I once knew a fellow from Manchester, England who relished in pulling off office pranks.  His pranks ranged from the very tame (whoopee cushions) to the more excessive (exploding cigars) but it was the act of planning and the execution that made pranks such a joy for him.  Yet after awhile those same pranks began to wear thin and, after the twentieth whoopee cushion, no one was laughing at the sound of fake flatulence anymore.  Capcom’s Under the Skin is a game about a mischievous alien with a fondness for playing pranks on humans.  It’s a unique game indeed but will the pranks get as old as my old co-worker’s whoopee cushion?

Under the Skin doesn’t have much of a story, really.  The game revolves around Cosmi, an alien from Mischief Planet who is going through a right of passage only the three year olds of his planet must go through: cause mischief in other planets.  An unfortunate accident sends Cosmi to planet Earth, a planet he knows is filled with barbaric life forms that might make pulling off pranks quite dangerous.  From the metropolis that is Coco Town to the T-Virus infected streets of Raccoon City, Cosmi must cause mayhem while attempting to beat other rivals from his planet attempting to do the same.

Cosmi’s method of pulling off pranks on the humans is interesting.  In order to cause the sort of mass mayhem that will get him recognition back home, the little diapered alien must disguise himself in order to walk among the humans.  With a Scan gun in hand, Cosmi can choose any human that comes within scanning range and then stand underneath the rays of a UFO to transform into said scanned human.  Each human has a number of items Cosmi can use against pedestrians and this is the heart of the game. 

The pranks are plentiful but depending on the level, you’ll see the same pranks in a given level over and over again.  You’ll have tacks the disguised Cosmi can toss so pedestrians can step on them.  There’s a karaoke machine you can use to intentionally sing so bad that anyone standing next to you will suffer physical pain (their heads inflate like balloons).  There are some Loony Tunes-inspired pranks such as a pie to the face or even an extending arm with a boxing glove at the end.  The most unique pranks are the ones you don’t see quite often like sending a giant hamburger down on people or calling up a herd of angry elephants.  You’ll even electrify people.

Each human disguise has a set number of prank items so when the human disguise runs out of items you can scan another human and take his or her form to continue the prank-fest.  Still, the game isn’t only about the pranks, there’s collecting to do.  Each level has a main objective, which in the majority of levels involves collecting coins before your opponent does.  One level has you attempting to get five hundred coins before Becky--another alien--collects five hundred.  Another level has you attempting to take away your opponent’s coins while making sure you don’t loose your own. 

The levels themselves (eight in total) have a variety of different people that up the challenge just a little bit.  For example, in High Stakes Hills you’ll find some pick pockets while in Frontiersville the local law will be hounding you every step of the way.  The game has a Panic Meter that when it reaches an all time high; the game goes into Panic Time.  In Coco Town, Panic Time makes traffic so deadly that even pedestrians get flattened by the speeding cars.  In one of the best levels--set in Resident Evil’s Raccoon City--the Nemesis (from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis) will go into a blinding rage that even RE heroes Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira can’t stop it.

Cosmi also has to put up with angry civilians and police officers that when they hit him his disguised form is seen in his or her underwear.  If he gets hit again, Cosmi drops a large percentage of the coins he had collected and he reverts back into his alien form.  Then you have to go back and collect all the coins you lost by pulling more pranks once again.  It’s a pain but it adds to the challenge.  Unfortunately, this is not the only annoyance in Under the Skin.  The pranks do get tiresome and pulling them off continuously becomes more of a chore than entertaining.

Visually, the game is cel-shaded like Space Channel 5 or Jet Set Radio.  It’s a distinct look that gives the game its personality.  The characters moving about their business look wild and engaging so choosing your next disguise becomes pretty fun.  It’s also impressive to see so many characters on screen at once.  Unfortunately, the environments lack detail and the same sharpness the game’s characters possess. 

As for the sound, the music is as unusual as the game’s visuals but that’s a good thing since it matches the game’s action.  The sound effects, though, win big points with the sounds of the pranks being unleashed on humans turning out to be quite funny.  There’s some voice acting, particularly from your mentor, Master Itazura, as well as human news anchorwoman Annie Campbell.  The voice work is good but nothing really out of the ordinary.

Unfortunately, Under the Skin becomes a lesson in repetitiveness despite its interesting concept.  Wrecking havoc and pulling off pranks can be fun but having tossed the tenth pie or threw the seventh collection of tacks you’ll see that even that can become tiresome.  If you’re looking for something unique and interesting rent this game.   

Gameplay: 6.0
Each level has its own objective and opponent you must beat but--as far as adding more things to your plate to spice thing up--the levels never stray far from the same collect-more-coins-than-rival-X formula.  The controls work fine enough when it comes to scanning, transforming and selecting prank items. 

Graphics: 7.5
The cel-shading is a pleasant and unique look for the game.  The streets are filled with dozens of imaginative characters and watching Cosmi transform into one of them is great.  The environments, however, look a bit on the plain side.

Sound: 7.5
The music certainly does a great job of accompanying the madcap events that transpire in each level and, oddly enough, the music never gets on your nerves.  As for the voice work, it won’t fail to put a smile on your face.  I can listen to people getting comically electrified all day.

Difficulty: Medium
Collecting coins before the timer runs out might sound simple enough and it is . . . until Cosmi’s rival knocks you flat using a prank.  The biggest challenge comes from those levels that have you attempting to take coins away from your rival.  Panic Time also makes things a bit more challenging.

Concept: 5.5
Cosmi relishes the act of pulling off pranks and taking the form of any Earthling that comes across him.  It’s also fun to look through the inventory filled with various pranks items but using them in every mission will get old fast.  Each level has its own appealing qualities and objectives. The Resident Evil-inspired level, though, is great.

Multiplayer: 6.0
At least multiplayer adds a little more excitement . . . but not by very much.  You can play against a friend taking up the role of the secondary character Cosmi competes against in VS Mode.  The mode is played split-screen style.

Overall: 6.0
Under the Skin could have been one of those wonderfully unique rarities that very seldom show up but, while the game is indeed quite rare, its repetitive gameplay quickly wears out its welcome.  This is too bad really, since the game looks nicely unusual and some of the levels can actually be fun.