|
|
 |
Alien Hominid |
| Platform: Playstation 2 • Developer: Behemoth • Genre: Action • ESRB Rating: T • Words: Man9child |
| It’s easy to like Alien Hominid solely on principle. Not only does it stand as the last bastion of hope for the run and gun shooter at a time when Konami is determined to turn Contra 3d and SNK/Playmore is content on churning out derivative, uninspired Metal Slug games; Alien Hominid is an entirely self funded independent release by a couple of guys who might not necessarily know what they’re doing, but love doing it. Alien Hominid is the gaming equivalent of punk rock. |
 |
 |
| I’m sure most of you are familiar with Hominid’s humble beginnings as a flash game over at NewGrounds. Since the game’s initial release as a one level blastathon it has seen something close to a million downloads. The original flash game isn’t particularly exciting from a gameplay perspective -- it contains a unique graphical design and an offbeat morbid humor-- but the game itself was nothing to write home about. At its core, Alien Hominid is an action platformer in the glorious tradition of the Contras and Gunstar Heroes of years past. Legions of enemy assailants and over the top end bosses are the norm in this sidescrolling blastathon. However, Alien Hominid’s flaws stem from the very things that make the game so appealing. Alien Hominid was founded on a certain kind of liberation. It’s Behemoth’s way of flipping the bird to the industry for having forsaken the lost art of the run and gun shooter. It’s two fingers in the face of focus groups, demographics, and large development houses. Small portions of Alien Hominid are there because the developers got drunk and thought dropping FBI agents into a wood chipper would be a good idea. That’s worth noting. |
 |
| But at the same time, the game is not nearly as focused as it should be. There are too many “wouldn’t it be cool if” type of things present for the games own good. Occasionally inspired, Alien Hominid comes off more often than not as overwhelmingly amateur. I dig the underground vibe Hominid gives off, but occasionally the game just gets sloppy. |
 |
 |
| For one, the majority of your move set is impractical. Head biting and body chucking are great, but they’re not implemented in a practical manner. Try to find a legitimate use for either one. I’m all for showboating and what not but I feel as if entire segments of gameplay weren’t implemented to their fullest extent. Biting an enemies head off as a scare tactic to scatter crowds is a great idea. Burrowing down into the ground to lie in wait for unsuspecting soldiers up top is another under utilized technique that has immense possibilities. Behemoth should have taken these things and ran with them. Also, there are issues with difficulty. Nothing is wrong with a difficult side scrolling shooter. In fact, that’s pretty much expected at this point. But Hominid is hard for reasons other than the developer’s intent. Bullets are small and hard to see through foreground objects and subsequently, cheap shots abound. Behemoth remedies this not by further tweaking of the environments and enemy visibility, but rather by overcompensating by throwing extra lives at you left and right. |
 |
| That being said, Alien Hominid is not without its positives. Boss encounters are numerous and largely entertaining. Once you get passed the at times unfair difficulty level, you find a run and gun shooter with a personality and a feel all its own. But most importantly, Hominid has personality. With a little experience and the use of some restraint, I can see Behemoth coming up with some great things in the future. It’s about time for an indie games revolution, don’t you think? |
 |
 |
Rating |
||
7.0 |
 ++ Interesting art style ++ Large, well animated characters - Awkward Samurai Shodown-esque scaling |
|
5.0 |
 - Music is passable, and not very memorable |
|
6.0 |
 -- Unpolished and sloppy - Cheap shots abound + Still fun in spite of this |
|
7.0 |
 + Inspired boss designs - Though those of the main characters and enemies are generic |
|
7.5 |
 + A decent number of stages and extras are present to keep you going |
|
6.5 |
 +/- Flawed but inherently fun. Alien Hominid is easily worth both your time and money |
|