GENRE
	Action
	DEVELOPER
	The Behemoth
	PUBLISHER
	O3 Entertainment
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-4
	CONNECTIVITY
	no
	BUY NOW AT

Making the leap from PC to home consoles, Alien Hominid started out as a popular online Macromedia Flash game. The story was basic: an alien crash-lands, faces droves of enemies, and must kill everything in its path. While fun, many might wonder why anyone would want to bring it to consoles? Is it really necessary? Could it make the jump with its personality intact and still provide enough lastability to earn the price of a console game? Thankfully, yes. Retaining its cartoonishly violent charm, Alien Hominid proves to be the epitome of quirky fun.

visuals

A 2D side-scrolling throwback to the days of SNES and Sega Genesis, the Alien Hominid’s graphics look like the product of a high school kid’s history class doodling…on speed. This game is unlike any other game out there today: the lines are jagged and squiggly, and the text is crude and handwritten, yet it all works tremendously well. Characters have unrealistic proportions and move whimsically on screen. With droves of big-headed enemies to gun down and obscenely large hulking bosses, the game’s little yellow protagonist goes through vividly-colored and detailed environments that come alive in their lushness.

By no means does Alien Hominid push the technical limits of the GC. Throughout the entire experience, it’s easy to tell that it started out as a Flash game. Its internet roots sometimes show in choppy animations and very simplistic cutscenes, but they get the job done without compromising the game’s overall experience. The animations that rise above the rest in the game are its huge explosions. Blasting through each enemy, big and small, with a variety of weaponry is made quite rewarding by huge clouds of Wind Waker-esque dust and energy. They serve as a brilliant compliment to the rest of the game’s unique style.

audio

There’s not much to be said about Alien Hominid’s music. A few basic tunes provide a decent and sometimes even catchy underscore to the carnage. A good range of styles are present, from the secret agent-like menu music to the upbeat in-game tracks.

The sound effects are all on point, from the wails of FBI agents as their heads are sliced off to the loud groans of giant mechanical bosses. While some sounds can get a bit repetitive, AH’s effects are actually quite humorous and help flesh out its stylish visuals. Again, simplicity is the key here, and what the game provides in the audio department, though not complex by any means, is to the point and perfectly fits.

gameplay

There’s not much in the way of innovation when it comes to Alien Hominid’s gameplay, but what it does it does right. The basic setup of the game is to kill everything that gets in your way as you traverse each level. The ways in which you can accomplish this simple task are actually pretty varied. You can shoot enemies up close or from afar with an upgradeable laser gun and grenades (which are given from the start), hide underground and pull them under for a quick kill, dice them in half or bite their heads off, or use an assortment of vehicles sprinkled throughout certain parts of levels to run and gun them down.

There is strategy in how you kill foes, especially in the distinctly original bosses to be faced. While the little yellow alien will face many easy enemies that can be killed with one hit, like the droves of FBI agents and Soviets, it’s the boss fights that really stand out. Everything from a huge mechanical bee that needs to be avoided while driving cars on a busy highway to the instant pudding monster, with its gooey attacks, Alien Hominid will have you fighting things never seen before in a videogame. The game’s designers did a wonderful job including well-placed weapons and vehicles in boss fights, as they help make each scenario different than the last. In what other game could you pick up FBI agents with your spaceship tractor beam and drop them into a woodchipper?!

Alien Hominid has not only an assortment of bosses, vehicles, and strategies to play, but it features multiple kinds of gameplay as well. From the gunplay of the on-foot portions to the ship-flying parts reminiscent of Asteroids, Alien Hominid’s levels are quite diverse.

Giving the game most of its length is its sheer level of difficulty. Not only are multiple enemies, bosses, and bullets being thrown at you all at one time, but one shot kills you. You are given multiple lives, but you’ll run out fast. Even the most experienced gamers should have a tough time beating each level without dying multiple times. Thankfully, the experience is rewarding enough to make you keep trying. It may not be a game to sit down and keep trying to beat in one sitting, but you’ll be thinking about going back to beat the tricky parts even after the GameCube’s power light has gone dark between playing times..

multiplayer

The game’s multiplayer offerings increase its longevity tenfold. Blasting through each level with a friend in co-op mode is fun, but the multiple unlockable minigames are icing on an already addictive cake. You’re given the “PDA Games” minigame to start with. In what looks like a hand drawn version of a game straight from the original Game Boy, you guide a stick figure through each perilous level. There’s even a level editor in which you can make your very own “PDA Games” levels. As you progress through the game, more minigames are unlockable, like the intense “Neutron Ball,” a watered-down basketball of sorts…with knife-wielding aliens! This one proves to be the most addictive, but there are a few other offerings in which up to 4 players can play simultaneously that are also quite fun. Each one retains the game’s unique style and provides a separate, but equally fun, experience of its own.

overall

Alien Hominid is the ultimate example of how originality can really pay off. By borrowing gameplay and level-design ideas from the 2D side-scrollers of yesteryear and infusing them with the crude humor and gore of today, all with a uniquely original graphical gloss, AH proves to be a winning combination of style and substance, both old and new. Sure, the story isn’t exactly revolutionary, it’s no technical marvel, and the single player game lasts only a few hours for the most dedicated and experience players, but every second spent in this seemingly drug-induced little world is like a tasty morsel of electronic cookie. It’s a game that will remind older gamers of some great gaming pastimes but can also make many new ones. And newcomers willing to take a chance on something wholly original will be rewarded. At $19.99, the single player experience alone warrants a purchase, but the surprisingly addictive co-op and multiplayer minigames make Alien Hominid a steal.

In a business full of cheap knock-offs and umpteenth sequels, where a recognizable title or endorsement can make games instant best-sellers, Alien Hominid is a diamond in the rough. Highly recommended.

8.6/10