From the naive thrills of Space Invaders to modern epics such as Halo and Half-Life 2, videogaming would be a much duller place without hostile aliens intent on stealing our planet. But in casting players as a goggle-eyed extraterrestrial obsessed with world domination, Destroy All Humans! 2 turns the tables of gaming tradition and is a jump-off point for hilarious, B-movie-inspired interstellar hi-jinks.
While the original DAH! was set in the wholesome 1950s, the sequel shifts the action forward a decade to a time of cultural revolution and free love, forcing players to contend with the dual threats of Cold War era KGB agents and, even worse, hippies. And whereas most missions in the first DAH!
amounted to little more than linear search-and-collect sorties, the new game is peppered with optional missions that regularly take players off the beaten path to unlock a wealth of tempting extras.
New weapons - including the devastating Meteor Strike that rains fiery death on targets of your choice - and tweaked multiplayer modes also build on the foundation established by the original game, and the ability to possess humans and make them your zombie slaves takes Cryptos mind-control antics to comical new heights.
Sadly, arriving in the run-up to Christmas means DAH! 2 is facing some stiff competition, and as the series hasnt taken a huge leap forward its hard to recommend parting with 40 quid when there are much better games hitting the shelves right now. But for anyone who missed the first DAH! or was weaned on black-and-white monster movies, this sharply-scripted homage to the golden age of science-fiction is worth a look.