Alien Hominid HD Review (XBLA)

Alien Hominid HD is a quirky little arcade-style shooter that is fast, frantic, and very fun to play. Think of Contra or Metal Slug and that should give you a good idea of what the game plays like. The graphics are gorgeous, and it provides the perfect mix of challenge and fun to keep you coming back for more. This XBLA game is definitely worth the 800 point investment.

Alien Hominid HD tells the story of a little alien that crash lands on Earth and then has to do his best to avoid capture by the FBI. The game plays as a side scrolling shooter where you move from left to right and blast anything and everything you see. Your main weapon is a little blaster, but you can also charge it up for a more powerful shot. Along the way, you'll also find powerups that give you lasers, a spread gun, and many more. You can also toss grenades. A nice touch is that you can also drive vehicles that are scattered around the stages, which helps to give the game some variety, if only for a few seconds at a time.

One thing that has to be said of Alien Hominid HD is that it is very, very, very difficult. Even on the easy difficulty setting you will die a lot. It plays in typical arcade shoter-style - one hit and you're dead - so you have to be very careful and always be mindful of the situation. The game is so addictive and fun, however, that even when you run out of lives and continues, you want to keep playing because it looks so cool and is so funny and so fun.

In addition to the main single-player mode, you can also play Alien Hominid HD in local co-op with a friend. I'm not really sure how much I liked the co-op, though, because it makes things very hectic and crazy and it is harder to see what you are doing. It is fun, yes, but maybe not a superior way to play. You can also play two minigames over Xbox Live, but they are pretty simple and only entertaining for a while.

The most striking feature of Alien Hominid HD is the amazing graphics. Everything is so clean looking and drawn with a great style, it is hard not to love the game based on the visuals alone.

Overall, Alien Hominid HD is a great looking, fun, funny game that is worth your 800 Microsoft Points.