For our third wedding anniversary, Z and I went and saw War of the Worlds. Now, there are inconsistencies in the film, but the overall effect is actually genuinely scary. For the second time Steven Spielburg showcases the dark side of humanity, where people are like living zombies (it makes for a very chaotic and frightening cinematic situation). Given that War of the Worlds is about aliens taking over the planet, Destroy All Humans had the easiest marketing strategy ever: release the game around the same time as the movie.

If you've been watching TV lately, you've probably seen a commercial for the PS2 game, Destroy All Humans. I admit I am a sucker for their marketing design, as I harbor an affection for all things of 1940s-1950s persuasion. Destroy All Humans is a lot of fun to watch and a lot more fun to play. The dialouge is tongue-in-cheek funny, the graphics are pretty darn good for a PlayStation 2, and the sound and voice acting are definitely entertaining. Plus, it's just plain satisfying blowing up buildings and reading peoples thoughts and hypnotizing people into doing the chicken dance.

But with all of this fictional massacre-ing of the human race that I have ingested over the last week, a profound sense of understanding that I will not get a "continue" like in Destroy All Humans or a happy ending like in War of the Worlds (oh yeah, big surprise, it's a Spielburg flick).

Why will I not get these things? Because I am going to die.

My brother was playing Destroy All Humans. Crypto 142 died, spawning Crypto 143 (they're clones of each other because they lack genitalia, which is why they're harvesting human DNA, well that's beside the point...), and I suddenly realized: Oh my god, I am not going to have a do-over, or a continue. I am going to die.

I am going to cease to exist someday. It's hard to wrap my brain around that understanding. I don't know what it'll be like to no longer... be. And frankly it's a terrifying thought.

Ah, the weird revelations alien action games will induce in a person who thinks entirely too much.