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Really attractive but a little shallow. The perfect fling

McFly in a clown's wardrobe with five tins of paint and no lids: that's what Alien Hominid looks like. A flock of shrieking geese playing cymbals near a crashing sea while walruses honk excitedly: that's what Alien Hominid sounds like. So it's a little disappointing that, for all its brash visuals and cacophonous noise, Alien Hominid plays like a poor man's version of side-scrolling shooter Metal Slug 3.

Only a little disappointing, mind. Metal Slug 3 is a fine shooter, and so too, in its own garish way, is this. All the right boxes are ticked. Inconsequential plot? Yep. Cute protagonist? Aye. Power-ups aplenty and comedic foes? Check check. Varied levels, tricky bosses and occasional, unavoidable, unfair death? Yes, yes and most definitely yes. Alien Hominid is a madhouse from the first ten seconds of play - enemies swarming the screen from both sides and parascending from, well, it's never made clear what, but that's not the point.

The point is the riotous fun, and there's plenty of it. As well as shooting enemies, you can also bite off their heads and ride them like ponies. Sure, the screen is often so cluttered with action that instances of attempting shooting can result in unintended head-biting and/or enemy riding, and at times this makes Alien Hominid feel as if it's trying too hard. But this chaos is what makes it work, turning an otherwise shallow shooter into a frantically enjoyable slice of gaming fun.

Graphics 80%
Not amazing, but strikingly different.

Sound 70%
Chucklesome and unrelenting.

Gameplay 60%
Standard shooter stuff.

Lifespan 60%
Short but fun.

Overall 70%
A classic example of style over substance, but there's enough of the former to forgive the lack of the latter. Good fun.