Death to Mantodeans

Death to Mantodeans was a video game available on Earth in 2006. It was given out to certain scratchcard winners in the Percy the Porcupine advertising campaign. The game came in a special console, which was delivered in an orange box with the game's title in large black letters and cartoon images of a porcupine shooting an insect-like creature. A large cash prize was on offer to the first person to beat the game by reaching its last level.

In actuality, the game was part of a plot by the Quevvil species to recruit humans to fight in their war against the Mantodeans. Humans who received the game became "controllers", unwittingly controlling people who had been abducted to act as "carriers". All deaths in the game, of both Mantodeans and game avatars, were real. Due to this, the game was known for apparent glitches where players would have to start over from the beginning if they took a break from playing. The game was also known to be extremely difficult, as players were unwittingly attempting to infiltrate a real stronghold on the planet Toop. The stronghold's security measures were extremely difficult puzzles, stymieing player progress.

Death to Mantodeans began with an explanatory cutscene which laid out most of the details of the Quevvil plot, using the real names of the species and planets involved. As Earth at that time was not in official contact with aliens, it was believed to be fictional.

Mickey Smith was given a copy of the game won by Jackie Tyler, and quickly became part of the community attempting to crack its secrets and win. When Rose Tyler returned home with the Ninth Doctor, Mickey let the Doctor play some of the game. The Doctor quickly set a new high score, which drew the Quevvils' attention as they believed they had finally found someone who could beat the game. However, the Doctor quickly got bored of the game and left, leaving Mickey alone in his flat when a Quevvil arrived to abduct him. The Doctor and Rose later returned to the flat to discover what had happened, and the pair, having already realized that aliens were behind the Percy Porcupine promotion, deduced what must have happened to Mickey. The Doctor started a new play session and set a higher score to attract the Quevvils' attention, so he and Rose would be teleported away to find Mickey. (PROSE: Winner Takes All)