HOMO

Homo... that seems to be the correct title according to the game's title screen and to MAME. Unfortunately to all the gays out there, this is short for "homo-sapien", not "homosexual" - sorry! I was wanting to review an arcade game so I looked through my big list of MAME ROMs and came across this "Homo" and had to give it a play and realized I should probably give "Homo" a review.

Okay since I already mentioned how this game isn't short for "homosexual", it would be best for me to explain what the hell kind of game "Homo" is exactly. Well, Homo is pretty much a Brickout kind of game, but more like Arkanoid because of the different power ups that can be obtained along with similar brick structure, along with a very similar bouncing sound effect. However it's not a cheap man's Arkanoid at all really. The levels are set up very similar to Brickout or Arkanoid, but there are some pinball aspects to the game, in which the ball you hit looks like a pinball, has pinball-style bumpers on the towards the bottom corners, and has one of those wonderful pinball spinners, along with a pinball-style warp/tunnel. Not only does this game take a few pinball aspects, but the objective of the game is not quite the same as Brickout-styled games. Instead of just knocking out all the bricks, the player must help the stubby, caveman hero, Goindol (pretty funny name), by knocking out some bricks to allow him to escape from the top of the screen and allow him to fall onto a lower platform or just into the opening; at least I think this is how the object of the game works. In between levels, there is this funny sequence of Goindol riding something like a two-headed Triceratops over a bridge of ballons onto the next stage. Also inbetween levels are these bonus stages where your paddle ship is automatically equipped with a gun attachment and you must shoot down as many bricks as possible before the time runs out so you can reveal the hidden picture and get bonus points. It's pretty fun to play both the normal stages and bonus stages.

For an arcade game released in 1987, the graphics could have probably been better, but for a Brickout-like game, fancy graphics are really nothing special, knowing how fun and addicting the original Brickout can be. The graphics aren't poor at all though, because it's quite a nice colorful game and has cutesy sprites. The backgrounds consist of simple, yet delicate patterns that are pleasing while playing. If you're into "cutesy" graphics, like myself, then the graphics should be welcoming, but if aren't into the cutesy look, then Homo could be a disappointment.

I enjoy the music in this game, but I really can't say that most people will. The tunes are soft for the most part and to me it sounds "caveman-ish" with a little mix of really soft techno. The sound effects are kind of wacky. The bouncing sound effects, as I mentioned earlier, sound nearly the same as Arkanoid's. The sound effects when you loose a ball has this really wacky sound effect to it that I thought was a little funny. There aren't many sound effects besides these, just the coin insert sound as far as I can think. The music and sound effects fit the game nicely and felt soothing for me as I played, along with the simple background patterns.

Despite this game having an absurd name as "Homo", the game is actually enjoying and fun. For the most part, I like this game more than Arkanoid, particulary because of the funny title name and character name, a few new concepts to Brickout style games, cutesy graphics, and pleasing music and effects. If you were expecting this game to be like Cho Aniki, have your thoughts take a 180 degree turn. But if you're into Brickout-style games, especially Arkanoid, and wanting a little twist to those games, then try "Homo" and don't be afraid of the name.

-Keranu August 9th, 2005 1:17am USA Central Time.