Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon Reviewed
I’ll confess right off, I really like the Destroy All Humans series. It’s the one place where you can count on finding era-appropriate pop culture references, frenzies of destruction, and Richard Horvitz all at once. For those of you who don’t remember Richard Horvitz, just go watch a little Invader Zim and it’ll all come flooding back to you. Yeah…THAT Richard Horvitz.
Anyway, it’s back for more fun all around the world and beyond in Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon. You get to play once again as Cryptosporidium, the frantic Furon who blasted up so many large chunks of Earth in two (three if you count the Wii’s Big Willy Unleashed–I personally don’t.) games beforehand. Now, Crypto is running a casino in the middle of the seventies in Paradise City, living it up as only Crypto can. He’s joined by his now-holographic handler, Orthopox-13, who serves as his gadget source, quest giver and occasional adviser as Crypto finds himself neck-deep in a conspiracy that swallows the Earth and traces all the way back to Planet Furon itself.
I personally enjoyed Path of the Furon. Yes, granted–it’s almost the exact same game as the previous two with some new bells and whistles attached, and of course the whole new storyline, but I enjoyed it the first time I played it and I continue to enjoy it. Why mess with a good thing?
The main reason to enjoy each new Destroy All Humans! installment is not to see what new game mechanic can come into play, but rather what strange new direction they’re going to take the plot in. And indeed, they’re going to take some SPECTACULAR new directions here. I’m not going to spoiler for you, but let me put it this way: by the end of the game, there’s going to be a new Emperor of Furon. And it’s not Crypto.
And while I’m at it, why are we ignoring the SIMPLE things that make this game great? We’ve been playing exclusively on Earth since the start of the series–I can’t understand why more people aren’t enthusiastic about getting the chance to see Planet Furon. For that matter, why aren’t people more enthusiastic about getting the opportunity to just run amok and blow up cities with a hovering saucer jam-packed with advanced technology?
It’s got a fun plot, fun cast, fun play…so why are so few people actually having FUN with this? Indeed, the hate-on for Furon goes pretty deep. Some reviewers complained about poor graphics, a complaint I’m having a hard time agreeing with, but after the joy that was Fallout 3 I can understand where they’re coming from, at least. And yes, the multiplayer was pretty shoddy, being local only and it definitely did feel tacked on as almost an afterthought. But when people start complaining about “racist portrayals” of some of the characters, you know that PC thuggery has reached EPIC levels. Have we forgotten about the concept of PARODY? Is that just clean out the window now? These “racist” characters are accurate representations of their portrayals in the 1970s, when this game is set.
I happen to think the negative reviews on this game have lost sight of the purpose of games. It’s all about the FUN you’re having–if the game looks great but it’s unplayable, you haven’t gained anything. Why do you think browser games do so well? It’s not because they look good, it’s because they FEEL good. And Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon definitely qualifies as a fun game.