Alien Hominid

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Alien Hominid 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 has also been released with a PC port also in production. The game was developed by The Behemoth. As of March 2006, this game is not backwards compatible with the Xbox's successor, the Xbox 360.

Contents

1 The Origin of Alien Hominid
2 The Game

2.1 Press
2.2 Differences between U.S. and European release

3 Delays
4 Mini games

4.1 PDA Game
4.2 Challenge

5 Characters
6 External links

The Origin of Alien Hominid

Alien Hominid began on the popular Macromedia 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 downloads 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 Alien

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.

Press

Even before its release, Alien Hominid generated a slew of press with 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).

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.

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.

Delays

So far with the game, release dates have been fairly accurate. However, the PC port was due for release in Europe on May 19th. After this date many retailers set their launch dates to May 26th. The game is still to be released.

Mini games

In addition to the main game, there are also a slew of mini games, many of them supporting multi-player.

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 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 mega-dogs.

F.B.I.

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Characters

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Alien Hominid - The main focus of the game. The Alien is gender-neutral, as stated in Nintelligent's preview of the game [link].
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 Soviets - These are the main enemies for the second world of the game. They can do a bit more than the FBI, like pop out of the snow, jump and shoot, and drive more sophisticated vehicles.
The Area 51 Soldiers - These are the main enemies in the third world, and are also the hardest. They can block slices, punch you, and throw you after they grab you.
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.
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 FBI agents by shooting lasers. 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 larger 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 3-4. 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.

External links

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