Converted to the GBA by Tuna Technologies, Alien Hominid has lost none of its visual charm, nor has its exceptional gameplay been compromised during the transition to the handheld. While several of the more technically demanding levels have been cut, the GBA conversion remains a near-perfect handheld experience.
Hominid pays homage to classic 2D arcade shooters of yesteryear, Metal Slug being the most obvious. As with Metal Slug, Hominid�s gameplay is fast and furious: the harder the difficulty, the more intense the action is.
While the game is at its best when played on the harder difficulties, it does cater for those players whose skills aren�t quite up to standard those difficulties demand, by offering a couple of less challenging difficulty settings.
Throughout the majority of the game, you�ll be tackling enemies on-foot. On less frequent occasions, the Alien Hominid will need to take to the skies in his UFO, in order to eliminate his foes.
Hominid encourages the player to come up with more inventive ways to dispose of enemies, by offering Style Points in return. Along with an Enemy and Boss Bonus, Style Points count towards your overall score.
This conversion also contains three unlockable mini-games: Chicken Lickin�, Missile Mastar and Chipper. While by no-means outstanding, they�re nonetheless competent diversions from the main game.
The only real disappointment with Hominid on the GBA is the lack of any kind of multiplayer component. But this minor disappointment doesn�t deter from Alien Hominid�s brilliance. This is a superb conversion of what was already an outstandingly successful revitalization of a genre that was supposedly dead and buried.
