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Alien Hominid

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Alien Hominid
GameCube box art
GameCube box art
Developer(s)The Behemoth
Publisher(s)O~3 Entertainment (North America)
Zoo Digital Publishing (Europe)
Designer(s)Dan Paladin, Tom Fulp
Platform(s)Sony PlayStation 2 (Both regions), Microsoft Xbox 360 (XBLA), Nintendo GameCube (US only), Microsoft Xbox (Europe only), Nintendo Game Boy Advance (EU only) and PC (EU Only)
ReleaseNovember 18, 2004; May 2005 (PAL), February 3, 2006, (GBA in Europe), February 28 2007(Xbox 360)
Genre(s)Run and gun
Mode(s)1-2 Player (main game/minigames), 1-4 Player (PDA Game)

Alien Hominid (or Alien Hominid HD on Xbox 360) is an independently developed console video game released for Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube in 2004 through publisher O~3 Entertainment. A PAL version was later released during May 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox through ZOO Digital Publishing. A Game Boy Advance version (co-developed by Tuna Technologies) has also been released in Europe, with a PC port also in production. The game was developed by The Behemoth. The Xbox version is not compatible with the Xbox's successor, the Xbox 360, but was made available for download on February 28, 2007 on the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 points ($10 USD.)[1].

The Origin of Alien Hominid

Alien Hominid began on the popular Adobe Flash website, Newgrounds, in August, 2002. It is often referred to as the Alien Hominid "prototype" by The Behemoth. The online version was programmed by Tom Fulp, who owns Newgrounds; while the 2D artwork was done by Dan Paladin (who also goes by the online alias "Synj"). This game featured a little yellow alien who has been shot down by the FBI and crash-landed on the Earth, and must retrieve his now stolen spacecraft from the FBI. The gameplay involved quick reflexes and a basic side-scrolling formula while you control the alien and defeat FBI agents and their creations. Side-scrolling gameplay such as this has been made popular by video games such as Metal Slug (a title with which it is frequently compared to by critics and fans). Though only one stage of the online game was produced, it became very popular among the online gaming set, featuring over 11 million views on Newgrounds alone.

Later in the year, then-co-worker John Baez approached Paladin as a fan of Alien Hominid. He suggested that Paladin and Fulp make a console version of the game. Baez even offered to produce the game. Paladin and Fulp agreed, forming The Behemoth.

The Game

In the course of two years, Alien Hominid became a much larger project than its online prototype. The art of Paladin, who drew all visual aspects of the game by hand, became much more refined (though still cartoon-like and inviting). The project was entirely re-coded for consoles, and many new gameplay features were created. The final product contained sixteen stages (set in three different locations), each containing hundreds of enemies and numerous bosses. Six minigames were also added, the "PDA Game," with 200 different levels and a level editor, "All You Can Eat" (only for PAL version), "Super Soviet Missile Mastar", "Challenge", "Neutron Ball" and "Pinata Boss". Matt Harwood of Petrified Productions, who had previously worked with Paladin, created all of the music for the game. DJH has been credited with extensive playtesting, citing Alien Hominid as "the pinnacle of arcade entertainment".

Press

Even before its release, Alien Hominid received notice in gaming magazines such as Play, Edge, and even popular non-gaming magazines such as Wired. In reviews for the game, it was critically acclaimed for its old-school style gameplay, tough level of difficulty, and quirky humor. The game also won many small awards, most notably at the Independent Games Festival (for Innovation In Visual Arts, Technical Excellence and the Audience Award).

The game went on to gain a 7 out of 10 score in Edge magazine.

Copies of the game are sold primarily through its online website, www.alienhominid.com, for twenty dollars (American). The website also offers merchandise such as skate decks, t-shirts and action figures. The website was developed by Tom Fulp.

File:Hominid2.jpg
Screenshot of miniboss in Level 3-2

Differences between U.S. and European release

When the PAL version was developed for Europe in 2005, a number of new features were added.

  • 25 levels built by U.S. fans were added to the 200 level PDA Game.
  • A "replay" function was added to single-player.
  • A brand new 2-4 player minigame called "All You Can Eat", featuring the Fat Kids, was made exclusively for the PAL version. It is a button masher where you have to eat all of the food in front of you to win.
  • A glitch in level 3-5 that allowed a player to get massive amounts of points was removed.

For Xbox players, Xbox Live features were included. This enabled high scores to be recorded and displayed internationally along with the ability of downloading additional PDA Game levels.

PDA Game

By using the Alien's PDA, a mini game can be played. This mini game is reminiscent of early platform games like Pitfall or Super Mario Bros.. The graphics are presented as simplistic monochromatic designs, but the animation is fluid. The player must guide a stick figure character to the end of the level, each level being only one screen large. The player(s) must traverse around blocks of many shapes and sizes and defeat all of the enemies in the level and then travel to the exit. The game has 200 levels and a level editor. The player has many moves at his disposal, such as jumping, double-jumping, pushing rocks and boats, riding in the boats, and last but not least killing himself to start the level over. The minigame also has several environmental hazards such as spikes, crumbling floors, and water. It is possible to play this PDA game with up to four players simultaneously. Additionally, the game was modified for the PAL release (see Differences between U.S. and European release).

Challenge

This minigame is basically a condensed version of the main game for one or two players. There are two modes: either competitive play against a fellow player or a co-op mode where the objective is to eliminate enemies. The goal of each level in this minigame is to achieve a point total of 25,000. As one progresses in the main game, additional levels for the challenge mode are unlocked. There are three levels for Challenge mode:

  • Freeway. This level is taken from Level 1-2. All of the enemies in the main level are represented here, including the F.B.I, the helicopters, the limos, and the armored vehicles.
  • Desert. This level is taken from Levels 3-1 and 3-2. This level includes vultures, scorpions, and tornadoes. The level does not include any version of soldier because there were none in the desert levels.
  • Area 51. This level is taken from Levels 3-3 and 3-4. Includes most of the enemies from these levels, except the thunderbites (blue dogs with large teeth).


Characters

  • The Alien Hominid - The main focus of the game. The Alien is gender-neutral, as stated in Nintelligent's preview of the game [1].
  • The FBI - These are the main enemies in the first five levels of the game, so they are the least advanced enemies. They can shoot, duck, jump (in some cases), and drive many vehicles.
  • The KGB - These are the main enemies for the second world of the game (USSR). They can do a bit more than the FBI, like pop out of the snow, jump and shoot, block close combat attacks with their guns, and drive more sophisticated vehicles. Also, they appear to work together more cooperatively.
  • The Area 51 Soldiers - These are the main enemies in the third world, and are also the hardest. They can block slices much more often than the KGB, jump and dodge easily, dig, throw you after they grab you, and are not as scared as the other soldiers when their comrades heads' get chomped off.
  • The Fat Kids - These are NPCs (non-playable characters) that give you power-ups and take you to Level 1-2 and Level 1-3. They also appear in the Soviet levels, but they wear bear suits because of the cold. They begin helping because an FBI agent takes one's ice cream cone in the opening cutscene. Ironically in the original online game, players had the option of killing the kid in the opening moments of the game.
  • The Eyeball - An eyeball in a robot. Boss of Level 1-1. When destroyed, the eyeball comes out. Later, in level 3-4, he attacks you again in a big mouth body with a knife and fork. After you defeat him, he helps you in level 3-5 by destroying all the Area 51 agents by shooting plasma balls. He follows the Area 51 truck which has the alien's ship. He is in the alien's spaceship in the ending cinema, which shows the alien going back to space and shooting down a tractor beam to bring the Fat Kids with him.
  • The Alien Hominid clone - This is the last boss of the game. The clone is a muscular version of the Alien Hominid who was created by the Area 51 Soldiers in hopes of fending off the Alien's attacks. He is on level 3-5. This boss has all of the Alien Hominid's attacks including grenades that will set fire to the floor. The fight begins in the Area 51 base after the help you get from the Eyeball and the fight ends in the sky atop a giant slowly-falling-apart version of the Alien's spaceship.

The Xbox Live Arcade Game

The game was released on February 28, 2007, for 800 points ($10 USD). It has the following features:

  • High Definition graphics
  • Widescreen mode
  • Extra features not in the console games
  • Co-operative multiplayer (offline), and online minigames playable for up to 4 players [2]
  • Downloadable PDA levels

The PDA packs are Starter (comes with game), Hot New, Euro, Classic 1, and Claasic 2. All are 150 points

Reviews

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References

  1. ^ Webber, Scott (2006-07-20). "Alien Hominid coming to the Live Arcade". 360Monster. Retrieved 2006-08-30.

Trivia

  • The Beta version had you shooting the Fat Kids which disintegrated into power ups, while the console versions got that portion changed (for storyline reasons).
  • The Alien Hominid appears as a playable character in the Newgrounds Rumble game at Newgrounds' official website.
  • Players can unlock hats to personalise their Hominids, one of them being the haircut of Tom Fulp, co-creator of the game and owner of Newgrounds.
  • The level in which Hominid reclaims his UFO and uses the gravity beam to drop soldiers into a woodchipper, is a homage to one of Tom Fulp's early flash games, UFA.
  • In the episode The Blue Comet, on The Sopranos, A.J. can be heard playing Alien Hominid on Xbox 360.
  • Numerous pictures of both the Newgrounds logo and The Behemoth logo can be seen many times throughout the game.
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