The press of a button and an alien ship, flying over Earth is blasted and brought down. As luck would have it, it crashes outside the FBI headquarters (one sign names the building, while yet another proclaims “We Kill Aliens”).

The suited FBI agents are more numerous than Mr. Smith and his clones in The Matrix, but that is not all the stranded alien will have to contend with if he wants to find a way home.

O-3 Entertainment is offering up Alien Hominid, a side-scrolling PlayStation2 shooter that harkens back to the old arcade days of gaming, and yet manages to pull this off with a certain degree of charm – due in a large part to the work of featured artist Dan Paladin.

At its core, Alien Hominid is not overly complex. You move through the levels, destroy anything that pops up in your way in a variety of styles. You can use the gun (which is upgradeable as you pick up power-ups), toss grenades, get close and do a little slicing and dicing action, or jump on their heads and after letting them run about a little bit in panic because they have an alien clinging to their heads, make their worst nightmare come true by biting them in two.

Agents will run along the ground, be dropped off in a seemingly never-ending supply from vehicles (blow up the vehicles and no more agents), or drop from helicopters. But FBI agents are not the only things you will have to worry about. Even the earliest levels features robots that have a variety of attacks, and can withstand a lot of damage before finally falling.

Of course, what would a decent two-dimensional side-scrolling game be without the ability to duck and jump to levels out of reach of the bad guys. In many ways, Alien Hominid is faithful to its beginning as a Flash-based Web game. But the game has a lot of other things going for it. It is fast-paced, does involve some strategic elements, and while the artwork is a touch on the primitive side, it is purposely done so and therein lies the biggest charm of the game. This is a delight to look at.

The options package is a little light, and only includes audio, player 1 setup and player 2 setup, gore on or off, and auto-save on or off. There is only one storied game mode, and during that you will get to do more than simply run from side-to-side, or use buildings to jump up out of harm’s way, you’ll even get to use vehicles. And there are mini-games that are, more or less, goal-oriented variations on the main game. These provide a good training ground, as you will encounter many of the same mobs that appear in the game itself.

The game has 16 levels, and the game does feature a two-player cooperative mode through the levels.

The game’s graphics are a throwback, but in a very wonderful way. The game looks very good, is bright and lush, and most of the humor is contained within the environments. Look around, as you are blasting away, read the signs and enjoy the game’s offerings. Sound-wise, this game is a bit on the sparse side, but while it is simple, it does work with the graphics and general theme of the game.

Alien Hominid is simple, and fun to look at. It is also fun to play. There is animated gore, but that can be turned off. If you are looking for an arcade-style game that is easy to jump into and play, this is definitely one to check out.

Gameplay: 7.5
This is side-scrolling fun with minor load times and levels that are rather big with the traditional boss fight at the end. The game features some strategic elements as some mobs are immune to certain items and if you run out, you won’t win the fight.

Graphics: 8
The cartoon-style works wonderfully well here. The hand-drawn animations really give this a light and enjoyable feel.

Sound: 6.8
There is not much here – some sound effects and the musical score. Not bad, but definitely not one of the highlights of the game.

Difficulty: Medium

There are four difficulty settings to choose from, beginning with TS and moving through easy all the way to hard; this is a very challenging mode of play.

Concept: 8
The game is simple and yet charming, with a small learning curve and a whole lot of challenge. For a game that had its beginnings as a Flash game on the Web, this has transitioned nicely to multi-levels and co-op play.

Multiplayer: 7.5
Co-op play is the only multiplayer option here, but it is fun to play.

Overall: 8
This is not a game that will set the side-scrolling world on fire. This is a game that has charm, challenge and it is addictive fun.