Another World


WarmFluffyUK

The Big Wad Bolf.
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
3,384
Location
UK
Website
www.retrotech.one
Logo.gif

Review​
The Story

Picture this, a secret lab in the outback, miles from anywhere or anyone. A storm is brewing that could wield a devastating blow to anything in its wake.

Suddenly a car screeches to a halt outside the lab, and you get out. Gaining access to your lab you set up an experiment in particle acceleration, and you set it in motion. Particles wiz round the acceleration cylinder, sparking and crackling.

Meanwhile, outside the storm has blown up out of all proportion, Lightening hits the lab and crawls speedily along the particle acceleration cylinder towards the lab and ZAP, your desk with you sitting in it are hit.

This is where the game really begins, You, including your desk and a chunk of floor are transported to a strange land of unearthly creatures that seem to be sent from hells bathroom, and they aint too friendly either. To top all this, you rematerialize underwater without an aqualung. Typical! And all that before you actually start to play Whooow.

So what is all this about, well it’s a really kewl game called Another World. It first appeared on the Commodore Amiga and was ported to almost all available systems of the time. Including the ST and PC.
Another World was really such an innovation in game play and graphics. Very original, pretty difficult and the atmosphere draws you in like a moth to a flame.

Our Hero
OurHero.gif



Well here you are, cute eh, and agile too! You can run, jump, roll, swim even sneak around the scary corridors of this doomed land you find yourself in. Later on you will even pick up a weapon that’s a lot of fun too! Careful though, as one shot or bite from the wee beasties and you’re toast.


A helping hand
Spud.gif



Here’s someone I call spud. You befriend him when you free him from prison. Spud will follow you around giving you a much needed helping hand. Watch out though, as spud can also be frazzled by the guards, so keep him safe!


Enemies
Enemy.gif


In a nutshell, flippin’ dangerous. Some are out to shoot you, others you are food. Some of the death sequences really make you go “Ewwwwwww, I DON’T believe that just happened”. They really are gross. The one I remember as being the ickiest is when you get sucked into the tentacle monsters. You see through the Profs eyes as the jaws of death open up, you see teeth and slimy stuff and then SNAP! Yuck.


Game Play

Highly unique for the time. It’ a sort of puzzle shoot em up. Sometimes you have to run like hell and jump at the right times. Some times you have to use your gun to make a shield which stops enemy fire, but allows you to stick your hand through and fire at them. Your gun has 3 modes (Fire, Shield and Blast) which are accessed by holding down the trigger for different lengths of time. There are also rooms that power up the gun, this is funny as it also fluffs up the profs hair while it charges the weapon : ). The overall game play is pretty difficult, but very satisfying. I played it for weeks!
10/10


Graphics
ootwshot1.gif
ootwshot2.gif

Ground breaking for the time. The whole game is built out of polygons which makes the animations very fluid and smooth. Most of the cut scenes are stunning. I remember one where you look out of the window of a tower and the scene pans up from the city below, amazing! There are one or two cut scenes which are a little bit naff, but that doesn’t spoil the game. All in all, a superb looking 16 bit game!
9/10


Sound

There’s almost no speech in this game, the odd mumble from the guards and a sort of hello from Spud. Sounds awfull don’t it. Well no actually it’s not. There’s soo much atmosphere going on, it really draws you in. Areas where you just get the wind in the background and your own footsteps really set the scene. It’s perfect!
8/10


GP32

Just Perfect! This is an excellent conversion of such a polished game.
10/10


And Finaly

If you have never played this game, you should at least give it a go. It’s a classic example of innovation and originality from the classic 16 bit era. I know a lot of people couldn’t get past the 2nd screen. But when I told them the how to do it, they kicked themselves shouting “Oh why didn’t I think of that”. Here’s a hint, RUN!
Final Score = 9.5/10
 
Great review!

I was surprized how nice this conversion actually is.
Also, the password system is decent, although I wish it would just save location to smc.

PS this game is also available on Genesis (works well on DR.MD), but this port is much much better.
 
Yeah the Genesis version was one of those low-res type Genesis games that don't fill the screen horizontally, so the GP32 port is far superior.

I was actually going to write a review for this, but I think you pretty much covered everything. It's really an amazing game when you consider its age and that fact that it was coded entirely by one guy (someone else did sound, I believe). And it's kind of sad to say, but this port is better than any of the GP32's own commercial releases.

The beginning is pretty frustrating and there were times in the game where I simply couldn't figure out what to do without a walkthrough, but the entire game is surprisingly fresh and very fun.
 
though i agree with most of the review, the game is visually cool, but the dificulty factor would not warrant a 9.5 out of 10. I'd say 7 out of 10 at most.
 
KickinWing posted on Jul 18 2005 at 08:47 PM said:
though i agree with most of the review, the game is visually cool, but the dificulty factor would not warrant a 9.5 out of 10. I'd say 7 out of 10 at most.

I'm sorry but I don't agree with the 7 out of 10. This game is not only a classic and one of the most original of its time. But as mentioned in one of the earlier posts, it's actually a lot better that most of the commercial GP32 games too.

Yes I agree it's difficult, but the point of the game is figuring out what to do and when. As soon as you figure it out, it becomes easy!

My advice is stick at it, the game is well worth it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
WarmFluffyUK posted on Jul 18 2005 at 09:05 PM said:
My advice is stick at it, the game is well worth it.

I agree, I completed this game way back on the Amiga when it first came out, it took a while but i was compelled to find out what happened next. Its just the tiniest bit tricky at the start (only because you're not used to the way the game plays yet) But once you get the hang of it, it opens up. The story that develops throughout the game is great. Well worth playing.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just got through the first levels and i have to say:
WWWWWHAAAAAH!! WHAT A FRUSTRATING, ENNOYING GAME!!!!!!!!
(My thoughs after playing continually the same scene (20 times and more)
This is a 9,5 / 10 game? I don't think so... <_<
Yes, maybe before 10? yeahrs, when it was first released, but today?
An other fact is that the controls are very spongy.I jumped to often into a hole....
I can't endure playing through a whole game which only uses the try and error principle.

Anyway I like the ambience and style of the game.
So I'm still playing it! :D
 
I completely agree with your review, WarmFluffyUK; This is one of the best (if not THE best) games for the GP32 at the moment. But, it is darn hard... :wacko:
 
It's not that hard. Just a lot of trial and error and some precise jumping/running/shooting (and peeking at a guide for one or two points. :p ). New passcodes show up rather frequently, so you never have to make up too much ground when you die (and, of course, you will die).

I can't wait till we get Sega CD emulation on the GPx2, so I can play the sequel. :D
 
If this had the jump button mapped to a button instead of the joystick, it would be perfect. I had this game on my SNES whne it came out, and it definitely plays better with two buttons instead of using UP for jump.
 
Remember playing this on the Amiga when it first came out, was an awsome game, have you played flashback ? also great :)
 
ChaosUK posted on Mar 20 2006 at 01:13 AM said:
Remember playing this on the Amiga when it first came out, was an awsome game, have you played flashback ? also great :)

Yes I have played Flashback, but I haven't completed that one yet. Maybe I should give it another go :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top