I recently purchased a copy of Retro Gamer magazine because inside this month's issue there's a cool article about old school shooters, and while I have fond memories of the past and enjoy digging out the Sega Genesis and firing up Gunstar Heroes, rare treasures like the recently released Alien Hominid encourage me to live in the now! Published by O-3 Entertainment and developed by The Behemoth, Hominid is a super cool 2D shooter loaded with special features and tons of pulse-pounding side scrolling goodness that makes it one of 2004's sleeper hits.

Alien Hominid for the PS2 and GameCube is actually based on a free PC download that over six million gamers have enjoyed worldwide. However, the console version is an entirely new adventure. After your spaceship is shot down by the FBI, you (playing as a cute yet extremely dangerous alien) are out for revenge on Earth's masses and to reclaim your stolen ride, but standing in your way are an innumerable amount of secret agents, mini bosses, and giant behemoths that want nothing more than to splatter your guts all over the pavement. Luckily, you're armed to the teeth with ray guns and special moves. Incinerate enemies, turn them into ice, bite off their heads, and burrow underground to avoid attacks! You can even ride around in vehicles! Pissed off and looking to bring the pain, there's no stopping you!

Well, actually there's a lot that's going to stop you, or at the very least make your intent to complete the game EXTREMELY difficult. Much like Konami's Contra for the NES, Alien Hominid is a 2D side scrolling shooter that's a blast to play but comes with a ramped up difficulty that may cause you to toss your controller in frustration. You're more than capable of taking out anything that gets in your way, but the game has a nasty habit of throwing numerous bad guys at you, and even if you manage to get through them, chances are you'll be stopped dead in your tracks by a mid boss or worse yet, GIGANTIC end bosses that at first will seem impossible to beat, most of the time because they have ridiculous special attacks, but also because they're rather funny to look at.

Bottom line, Alien Hominid is WAYYY over the top and it's definitely a great thing. Upon first glance the game's visuals seemed cheap and like they were drawn by a ten year old, but as I played I realized that they're extremely detailed. The special effects are equally spectacular, as blood erupts from fallen victims, explosions light up the TV screen, and other assorted bells and whistles, such as fire, smoke, and electricity effects are the proverbial icing on the cake. The animation, by no means as fluid as in other 2D games, is still fantastic and adds to the game's charm. After many hours of play I'm still not tired of seeing the nearest FBI agent screaming in horror as I bite off his partner's head.

As for the game's sound effects, screams, gun fire, and explosions are decent at best. The music, while it certainly fits the mood of the game, isn't too catchy and is forgotten as soon as the game's turned off.

Unlike other games of this type, there's actually something worth checking out after you've finished the single player mode. Of course, you can play the game co-operatively with a friend, but you can also partake in a few mini games that are extremely brutal. While I won't reveal them all to you, at the outset you have access to two: Pinata Boss and Neutron Ball. In Pinata Boss, the object is to shoot at a floating pinata and be the first to collect the most candy, but to make things challenging there's a nasty robot that's looking to take you out, and if you want to be really underhanded you can kill your opponent, so just as he or she's about to collect that last piece of candy you can slit their throat and take it for yourself! In Neutron Ball, you have to get a glowing ball to your goal more times than your opponent, and again, you can slaughter them.

In addition to the mini games, there's also the PDA, a collection of over 200 puzzles that up to four people can play. The object is to open a doorway by figuring out each level's unique challenge. The first one's very easy because all you have to do is kill three agents (by jumping on them), but later on, you'll need to make bridges to cross water and drop rocks on peoples' heads, and the solutions to victory are not always easy. The graphics are very simplistically drawn (you're a stick figure), but it's the gameplay that truly shines, and there's even a level editor, so you can craft your own fiendish brain teasers.

For the most part, Alien Hominid's a perfect gameplay experience. Yes, it's very hard, but I can't fault the game because it presents a challenge. However, what I do have an issue with are the cheap deaths. At times there's so much going on at once that it's easy to lose sight of your precious Hominid, and you'll die without even knowing how. Even worse, enemy bullets sometimes blend into the background, so the game doesn't play fair. Lastly, your eyes may dry out, because blinking is not recommended when playing Alien Hominid. You take your eyes off him for one second and you'll be street pizza.

Although it's deceptively cheap looking, Alien Hominid is an awesome 2D shooter whose quality gameplay is enhanced by the game's unique artistic style, and it doesn't matter whether you're playing alone or with friends. You're going to have an out of this world experience. Sleeper hit! $29.99! Must buy! Give us a sequel!