heads off.
Female Pedestrian #2: “I would hate
to change THOSE diapers.”
Aside from my
first gripe that the environments are smaller than the original or its sequel,
the areas feel a tad lifeless. Yes, there are people to terrorize but the world
just doesn’t seem as full as it could have been especially on a next-generation
console. Yet my biggest gripe really has to be the controls. Using the Wii
Remote and the Nunchuk attachment, you move Crypto as well as point the reticule
that allows him to face the direction you want him to but the controls are so
slightly unresponsive and awkward that doing that is very difficult and
frustrating. When it does work smoothly you’ll be using the Wii-mote to flick
people you manage to lift up with your PK abilities or toss cars around using
the Big Willy mech. Flying the saucer can be a bit clunky at times as well,
although you’ll find yourself piloting the mech instead.
The game’s
various missions are also something of a letdown. The missions start out fun
enough as you attempt to try to keep activist Patty Wurst or the police from
finding out the restaurant’s horrible secret. Later, however, the missions
become bite-sized and too simplistic to be much fun. At least the game hasn’t
lost its sense of humor and despite some crude jokes here and there it’s the
funny sight gags and jokes aimed at the era. The game not only mocks itself but
also the whole ‘70 roller skating fad, “Fantasy Island” and Kentucky Fried
Chicken.
The game’s
graphics are not good either seeing as the textures are flat and the colors are
washed out. Really, the game looks like a GameCube title with good lighting and
visual effects but blocky buildings and character models. The pedestrians and
vehicles alone have a PSOne quality to it so don’t expect a very
attractive-looking game. At least the animation is smooth and the visual effects
(like humans disintegrating or buildings being demolished) are handled well.
At least the
original soundtrack and the licensed disco tunes are good. There’s also a solid
voice acting cast that brings all the main characters to life and deliver some
of the more hilarious lines well enough throughout the game. Sadly, the
background noises make the environments feel lifeless. Yes, some of the
pedestrians will shout out things but they are repeated often and it seldom
feels like you’re surrounded by multiple people much like the original.
Destroy All
Humans!: Big Willy Unleashed
for the Nintendo Wii is a flawed game that manages to capture of
few of the things we like about the series but not enough to make this a true
sequel on a new platform. I’m all for the use of a revolutionary controller but
here it just makes targeting and moving just so frustrating that you’ll wish the
game was on the GameCube instead. Still, for fans of the series, you might want
to pick this one up as a weekend rental just for the hilarious situations and
funny jokes. Just don’t expect this game to shine as brightly as the past two
offerings.
|
|
Gameplay: 5.5
The Wii
controls are absolutely atrocious and players will have a hard time swinging the
reticule around during the on-foot action. Even flying your saucer or taking
control of the impressive Big Willy mech is a tad awkward. Some of the earlier
missions are fun and it’s still a hoot watching the interaction between Crypto
and Pox.
Graphics: 5.5
The washed out
textures and blocky graphics make this game look more like a decent-looking
GameCube title. The Nintendo Wii could have easily displayed better graphics
than this. Still, the visual effects are nice and the animation runs smoothly
during cut scenes.
Sound: 7.0
The voice
acting is still good and the music is appropriate to the era so expect to hear
some disco tunes as well as some campy ‘70s B-movie styled score. As far as the
dialogue is concerned, it’s still considerably funny despite some crude jokes
aimed at the game’s subtitle. The sound effects are also good but not as
detailed as the past games in the series.
Difficulty:
Medium/Hard
You’ll be
replaying many of the missions in the game and not because of solid AI enemies
or challenging mission objectives. It’s the frustrating controls that will play
a part in mission restarts or even your death.
Concept: 5.5
Unlike past
games in the Destroy All Humans! franchise, the destructive action in an
open-world environment is held back on the Wii whether you’re flying a saucer or
on-foot dishing out the pain using, um, the anal probe. The 1970s backdrop is
used well enough with references aplenty (everything from disco to super campy
1973 classic “Soylent Green” is covered.
Multiplayer:
6.0
It would have
been wonderful to play the entire single-player experience with a friend but the
two-player multiplayer action here is reserve for a Competitive mode (try to
retain possession of various beacons) and Cooperative mode (protect your Big
Willy restaurant from deranged protestors).
Overall: 5.5
Big Willy
Unleashed is
not the strongest entry in the Destroy All Humans! series and on the
Nintendo Wii it’s not a very balanced one either. Sure, the humor and the wacky
missions are present but this one lacks all the groovy elements that would have
made this one a real gas, man.
