Alien Hominid certainly pays homage to the gameplay styles of old favourites such as Probotector (now Contra) and Metal Slug, offering up a side scrolling shooter that's decidedly heavy on action and light on plot. The player takes control over the hominid, who just wants to get his ship back, and is prepared to do whatever it takes, which includes brutally slaying every government agent, giant robot and freakish butterscotch monster that gets in his way.
The FBI agent gets an eyeful of Player 2's hominidity
Running left to right, shooting everything that moves could be seen as somewhat derivative in this day and age, especially since gaming has since moved on from the side-scrolling shooter, but somehow the developers of Alien Hominid have managed to make things seem fresh and exciting. The hominid has the usual set of basic shooting game moves, as well as some unique techniques such as jumping on the shoulders of his opponents and biting their heads off, or going underground and pulling his opposition down with him. New to the console version of the game are the roll moves, which are executed via the triggers - these allow the hominid to quickly dodge bullets and get in his enemy's face much faster. The arsenal in Alien Hominid is also quite varied, with a bunch of different weapons whose potency can be increased if the player stacks their power ups. Each weapon provides a unique death animation, with the laser causing some brutal torso separation, while the freeze ray will cause enemies to freeze and then subsequently shatter.
Of course, the action in Alien Hominid is not limited to on foot action, with a number of vehicular segments in the game, where the hominid will take control of anything ranging from a school bus, to a bulldozer to a giant disgruntled Sasquatch. These segments still retain the basic side scrolling gameplay, unlike the other vehicle-based section which revolves around the hominid piloting his ship, which entirely changes the gameplay dynamic.
Should have bought premium
When it comes down to the process of actually playing Alien Hominid, enjoyment of the game rests entirely within the player's taste and ability. Much like the big hitters of the side scrolling shooter genre (Contra and Metal Slug), Alien Hominid is as tough as nails – almost to the point at which it could be considered to be unfair. The game has a very conservative allocation of lives and continues, and even the greatest of shmup fans will have a hard time dodging some of the difficult bullet patterns. Occasionally players will have access to a shield, but deaths are usually as a result of one shot (or being trampled etc.). The game has many bosses, which are quite imaginative in their design, but some of them can be quite challenging to dispose of, and are likely to eat away at your supply of credits. A second player can join in the action, but once again, you risk those all important credits just to get the assistance.
Lasting factor isn't usually of great importance to the shoot 'em up fan, given that the challenge of these games is to achieve high scores and such, but Alien Hominid clocks in at about 4 hours for the single player game, once you've become good enough to get through on the paltry number of credits you're allocated. The game's co-operative support makes for some enjoyable multiplayer action. The home version of Alien Hominid is packed full of little extras, like PDA games, which revolve around trying to get a little stick-man to collect a certain number of objects in a given level. Players can compete with up to four friends and make their own levels. There's also a challenge mode, Neuron Ball (space-age version of basketball), and Super Soviet Missile Mastar, which requires the player to guide an ICBM from a Soviet jet to US soil, whilst trying to avoid detection.
In these days of polygon pushing and normal mapping, creativity seems to take a back seat to technological achievements. Alien Hominid's greatest strength is its unique visual design, which sports an incredible hand drawn look, yet animates flawlessly, combining an over-the-top violent style with some absurdly cute looking characters. The players, enemies and backgrounds are incredibly detailed, though certain foreground scenery can get in the way in the middle of a fire fight, resulting in a cheap death or ten. Fortunately, the game runs as smooth as silk. The game's soundtrack is reasonably good, though the sound effects, while quite brutal, are unremarkable.
This is what Brendan looks like when you miss a deadline
Alien Hominid is certainly an ode to days past, providing a challenge to gamers who still enjoy the run and gun action of old, though the degree of difficulty makes the game somewhat inaccessible to those looking for a quick blast. The game's visual design is amazing, with a level of imagination rarely seen in these days of normal mapped generic armoured muscle men (yes, that's you Epic). If you're feeling somewhat unsatisfied by the games of today, pick up Alien Hominid, though people who aren't die hard shooter fans may be better serviced by taking a quick look at the Flash version of the game seen on Newgrounds.
This review is brought to you courtesy of Infinite Gameplay, with unlimited game rentals starting from $19.95 a month.
Loading...
