Creature From the Black Lagoon - Super Monsters (AHI)

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Spicy 'Ahi Poke Tacos with Avocado Crema

One Small Step For Ape

"Pienso en ti muy despacio, como si te dibujara dentro de mí y quedaras allí grabado. Quisiera tener la certeza de que te voy a ver mañana y pasado mañana y siempre en una cadena ininterrumpida de días; que podré mirarte lentamente aunque ya me sé cada rinconcito de tu rostro; que nada entre nosotros ha sido provisional o un accidente."

Elena Poniatowska

Man who put me up to doing things I’ve never done before

Alien Hominid Invasion - A crashing dissappointment

Alien Hominid Invasion has finally released! Unfortunately, despite multiple years passing, it does not feel like the full game offers significantly more than the demos released across multiple periods of time. Note that this is an entirely new game from the original 2004 Alien Hominid and plays significantly differently from it, so if you are looking for a straight up sequel of Alien Hominid, it will disappoint.

One of the best parts about Alien Hominid Invasion is the core combat. Firing a gun in Alien Hominid Invasion feels great. Each weapon has distinct differences from other weapons in the game, which makes them the main source of gameplay variety. While some weapons feel sufficiently balanced, other weapons do not feel like they have enough punch without the right build, most notably the Megashot. It took me multiple seconds to kill a basic agent with that weapon, while with most other weapons it takes me about 1 second for a single basic agent. Even after stacking fire rate, megashot still feels like it isn’t particularly great. Invasion does feel like a 2d platformer looter shooter through and through, with how much loot you are thrown and the incorporation of light stat customization through stats such as life steal, regen on dodge, crit per hit, and more. The main problem with the loot is that there is often times no clear explanation of how significant the stats are, as even in the guidebook, regen is never specified on how significant it is, life steal feels like it heals way more than 1.4% of my total damage output, and there is no indicator on what your weapon’s base damage or fire rate is, among other omissions. That being said, when a build works well, it truly gives that sense of satisfaction of seeing it help you through a level when paired with the right strategy. This is enhanced by the mobility of the game, as it can make you feel a sense of speed at times.

Performance wise, the game runs flawlessly, and takes hardly any space. I also hardly experienced any bugs in my playthrough, although I experienced one bug, where there was a van stuck in the ground that caused me to get stuck and die. Mouse and Keyboard controls work smoothly for me, and do not feel clunky, but may require rebinding for a comfortable setup, as I rebound my keys. During the launch window though, there have been occasional problems with the servers not letting online co-op function, or leaderboards not displaying.

The procedural permadeath elements don’t feel like they add enough variety to the game for what they detract from. Nearly every level besides the train level feels and looks the same, and I personally did not feel like the random modifiers really made the game interesting in a good way. Being unable to challenge a boss or try a specific objective or map without going through other tiles felt extremely tedious when trying to either test a build or complete the insane mode achievement. There is also currently no way to fight the final boss after completing the story without creating a new save or joining another player, which hurts the replay value of the randomized elements of the game in the postgame. There is also a lack of extra modifiers or anything that adds extra replay value after beating the story, further compounding the problems with replayability.

One of the biggest complaints I have about the game is the sheer amount of projectile spam that clutters the screen. This is what would have easily turned me away from the game if I did not enjoy the feeling of shooting a gun and moving around. The problem gets even worse in co-op, as the camera is not centered on the player character, and players cannot move horizontally infinitely, so if a player is on the other edge of the screen, will effectively stop progress of a mission until said player starts moving the opposite direction. The health bar is not fixed to the player or fixed in a set place on the screen by default, so I found tracking my stats difficult, and would often end up seeing my health drop because I got lost in co-op. While there is an option to have static health bars, it is buried in option menus and as a result, can easily go unnoticed by players. Compounding this problem is that there is nothing that stops two players in co-op from sharing the same color, and hats lack a transmog feature that lets players run the visuals they want without losing out on the stats for a build they like. I think if the hat was separated into the cosmetic that unlocks permanently for a save, and a new type of boost containing the hat’s current stats, it would be better for both guidebook completion and letting players select the visuals they prefer.

Another weird design choice is that countdown timers do not reset to the full amount after canceling them. It keeps how much time has already ticked down previously and I have started a level without wanting to do that specific tile, as the countdown by the time I reselected it was instant. Jumping into a new run after failing a previous run also takes a fair bit of time and gets tedious. It takes me 53 seconds to go from the fail screen to being able to properly enter a new run after being beamed down by the mothership, which adds up, really quickly, if you are failing runs very early. Achievement wise, this is not a very complicated 100%. The hardest part is doing all bosses on insane, so I recommend fighting the final boss on insane, otherwise rematching it will require replaying the game. I would also stay as long as possible whenever you see a land van, as those are rare and necessary for an achievement. Note that on co-op, if a player is not looking for the insane in the eyestrain achievement or already has it, they can play on a different difficulty while another player plays on insane, letting the player looking for the insane achievement earn progress upon killing bosses.

The main thing that I think causes the game to look repetitive very fast is not only the overabundance of green, purple, and grey, but the lack of contrast as well. For comparison, a screenshot from the Urban area of Alien Hominid HD, and a level from Alien Hominid Invasion, shows Alien Hominid HD having much sharper contrast, and Invasion being very diluted in terms of contrast between the same color. While there are two bosses that use colors that are not those colors, they are the exception and far from the standard. Overall, unless you are a fan of the Behemoth, I would wait for a sale.

Anthony Fineran (B 1981), ZN Ahi Shana, 2023

i am. in slight pain.

I lost the drawing so this is all i have for it but heres a doodle of siblings little loligo and little ahi 😁☝️

The Mummy - Super Monsters Bend 'Ems (AHI)

Poke Nachos

Encontre a alguien que si estx dispuestx a curarme, y no a juzgarme.

Ya es hora de dejar el pasado atrás, tienes que meterlo en un baúl, empacarlo y dejarlo guardado ahí, atrás, dónde queda lo que se vivió, lo que se experimento y ya no cabe en el mañana, en el futuro.

Déjalo que se vaya, que tome el rumbo que decidió y empieza acariciar tu hoy para vivirlo intensamente, suelta ese fantasma, esa asombra que se aferra a ti. Mira el cielo, elévate y cabalga entre las nubes y surfea entre los rayos del sol.

Y... ¿Que piensas de volverte a enamorar? Tal vez no de una persona, más bien de una idea que te haga sentir que viva estás y que aún hay mucho para soñar.

Abraza ese sueño y deja que las cosas te sorprendan.

Leregi Renga

Never get a moment's peace with this man