Alien-Hominid-XBLA
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Alien Hominid will be in PSN Castle Crashers
Folks who played the 360 version of Castle Crashers got a nice little bonus if they happened to have another of The Behemoth's XBLA games on their hard drive: a playable character based on the protagonist from Alien Hominid. Unfortunately, that particular game isn't available on the PSN, leading some to fear he/she/it wouldn't reprise its cameo in the PSN version of Crashers. That fear is unwarranted, friends -- a recent post on The Behemoth's blog confirms that the Alien will be an unlockable character in the upcoming port of Castle Crashers, though the requirements for unlocking it are unknown at this point. We're guessing it has something to do with the level where you kill a thousand of his brothers and sisters.
Super Meat Boy character select screen reveals playable Alien Hominid [update]
Things are on the up and up for Super Meat Boy developer Edmund McMillen. After releasing This is a Cry for Help last year and subsequently announcing SMB for WiiWare, he put his indie cred on display for the world in adding Braid's Tim to his upcoming game. And now, during a live video interview with Bytejacker, McMillen revealed The Behemoth's Alien Hominid as another playable character! Quickly panning to his computer screen during the interview and teasing it, one of our wonderful readers snagged a screen grab so we could share it with the world. Now the real question: Castle Crashers characters playable as well? Hmmmm, McMillen? Hmmm? (We love you. Please?) Update: It was pointed out by a few astute Game Informer readers in the comments section that Alien Hominid was actually revealed as a playable character in a recent issue. Sorry, folks! (Thanks, Zack!)
Reminder: Alien Hominid HD for 400 MS points this week
Major Nelson reminds us that Alien Hominid HD is only 400 ($5) this week for Xbox Live gold members. The Behemoth's first XBLA title is normally priced 800 ($10). If this is somehow your first time ever hearing about Alien Hominid, the title received generally favorable reviews -- and we'd also like to welcome you back from your troglodytic lifestyle of the last three years. The Behemoth is currently working on The Crying Sugar Cube Leprechaun its third as-yet untitled project, which the developer recently showed off in trailer form.
Castle Crashers seizes 250,000 players
Speaking to Gamasutra, indie developer The Behemoth has revealed that 250,000 players have now experienced the joys of barging into throne rooms and slaughtering evil, fish-wielding bear ... things. Castle Crashers' lead artist, Dan Paladin, said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the game's success. "I was optimistic and hopeful for Castle Crashers but I wasn't prepared for the reception it got." Of course, neither was the game's online capabilities, with Paladin re-re-re-re-iterating that work on a soothing patch continues unabated. "You fix, you test, you verify in as many situations as possible, you fix again if you need to, you submit the update to Microsoft, they verify the fix, etcetera," he explained, unable to confirm a precise release date. While people are waiting for error-free online romps, they've apparently been returning to The Behemoth's other XBLA darling, Alien Hominid. Compared to this time last year, nearly five times as many people are playing it and, if our memory serves, dying a lot.
Alien Hominid HD's Live play increases with Castle Crashers' release
Taking a looksy at last week's Xbox Live activity report (courtesy of one Major Nelson), one can spot Castle Crashers taking home the number one most played XBLA game award and even breaking into the overall most played 360 games list at the number seven spot. All of which we fully expected. But one thing that we didn't expect, and found rather interesting, was the appearance of Alien Hominid HD on the Live list. Alien Hominid, The Behemoth's other year old XBLA game, landed in at the number nine spot on the most played XBLA game on Live list, after being absent since its release. An appearance that is probably a direct result of Castle Crashers' release and (possibly) the fact that a certain unlockable yellow alien is in the game. [Via Joystiq]
Rumor: Alien Hominid HD on XBLA next week
Earlier this week somebody over at Xbox.com flipped the wrong switch and activated what looked to be the next set of games for Xbox Live Arcade. Although they quickly course corrected and pulled the page, the URL for Alien Hominid HD is still active. They've also updated a few bits of information to the page since accidentally posting and used a spell -check. The earlier new and "imprived" graphics are a sure sign the page was activated too early. The only thing that's a little sad is Alien Hominid looks to be only two player co-op locally, which means no blasting away with your buddy on the other side of our third rock from the sun. So, we don't know if Alien Hominid HD is ready to roll, but it sure looks like Xbox.com is locked, loaded, spell-checked and ready to go.
Alien Hominid to crash land on XBLA this year [update 1]
There's two ways you could look at this, depending on how cynical and jaded you are. You could jump up and down knowing that Alien Hominid, one of the most successful and interesting indie games ever made, is coming to Microsoft's popular Xbox Live Arcade service this winter ... or you could grind your teeth knowing that your perfectly suitable Xbox copy isn't backwards compatible (yet?) so, if you want that side scrolling action, you'll be shelling out for the same game again. Granted, it was only $20 to begin with, and a $10 XBLA price would still keep the total well below your average AAA title, but it's the principle dammit! This is a slippery slope for Microsoft to be on. Cynical (and/or cheap) gamers have foretold the day when Microsoft would use future profits to determine the fate of backwards compatibility on a particular title. Conspiracy theorists will point to Alien Hominid's relatively spartan and humble graphics as proof positive that Redmond isn't playing fair. Of course, these accusations will be premature since there are certain to be more backcompat updates before the Fall console launches, but they'll be made regardless. Game Informer reports that Alien Hominid developer The Behemoth is also bringing their in development title Castle Crashers to XBLA in early 2007. For more indie-dev goodies, check out the excellent Gamasutra podcast this week for an interview with The Behemoth's John Baez. [Thanks, Shizzle] [Update 1: 1UP previewed the game at the Comic-Con expo that began today. They confirm the obligatory 360 upgrades like high-def and widescreen support, but also note that "the developers are looking into adding a few bonuses here and there to give the Live Arcade version something extra for players who are familiar with the original" but add "we don't have any details on that front at this point."]
