Destroy All Humans! is a Wide Open Sandbox action game released in 2005 by Pandemic Games.Taking place in a satirical version of America in The Fifties, it follows a sarcastic, trigger-happy "grey" alien named Cryptosporidium-137 (or just "Crypto" for short). Crypto's species, the Furons, have been rendered sterile through centuries of nuclear warfare, and are dependent on cloning to reproduce. To keep their genetic code from becoming too corrupted, the Furons must steal DNA from human brainstems. Apparently, Furon sailors on furlough left some untainted genes in the human pool back when the species still had genitals. Unfortunately, it seems Crypto's predecessor, Cryptosporidium-136, has been captured by The Government. Crypto's mission is to harvest human brains, find out what happened to the last Crypto, and generally cause mayhem. Along the way, Crypto confronts paranoia, mad science, the military, a government conspiracy, and exploding cows.It was followed up by a sequel taking place in an exaggerated version of The Sixties, and a third game taking places in The Seventies came out recently. Was pitched to FOX for a potential television show, but it was not to be.Also notable for being pitched by Matt Harding. Yes, as in "Where the hell is".Not to be confused with Kill All Humans.Destroy All Humans! provides examples of:
Abusive Alien Parents: According to Crypto, his cloning tube is more lovable than his own mother.
Anal Probing: In the first game the anal probe is a Charged Attack that can make the victim's head explode. It returns in the second game without the need for charging, though it now requires ammo.
Anticlimax Boss: An irritating number of examples, though some are more because of you can become rather overpowered over the course of the game (Meteor Gun, anyone?)
Silhouette and possibly General Armquist, though Armquist was definitely more of a challenge. Played horribly straight in DAH!3, in which some of the bosses barely even move, and especially if you have an upgraded Ion Detonator, except for Henri Crousteau.
Anyone Can Die: Humans are definitely subject to this a lot more then Furons, but three lead protagonists and one supporting protagonist die. Subverted with the furons, because they can clone themselves.
Big "NO!": In the third game, Crypto yells out a big one after the Master dies. This one is so big in fact, Crypto needs to take a breath before finishing it.
Bland Name Product: The titular restaurant mascot / Humongous Mecha from Big Willy Unleashed is suspiciously similar to the mascot of the Big Boy restaurant chain.
Brain Uploading: In Destroy All Humans! 2, Orthopox uploads his consciousness into a HoloPox Unit just before the mothership is destroyed by a Soviet missile.
Call Back: There are several to the first game in the second game.
Catch Phrase: "Pathetic Humans!" "Monkey!" and even the game title, "Destroy All Humans!"
Charged Attack: Anal probe in the first game. Also the Ion Detonator.
Chickification: Natalya. How many times do we have to escort her to her car?!
Cloudcuckoolander: The Town Crazy in the first game, and The Freak in the 2nd game.
Clone Degeneration: The reason the Furons are screwed without pure Furon DNA.
Color-Coded for Your Convenience: All the weapons, handheld and vehicle alike, are associated with a color and a symbol. Zap-O-Matic is blue, Anal Probe is green, Death Ray is red, etc.
In the second game, you have to shoot glowing orbs with the right weapon to proceed, with the orbs being color-coded for the right weapon.
In the third game, your primary enemies, the Nexos, serve as the police for for the Fourth Ring. Their weakest level is blue, their medium level is the regular green, and the toughest level is red.
"Say, Pox, what d'you suppose all these crates are lying around for? What could they need with this many crates?" This continues for a while, until Pox finally says, "I think they get the point, Crypto."
The first game did too; if you read the mind of a dockworker, he mentions that he hates his job. "Push crate, climb crate, jump on crate, destroy crate...that's not fun!"
Orthopox also makes frequent quips at the human race's expense (and sometimes Crypto's).
Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: In the second game, whenever Crypto dies, his clone is placed in the exact spot where he died, and he continues his duties.
The second game plays around with this in a very interesting optional boss fight. The final mission in the Arkvoodle cult tree has the figurehead leader of the cult deciding he doesn't want to listen to you anymore and attacking you. Arkvoodle grants him a number of "extra lives" equal to the number of times you've had to respawn so far. Even worse, if you die fighting him, you have to start the fight over AND he gets another life. Ouch.
The Dragon: Crypto plays this three times. Mostly to Pox, but also to The Master, and ultimately he and Pox are this to Emperor Meningitis. At least until Emperor Meningitis dies and Pox becomes Emperor.
Eagleland: Type 2. Americans are stupid, paranoid, shotgun-toting dickheads. The Government drugs the food supplies, the scientists all have German accents, and they think they're better than everyone else.
Enemy Chatter: As well as the conventional kind, the game allows and in fact requires the player to access the hidden thoughts of non-player characters as well.
Enemy Civil War: Crypto provokes a war between the Cosmonauts and the Blisk on Solaris.
Enemy Mine: Several humans team up with Crypto during the series.
Escort Mission: A FREAKING NUCLEAR BOMB in the first game. One in the second game even involves escorting a girl spy to her hot pink car.
Evil Overlooker: Subverted/inverted. The Master on the third game's box art would qualify.
Evil Pays Better: In the second game, Crypto hears one Japanese man thinking, "Should I join White Ninja or Black Ninja? On one hand, White Ninja are in glorious harmony with universe. On other hand, Black Ninja get to live on island north of Takoshima City. White Ninja get spiritual fulfillment. Black Ninja get paid. Black Ninja."
Expy: Orthopox is voiced by Invader Zim's voice actor, Richard Horvitz, and shares many of his personality traits. If one were to make him the main character, you'd essentially have Zim: The Game...
Except for the important detail that unlike Zim, Pox is a competent invader. Still everything else seems to match between the two.
Pox is also far more nerdy and speaks more properly and with more big words. He still loves destroying stuff though.
Fanservice: Silhouette, Natalya, and Veronica Stone.
Fantastic Racism: The Furon race views the human race as "inferior, filthy, pathetic, stupid monkeys" that are only useful for the strand of Furon DNA in their heads. Once the humans lose their usefulness via various means, they're just things to shoot/zoo animals/game pieces/something to try out their new sex organs on, and then throw away.
Subverted eventually, Crypto and Pox, rulers of the planet, eventually grow to enjoy human customs, though they'll never admit it if you asked them.
Fun with Acronyms: Played with. It's actually an initialism instead of an acronym. Pox creates an anti-Blisk weapon in the second game codenamed "O.M.G.W.T.F."
Herr Doktor: The scientists in the first game mostly had German accents.
He Who Must Not Be Seen: Up until the third game, the Furon Emperor is only mentioned twice, once in the first game, once in the second game. However, he does make an appearance at the end of the third game, just before being killed by Crypto.
Highly Visible Ninja / Technicolor Ninja: There's a reason why the White clan and Black clan of ninjas exist and hate each other. Originally, they were united under one clan of Gray ninjas, but the clans started to split over personal preference between black and white uniforms when they ran out of gray fabric.
White Ninja Leader: Wrong! Supplier stop selling gray fabric. We wanted to be black ninja, but bastards put their order in first!
Interspecies Romance: In the second game, Crypto invokes this when he gets new genitalia. The only thing he can experiment on is human women. Taken Up to Eleven in Path of the Furon, where the entire Furon race has been gradually recloned with genitalia. The Furon men find human women more attractive.
I Take Offense to That Last One: Crypto is only offended by the green part of being called a Little Green [Space]Man. Then again, that may be because it's the only inaccurate part.
Incoming Ham: Whenever Crypto smarts off, Pox retaliates with Ham.
LastFirst Of His Kind: Crypto is the first Furon in millenia to have working sex organs.
Ley Line: According to the "Lunarian Church of Alientology", they are "invisible rivers of mystical energy", and they want to build where the ley lines cross in order to use them to communicate interstellar distances with their minds.
MacGuffin: Human Brainstems. Crypto treats his groin as this.
Ninja: Show up in the Japanese city in the second game. Much lampshading is made as the protagonist wonders why ninjas are still around in the modern day.
No Communities Were Harmed: Numerous. We've got Area 42 (Area 51), Union Town (Norfolk, Virginia), Capitol City (Washington D.C.), Bay City (San Francisco), Albion (London), Takoshima (Tokyo), Vietnmahl (Vietnam), Las Paradiso (Las Vegas), Sunnywood (Hollywood), Shen Long (Hong Kong) and last but not least, Belleville (Paris).
Strangely averted with Russia, perhaps because the U.S.S.R. isn't around anymore.
Non Indicative Name: Despite what the title suggests, Crypto spends the series avoiding the total destruction of humans, since he needs their DNA, and even has to protect them on numerous occasions.
Pretend Prejudice: In the first game, Crypto genuinely dispises Humans. But, by the second game, he's really just pretending.
Crypto: Hey, you know, that big blue mudball starts to grow on ya. I mean at first you think it's a boil but- Natalya: It's alright Crypto. You don't have to pretend. I know how you feel about humans.
Put on a Bus: Gastro in the third game. He's introduced in DAH!2 as a major supporting character, with a background story. In the third game, he is never seen, heard from, or spoken of again. Mostly due to everyone treating him as simply a weapon, and not a character. Natalya also gets this in the third game.
Satire/Parody/Pastiche: All the games are generally a satirical parody of the date the setting takes place in. For example, the first game spoofs and parodies hundreds of events from The Fifties, including the first big Sci-Fi craze and America's fear of communism.
Series Continuity Error: BWU is supposed to be a prequel to DAH!3, but it barely has anything to do with the game, except that Crypto used the profits to create the space dust casino, which is completely false as Crypto crashed into it while drunk, and after Pox recloned him, they made it home sweet home.)
Shout Out: Crypto and Pox both discuss possible future Video Games in the third game, giving shout outs to Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Halo, and games based on movies, all in the same conversation.
Crypto: (To Dr. Go!) My name is Luk-I mean, Cryptosporidium. I'm here to rescue you.
Pox: (In reference to Crypto being Son of Arkvoodle) Crypto! What if it's true?! What if you're THE ONE?! Crypto: Well, I did take a red pill this morning, heheh.
Take That: "Alientology" is a thinly veiled parody of Scientology.
Talking to Himself: Richard Horvitz voices Pox and The Town Crazy, and J. Grant Albrecht voiced Crypto, the Majestic Agents, and Jack Nicholson parody Jack Trippleson.
The Greys: Crypto and Pox are Grays in the "evil conqueror" mode, although Crypto is often mistaken for a Little Green Man.
The Man Behind the Man: The Master. Crypto believes his enemy is Curt Calvin, supposedly another Furon DNA gatherer. Then, after meeting the Master, Crypto believes his enemy is really Saxon, who supposedly used Calvin to try and destroy Crypto. It then turns out that Saxon was under the employ of Francodyne CEO Henri Crousteau. It is then revealed that Saxon and Crousteau were both part of Emperor Meningitis's operation to manufacture Synthetic DNA. Then after killing Meningitis, the Master appears and reveals that he was the actual conspirator all along, using all of them, including Crypto, in order to usurp the Furon throne. Talk about complex and confusing!
Theme Naming: Furon names are all names of viruses.
And the anal probes, don't forget the anal probes.
A big part of the appeal of the game is also the ability to get into a space-ship and use the various weapons it possesses to fly around thinly-veiled versions of various cities and destroy the everlasting fuck out of them.
Xanatos Gambit: Everything was planned by the Master in the third game as a part of his plan to usurp the Furon throne and get Crypto to kill Emperor Meningitis.
What Could Have Been: In 2006, a TV sitcom produced by the producer of King of the Hill and based on this game was planned. It was scrapped soon after to make way for DAH!2. Oh the possibilities...
What Happened to the Mouse?: Veronica Stone in DAH!3. After getting her the story of sending the Neo Walker into the corrupt police station, she is neither seen or heard from again.
You Are Number Six: Each clone is designated by the number of times the Furon has been cloned. If you've been cloned 13 times, you clone number is 13.
You Have Failed Me: Admiral Cyclosporiasis is not very pleased when he learns Pox and Crypto lost the pure Furon DNA.
You Kill It, You Bought It: Double example — The Master's plan is essentially regicide. After Crypto kills Meningitis, he gets Orthopox to kill the Master, who then decides to stick around as Furon Emperor.
Zombie Apocalypse: The blisk mutants in DAH!2. Played Straight with the Zombie Gun in BWU.
Crypto has just conquered a single TV Tropes page. After the credits roll, the rest of the website comes into view, with The End? appearing as ominous, eerie theremin-laced music plays.
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