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.