Alien Hominid coming to Live

By Kristan Reed Published 27 February, 2007

Tomorrow, 800 points.

Cult shooter Alien Hominid is to make its long-overdue Xbox Live Arcade appearance tomorrow at 8 A.M. GMT/ 9 A.M. CET, Microsoft has announced.

Originally announced way back in July 2006, The Behemoth's quirky side-scrolling shooter stars a "feisty yet adorable alien", fending off dastardly FBI agents and trying to keep their spaceship safe. Set over 16 levels , seven mini games and "jump-in anytime multiplayer", the game will set you back 800 points.

Meanwhile, Microsoft says that the 'All You Can Eat' and 'PDA' minigames now feature online multiplayer support, and online leaderboards promise to add an extra (terrestrial) element to the frantic shooting fun on offer. In addition, the multiplayer modes enable two players locally in the main game and up to four players offline or on Xbox Live in minigames.

Arguably one of the most interesting Xbox Live Arcade titles for some time, Alien Hominid actually started life as a Flash game, before making its way to the Xbox, PS2 and even the GameCube (though not in Europe) back in 2005.

Indeed, long-term readers will recall a super-rare Eurogamer signature edition of the game was released. Number 002 of the 100 copies released is beaming at me from my shelves at this very moment. Wonder what it would get on eBay?

Cherished as much for its adorable hand-drawn art style as the old school gameplay within, Microsoft reckons it's "the epitome of quirky humour and intergalactic fun". But is it worth downloading? Back in the day we reckoned this was worth 6/10 as a full boxed product. Check back later tomorrow to see if we've change our minds.

Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (26) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Cappy #1 5 years ago

    Is anybody prepared to admit this game was absolutely no fun yet?

    I'm all for support the underdog indie developer and all that but I don't have the masochistic streak required to put in playtime on this. I doubt many people would.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #2 5 years ago

    Never played this as the cube version, as mentioned, never found it's way to Europe. Looking forward to it!

  • gizmo #3 5 years ago

    Well, after reading the review from 'back in the day' ... No sale.

  • homerramone #4 5 years ago

    I thought it was somewhat mad that there charging 800 pts (7.50GBP) for something you can play online on a webpage for for free. So I went and tried the online flash version. Im keeping my 800 points !

  • Kazzahdrane #5 5 years ago

    Hmmmmm, I'd planned to get this but it appears it might not be as good as I'd heard.

    Castle Crashers, however, looks totally awesome. Can't wait for a fun casual 4-player co-op game on XBLA.

  • optimusprym8 #6 5 years ago

    just give us a buggy Worms and patch it after release, much more preferable

  • Huntcjna #7 5 years ago

    I loved it on the Xboxen, I also have the EG signature edition but I don't love it enough to pay for exactly the same game on download.

  • jonsaan #8 5 years ago

    Check out the PDA games in it though. Some of those look fun enough in their own right.

  • Freelancepolice #9 5 years ago

    I enjoyed it back in the day and while the colour of the bullets can be hard to pick up making for an occasionally frustrating game, its charm and humour kept me playing

  • spadge #10 5 years ago

    Optimus: Actually, we're out of cert now, so it won't be long either.

    The game itself wasn't buggy btw, the delay was over all the TRC's to do with leaderboards, dashboards and a myriad little aspects which all crept in and that was unfortunate for everyone, really. We're not sure of the date just yet (it's only been certified about 6hrs!) but I imagine it'll be a few weeks given the line up.

  • Tonka #11 5 years ago

    MS should focus more on this kind of new content instead of Frogger and Tapper. But they know that without me telling them.

  • jonsaan #12 5 years ago

    maybe they should (shock horror) release more than one game a week if there are games available?

  • trevd72 #13 5 years ago

    with sony releasing the likes of tekken online, M$ need to start giving us good up-to-date products with a real price tag cos the point system is doing my head in especially when you end up with left over points. Its just a cheap way of hiding cost and taking more money than we intend to spend. Or at least let us buy only the required number of points. Oh and metal slug is much better so can we have that please and soon.
    Edited by 1 at 27/02/07 @ 10:36

  • McBradders #14 5 years ago

    Pass. Sorry but unless they've actually balanced it to make it FUN this time round I'm saving my points for something worthwhile.

    Like Worms.

    Or Double Dragon.

    Or Jetpac: Refuelled.

    Or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the Arcade Game.

  • spongebob #15 5 years ago

    It's cute but totally hardcore. Too hard.

  • SomaticSense #16 5 years ago

    "I thought it was somewhat mad that there charging 800 pts (7.50GBP) for something you can play online on a webpage for for free. So I went and tried the online flash version. Im keeping my 800 points !"

    Actually comparing the game to what it currently available on XBLA (Lumines Live and Marble Blast in particular), 800 points is extremely good considering it was a proper game on the previous gen. I was expecting it to be about 1200 actually, maybe even a bit more, so 800 is a nice surprise.

  • Grim... #17 5 years ago

    Who cares - Hominid is shit.

    6/10 my arse.

  • Mashum #18 5 years ago

    ...agreed, it's a big pile. Picked up the xbox version 2nd hand the other day and I was very dissapointed.

  • trevd72 #19 5 years ago

    @insane_cobra perhaps its because the core content can be played for free, the game is old and cheap on a disc secondhand and its 6/10 according to eurogamer. Also its another in a long line of games that can be described the same.

    XBLA should be a mean for indie dev teams to get their games out to the masses and for established teams to test ideas.....not to be almost entirely populated with rehashes. Although saying that if the re-hashes have HUGE POTENTIAL, like SWOS and Worms I am OK with that.

  • spadge #20 5 years ago

    BTW 800 MS points = $10 = £5.50 or so (not £7.50!) at the current exchange rates, some of these upcoming XBLA titles offer pretty good 'bang for the buck' :)



  • optimusprym8 #21 5 years ago

    spadge, you have a new fan :) I thought you said it was buggy but yes I know, TRCs are soooooo much fun! ;) *ahem

    but I don't think Microsoft Points are affected by exchange rates I'm afraid but you might know better than I ;) My 360 always lists the same price for 1000 points or whatever each time... otherwise yes! current rates would be preferable to us EUs.

  • trevd72 #22 5 years ago

    @spadge this is why the points system needs to change. Points are sold at a set price so i don't think your conversion works, it creates ambiguity and confusion. Tell me it costs £7.50 and take the money out of my account instead of this buying points then buying the game crap and then wondering what to do with the left over points I have.....its left hanging around until Worms eventually comes out instead of getting a kebab.

  • spadge #23 5 years ago

    Ok, sorry, I was under the understanding it all related to the $ in the first place, excuse me if that's not the case. I'm doing too much dealing with the USA :)

    Optimus; there were some bugs (mostly TRC's) at the turn of the year, but now all cleared up.

  • bioreit #24 5 years ago

    I actually prefer buying the points instead of paying cash.

    This is two-fold:

    1. You can get points cheaper from places like Play.com, meaning that you actually get more than a pound's worth of points for a pound - also known as A Good Bargain.
    Also - not sure, but is it not possible to buy American MS points and redeem those? Don't know, but taking advantage of the almost 2:1 conversion rate would be cool...

    2. What with buying those prepaid cards for Live, it is really easy to set yourself up without ever having to link a credit card to to your 360, seriously assuaging my security fears.
    What is there on the PSN that is similar? I could very well be totally wrong, but I thought at least at some point a credit/debit card had to be linked to the account - a big no-no for me, especially when you consider how easy it is to pick up wireless packets...

    Plus, AH is good for those that enjoy it. Why do you have to rain on our parade just because *you* (yes, you Mr Generic Commenter) do not?

    <a href='http://www.shift-f7.co.uk< /a>'>Shift-F7.co.uk</a>

  • Machetazo #25 5 years ago

    Top the leaderboards...Win a REAL metal AH trophy from The Behemoth (not US exclusive, btw.)
    I'm getting Hominid on Wednesday since when I played the Xbox version...I didn't do so so often, but when I did, I had a fun time. :)
    Visit link:- [link url=http:// www.alienhominid.com/leaderboards.html
    ]http://ww w.alienhominid.com/leaderboards...[/link]

    I hope Caslevania's up soon, but I have Assault Heroes I recently bought to enjoy till then.

  • yagisencho #26 5 years ago

    The main game is fun to look at, but the actual gameplay is punishing without reward. All the more's the pity, as the PDA mini-game is actually a fun little puzzle platform romp. Nearly worth the $10 I paid for a used GC copy. So...easily worth 400 points on XBLA.

    But 800 points? Mm...