Alien Hominid HD - XB360

[Fireproofradiator]

I'm sure mods can append this to the CD version if they want, but either way no-one's posted about this version so I thought I'd take t'plunge.

Anyway, it's up on Live Arcade now. 800 points and a demo version, which is what I've been playing, and it's a beautiful, utterly charming shooter.

Which you can't see the bullets in.

Which I seem to remember was always the problem.

So far I've been playing the first level, had my wee hominid biting the heads off bad guys, flamethrowing, making buildings come crashing down - it's the closest to a real Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight I've ever seen and that's a massive compliment, but like Paul Robertson's animation it's a spectacle first and foremost. You can't actually play the thing.

I'll have another go and see if I can get past this, but I'm expecting it'll be a bone of contention for a few people.

[AllYourBase]

I just didn't get this game when it was first released. I had hoped it'd be fun like Metal Slug but I just can't see what the hells going on as it's so bloody colourful. Not for me this one, it looks pretty but I get nausea after playing it for 5 mins.

[elkatas]

Not for me this one, it looks pretty but I get nausea after playing it for 5 mins.

Same here. But is it exact copy (sans: HD) of original Alien Hominid?

[Akira]

never did get a chance to play this.800 points is a fair price imo for a full game that was released not too long ago.

[Kubrick]

Never played it before either but just tried the trial version. Very much like Metal Slug but unmappable controls and the button layout is awkward on a joystick...Nnnnggggghhh!

[Dezm0nd]

nice price but the game hurts my head, HD colourfest overload. Plus im shit at these kinda games.

[Ratso]

I played through the Xbox original and enjoyed it for the most part. The bullet visibilty is an issue but you get used to looking out for the firing animations and as such can learn to deal with the hail of fire.
It would be a tough game to one credit, but not literally impossible.

The main thing that stopped me from keeping my old copy was the fact that it only stored one high score, and one that was unaffected by difficulty and cumulative over credits at that, so there was no incentive to play it through more than once, or on anything other than the easiest setting. I assume that this is no longer a concern with Live Leaderboards etc..?

Also, can anyone let us know if it incorporates the excellent 'PDA Game'?

[Akira]

150+ brand new PDA levels apparently http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/a/alienhominidxboxlivearcade/

[Concept]

It's an awesome looking game (Capcom - Viewtiful Joe in updated HD, you know it makes sense) but I don't feel in control and the collision detection is next to impossible to work out (it feels random as to when you'll die or not coming into contact with things). Viewtiful Joe is the nearest companion that I can personally compare it to (even though their mechanics are quite different), yet the action doesn't feel anywhere near as 'solid' in Hominid. Maybe I'll get used to it in time.

You have to ask, if 2D games really do look this good at hi-def, why aren't more developers getting on board and doing them? Baffling, as it really makes superb use of the increase in resolution.

[ChrisField]

800 points for a FREE flash game..
http://www.newsandentertainment.com/zfalienh.html

Fantastic then...

(I reserve the right to still buy it after playing it this evening :))

[Oh_Mutants]

...it's a beautiful, utterly charming shooter.

Which you can't see the bullets in.

Nail. On. The. Head. Not for me this one, was hoping high def would make the bullets more visible :dry:

[Concept]

It's growing on me. I've had to tone the difficulty down to easy (I know, the shame) but at least I've managed to clear the first few levels.

The trouble is simply as everyone is saying the chaos, and the fact that you can overlap on to some enemies without being harmed, but on others you instantly die as you touch them. I can't fault the intentions behind the game, but it certainly needs a better balance and more distinctive visual clarity with regards to bullet spray and collision. It'd also be more gratifying if power-ups built up in strength and rather than when you die you go back to square one, you level down a few notches. I can see how that might upset masochist purists though.

[Concept]

800 points for a FREE flash game..
http://www.newsandentertainment.com/zfalienh.html

Fantastic then...

(I reserve the right to still buy it after playing it this evening :))

The Behemoth refer to it as a prototype. The HD version I'm playing is a more expanded game.

[spagmasterswift]

Sad news about this game, I'll give the Trial mode a pop but sounds like a frustrating piece of work.

[Concept]

It's a lot better than recent XBLA fare. It's just not the kind of game which is balanced in a fashion that's going to make many people be willing to tolerate it long enough to become jedi masters.

[NekoFever]

I just found it frustrating as hell on the other platforms where it was released, as I tend to with most scrolling shooters. Just not my genre, I feel.

What it has is a ton of personality, which translates beautifully into HD. The sprites themselves and all of the animations are often hilarious, and the ways you can kill the agents are great. I love dropping down a manhole and just seeing the alien's sly little eyes poking out, then reaching out and leaving a spurt of blood where the agent just stood.

That last sentence sounds too wrong...

[Jebus]

Much much better from the live arcade point of view but this game is just SO bloody hard I wonder if it's worth me buying :(

Like the minigame mind you.

The achievements look near impossible for the game as well.

Lovely looking, plays well but is SOOOOOOOOOO hard :(

How many continues did I use just doing the first level, yeah the first level...the one with TWO bosses.

[NekoFever]

You can probably get the 5 points for finishing 1-1 :hmm:

That's all I'd have any hope of getting, mind.

[Concept]

What it has is a ton of personality, which translates beautifully into HD. The sprites themselves and all of the animations are often hilarious, and the ways you can kill the agents are great. I love dropping down a manhole and just seeing the alien's sly little eyes poking out, then reaching out and leaving a spurt of blood where the agent just stood.

That last sentence sounds too wrong...

Yeah, let's make no mistake. The polish in this game is superb - it's as much an advertisement for hi-def as Geometry Wars was on launch.

EG have reviewed the game here:

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=73552

[anephric]

I loved this on GC but as said, I could never see the frickin' bullets and gave up on it. I'm surprised they haven't even tried to fix it for this iteration.

[Yoshimax]

I can't believe this "can't see the bullets" talk - never played it before and was all set to blow 800 on it but a game in the metal slug mode with nigh on invisible bullets and inconsistent collision detection sounds shit to me.

[spagmasterswift]

I can't believe this "can't see the bullets" talk - never played it before and was all set to blow 800 on it but a game in the metal slug mode with nigh on invisible bullets and inconsistent collision detection sounds shit to me.

Word, I'm totally gutted by this - was waiting for it to come out for ages :(

[Concept]

They're not invisible by any means. The action is just hard to keep track of. With regards to the engine, there's nothing technically wrong with it. The problem is design based, in that certain enemies you can walk past without losing a life, whereas others you can't, and since so much fodder is on-screen at once it's impossible to tell without extreme rote memorisation (even for this kind of game).

[Concept]

Word, I'm totally gutted by this - was waiting for it to come out for ages :(

Don't write it off. You might like it - it's not bad game by any means. Another person's nine is another person's seven, etc. :)

[Akira]

great game that does'nt pull any punches.It's damn right infuriating at times,but the learning curve is enough to warrant just 'one more go'.

[Fireproofradiator]

It feels like a game that's been designed with a huge amount of love and passion, but without a playtester to go "Errr... You might wanna make the bullets go in front of stuff. Instead of behind everything else that's exploding, like..."

It's one to dip into, really, cos then you're more likely to find it fun. Try and really hammer it and it becomes clear how it's not really in the same league as something like Metal Slug.

[Kotatsu Neko]

I'm finding myself much less impressed with this than I expected. First off, the frame rate. If a NES can run side scrollers a 60fps there is absolutely no excuse to run at a stuttery 30fps on an Xbox 360. It's just ridiculous.

Then there's the animation... or rather the lack of it. It looks all very pretty from a still, but once moving the super primitive animations on the characters really show the freeware flash game roots of this.

I can't say I've noticed the invisible bullet thing, it's just a hard as nails game.

Not sure if I'll buy this. I love Metal Slug but this feels like such a low rent copy, despite the nice cartoon style of the designs. Had it ran 60fps and had a bit more inertia and slickness to the movement of everything I'd of been more forgiving.

[Concept]

I've not experienced any stuttering (and believe me, I'd notice). :hmm:

[DavidHolliss]

Didn't really enjoy a 10 minute blast on this earlier to be honest, won't be getting the full game myself. Was really looking forward to my first Alien Hominid experience, can't help but feel a bit well let down.

Looks amazing in HD though must admit.

[dvdmike]

I see no problems with it at all, I am playing with the DOA4 stick so not sure if the movement is better it feels natural to me.
As for the bullets I can see them on my tv in 1080i over 42 inches.

[EvilBoris]

Yep I can certainly see bullets too.
It seems to play just as the disc version did.

[Myth]

I'll be getting the full game when the Microsoft Points starts working again, absolutely love it.

[Riskbreaker]

I love it. Am I playing the same game as you guys?

I don't know why I love it because I really never enjoyed the Contra games or the Metal Slug titles I've happened to dabble with, except Shattered Soldier which I absolutely love (again, no idea why, someone will probably tell me thats because its the easiest in a minute :D ). The Eurogamer review says, "It's One Hit Kill City, and you're the mayor" and that pretty much sums everything up, yet I'm still having a blast.

It could just be the charm thats driving me through, killing FBI agents with a little green man is still amusing after a couple of hours play, despite all the deaths. Or it could be the fairly plentiful credits on tap. Normally I would be a stickler for keeping deaths to a minimum, but it seems like a better idea to just enjoy it at the moment. After a couple of plays I can clear 1-1 with no deaths, the boss patterns seem pretty simple to pick up. In fact, its the bosses that have FBI agents running around that are causing me the greatest grief.

So yeah, its blatantly unfair and cheap, the bullets are too small and a little on the fast side and enemy grenades feel like they can home in. But so far I've enjoyed it.

[Kubrick]

I quite like it, but for me the controls are a bit too complex/cumbersome for a game this difficult. Would be more enjoyable if I only had Jump/Shoot/Grenade to worry about, plus the 4th button for using vehicles. Unless I'm missing something, the roll manouvres and digging seem pointless?

[Skull Commander]

I'm going to give the demo a go later. I'v already got this on the Xbox and I'm not expecting it to be that different so proberly won't fork out for it again.
As far as the Xbox version goes, it's entertaining but not a patch on the metal slugs. Having said that it's an amusing game and has bags of charm.

[Ouenben]

killing FBI agents with a little green man is still amusing after a couple of hours play,



Could of sworn the alien was yellow!

I played the demo, had this on the Xbox original and played the Flash game, I like it but think it's far too difficult specially with invisible bullets all the time, if only they had the Slow-motion from Viewitiful joe, i think it'd be better.

[Riskbreaker]

:lol: I'm a bit colourblind mate, ignore any judgements I make on colour :D

[spagmasterswift]

if only they had the Slow-motion from Viewitiful joe, i think it'd be better.

Just had a pump on this and the bullets are visible - just fast as **** and there are no Capcom-style audio cues to warn you they're coming. Its one step slower than the cowboy bullets off VJ for gawd sake. Too hard for me I'm afraid. Looks lush though - more HD 2D please!!!!

[Synthesthesia]

I can hear the bullets and see them, duno what's going on with people saying they can't :s

[Family Fry]

Just played the demo and i ALMOST caved in and bought it, tis really cool had fun blasting through the first level.
Am waiting to see what next weeks release is, if any.
I really want worms though....

[Paulos G]

Unless I'm missing something, the roll manouvres and digging seem pointless?

I used the roll manoeuvre against the second boss on stage 1-1 to great effect. Stand under eye, shoot upwards, roll as his arms go up

[Lebowski]

the roll manouvres and digging seem pointless?

the dig got me through the first sub boss quite easily when he charges at you he's a little bit to high to jump over successfully every time but if you use the dig button he cant hit and just goes straight over the top of you, makeing for an easy kill.

the thing that holds this back from being a great game is the poor difficuilty balance it's a game you really want to look and take in as the artwork and humour on show is fantastic but thats something you cant really do unless you want to die a lot, so its a game at odds with itself torn between screen candy and old school hard as nails gameplay.

i just hope they make Castle Crashers a bit more forgiveing as that looks top.

[Riskbreaker]

the dig got me through the first sub boss quite easily when he charges at you he's a little bit to high to jump over successfully every time but if you use the dig button he cant hit and just goes straight over the top of you, makeing for an easy kill.

Never crossed my mind to try that. I stand on the middle ledge and shoot at his head at all times except when he fires the lazer high at which point I drop down and jump up again. From there its just a short hop when he charges.

The throws, head bites and dig always strike me as a novelty, too much hassle to try and use in any situation. Charge shot however, is your friend is this game.

Trying to clock 1-2 without losing a life is a biatch, there is far too much going on at any one time. The boss is the easiest bit to do with out loss of life, navigating the level is another matter though.

[Fireproofradiator]

How do you charge shot, Riskbreaker?

[Kotatsu Neko]

How do you charge shot, Riskbreaker?

Just hold down the fire button.

I actually bought this, thought I would give it a proper go. I got to level 2 after several attempts, and a boss which was so stupidly hard I was lasting aproximately 1 second before being killed again. All I could do was throw a few grenades before he killed me again. It was the big FBI robot with the rocket arms and belly gun, does anyone know how to attack him once he goes crazy and moves to the edge of the screen? Seems impossible to me.

I think this is a decent, good even, game stuck behind a stupid difficulty level and poor controls. The lack of a 'free' shot, ie. the ability to aim in any direction as in Metal Slug is frankly bizarre, as is the lack of the usual 5 seconds of invincibility once you die and restart. Rather than give you masses of continues why not just add a health bar instead? So many little tweaks could have been made to drastically improve this game.

The sound is also very, very weak. Sound effects and music are bland in the extreme, which made it the first 360 I have actually bothered to replace the soundtrack on.

I really hope Beheamoth get it right with Castle Crashers. They clearly have passion for what they do, they just need some better game design, testing, and coding.

[Fireproofradiator]

Thanks for the tip Kotatsu.

Not sure I agree with you about the sound effects - the sound of agents comig down the zip wires is fab... Played MS2 on dreamcast last night and it does blow this away, but it's a decent enough start - I just don't think Behemoth's style suits this kind of game as well as a beat em up for instance, so Castle Crashers should be cool

Here's a link to Dad n Me, which is fun

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/254456

and Supersoldier, which is also by the same guys.

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/284305

[Riskbreaker]

Just hold down the fire button.

I actually bought this, thought I would give it a proper go. I got to level 2 after several attempts, and a boss which was so stupidly hard I was lasting aproximately 1 second before being killed again. All I could do was throw a few grenades before he killed me again. It was the big FBI robot with the rocket arms and belly gun, does anyone know how to attack him once he goes crazy and moves to the edge of the screen? Seems impossible to me.

You mean the one that moves in and suddenly you're unable to avoid his punches knocking you against the side of the screen?

Only thing I could come up with was to go with the lesser of the two evils and dodge the bullets from his belly cannon whilst charging up and then letting a charge shot loose at the peak of my jump every now and then. As far as I can see there is absolutely no way to get on the cannon once he goes mental.

[Myth]

I found it easier to jump on his cannon and keep shooting his head, you'll get knocked off but can keep getting back on without being killed. Then once he goes a bit crazy you just keep shooting his body.

I've still not done it in one life but I'm getting there. (Although I'm playing on easy.)

[Spatial101]

Here's a link to Dad n Me, which is fun

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/254456


:lol:

That's absolutely brilliant. I was looking forward to Castle Crashers before that - now I just can't wait :w00t:

[Concept]

Is Castle Crashers actually still on schedule/due on XBLA though? In MJ's podcast one of the co-founders of The Behemoth was being very coy about what they were working on next, despite the fact everyone knows Castle Crashers is in development.

[Commander Marklar]

I used the roll manoeuvre against the second boss on stage 1-1 to great effect. Stand under eye, shoot upwards, roll as his arms go up

I just jumped, shot down and the shot up when I landed ;)

I dunno what to make of this though, it's really weird. HD = awesome graphics and a great demonstration of artistic flair for sure, some ace moments that made me laugh but that doesn't make up for some appalling game play. There's no audio cues for close firing FBI agents shooting at you unless they're half way across the screen; closer and it's insta-death from as far as three characters away. And it feels like the game oftens decides you're dead before you realise what's going on. Strange but oddly compelling all the same, I played through the demo a few times and while the game seems unfairly balanced, this being a retro-genre is what the game is all about and it (almost) captures the genre perfectly. Memorising the enemy patterns and avoiding getting into a situation where death is unavoidable, perfect. Right up my street :thumb: Some extended play might make this worth a purchase.

[Paulos G]

I just jumped, shot down and the shot up when I landed ;)

Well I suppose that's fine if you want to do it the easy way.:p