Alien Hominid

"A fast, fun game with a great personality!"

Anytime I write a review, I like to start by telling a little about myself, so you know from direction I'm coming from. I enjoy all genres of games, except for sports (and even that I'll occasionally play). I am an old school gamer (Or so I'd like to claim myself as one). I grew up on NES and SNES. Now, I did not go into this game with high expectations. Yes I have played the Flash game (for those of you that didn't know, the first level of the game used to be a Flash game, located at Newgrounds.com) While I thought the Flash game was cool, I didn't like it a whole lot. It took me forever to beat, even though it was really short. Even so, I admired the concept. When I heard that Alien Hominid was coming out for Gamecube I was a bit skeptical. I thought "how much different can this one be from the Flash version?" Well, the answer is...very different and whole lot of fun!

GAMEPLAY: This is by far the best aspect of the game. Controls are intuitive and tight. Very easy to pick up and play. And there is quite a bit of variety in the game. Most of the times you'll be on foot but there are times where you'll pilot your UFO (I love those levels), ride a Sasquatch, and drive vehicles. Heck, maybe you'll even catch a ride on an enemy's head! Sure the gameplay is simple but it's a lot of fun. (10/10)

GRAPHICS: Very creative and screaming with personality and style. A game with more personality than most others that have come out in a while. They're all hand-drawn graphics and while they may not be cutting-edge, they suit the game amazingly well and the animations are fun to watch. (9/10)

SOUND FX & MUSIC: This is the only part of the game that falls short in my opinion. The music is very forgettable and seems very far in the background while playing, which could be good or bad. I personallly enjoy listening to music in games so it being "passive" and generic just doesn't do anything for me. The sound effects are on par, with everything you'd expect to be there: explosions, laser shots, screams, etc. Nothing spectacular. But to be fair, this kind of game really doesn't need a great soundtrack. Though admittedly, it would have helped. (7/10)

DESIGN: The way the menus are layed out is very cool. You move the Alien Hominid's hand to select options via his PDA (personal digital assistant). Menus are very easy to navigate and even the level editor of the minigame is easy to use. The only thing that gets on my nerves (barely) is the fact that you can't see through the alien's hand. No, I'm not saying make his transparent, but his hand blocks menu options occasionally and the only way to see them is to manually move his hand out of the way. It's not a big deal and is really just part of the design. (10/10)

LASTING POWER: This was a tough one to gauge. It's a short game. No longer than 3 or 4 hours, depending on difficulty and skill. However, even though it can be beaten in one sitting, this does make it more likely to go through the game again (and again). Maybe you'll go through to try for a better score. Maybe you'll up the difficulty for a challenge. Maybe you'll want to just replay your favorite level again (yes you can select levels individually as you beat them). Whatever the case, I would think most people would have reason to go back. Especially since there are 30 or so hats to collect by doing special things in game (perfectionists will want them all). Aside from the main game there are also 5 minigames. One of which has a level editor and 200 pre-made levels. There's something for everybody! (9/10)

OVERALL: The game is $30 new. It's fun. It's action-packed. It's filled to the brim with personality. Honestly, what reason do you have to NOT pick up this game? Unless you absolutely loathe Contra-esque action games, you owe it to the old-school gamer in you to pick up this game. If you don't you'll be missing out. At the very least, it deserves a rental. Highly recommended. (9/10)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/27/05