Reviewed on:
Nintendo GameCubeAlso available for:
Nintendo GameCube and Sony PlayStation
The Good:
Great hand-drawn graphics, solid gameplay.The Bad:
Some may consider it a plus, but the game is really, really hard.The Verdict:
It's not for everyone, but shooter fans looking for a challenge will be all over it.
REVIEW:
Alien Hominid has a unique history among console games, but it's an approach I think we'll soon be seeing a lot more of.
It first appeared in prototype form as a Flash game on www.newgrounds.com in 2002 and has since been downloaded more than 7.5 million times. Building on its on-line success, the game's developers, The Behemoth, set out to fund development of console versions by selling branded merchandise on its website (everything from t-shirts to skateboards). As may have surmised from this review — they succeeded.
The game is a 2D side-scrolling platform shooter, firmly in the Contra/Gunstar Heroes tradition. Not something you see a lot of these days, especially on console systems, but it's a welcome addition if you're as big a fan of old school gameplay as I am.
One of the standout aspects of the game is its hand-drawn, comic-style graphics. They're improved from the Flash version, and have a style unique among console games. It's nice to see a game that goes for artistic style, regardless of whether it pushes the system to the limit or not.
The game's story, such as it is, involves an alien that crash-lands his spaceship on Earth and then must find it before the FBI does. That's it. But this is a shooter after all — plot takes a backseat to gameplay every time. And it's the gameplay where Alien Hominid really excels, with relentless run-and-gun action that will thrill some and frustrate others.
That's right. This is not an easy game. Even on the lowest difficulty setting, unless you're a seasoned 2D-shooter player, you can expect to die many times completing a level. But if it were any easier, the game would be over all too quickly, as there's only three levels with five or six stages each. Playing two players makes the game slightly more manageable, but only just.
The gameplay is sufficiently varied, with tons of different weapons and vehicles for you to use — even the odd sasquatch you can hop on and wreak havoc with. All of which is wonderfully animated with plenty of utterly gratuitous gore thrown in for good measure.
Adding to the game's replay value are a number of mini-games, as well as an editor to create your own. They're a bit of a mixed bag, but some of can be really addictive.
If you're not already a shooter fan, Alien Hominid probably won't do much to convert you. But if you are, it may be just the game you've been waiting for.
