Review: Another World
Score:
60%
Version Reviewed: 1.00
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Any Amiga owners listening out there? Of course not, they’ve already downloaded and are playing Another World – yet another conversion from Telcogames. And the scope on this one is much larger than Nebulus and Captain Dynamo. They were just titles held with a bit of affection by rabid games players. Another World is a different matter entirely. It’s one of those games that, when it was launched, just changed the gaming landscape forever.
Looking back at it now, it’s amazing to see just how much modern game design owes to Another World, and that means this Series 60 version doesn’t feel dated in any way. The cinematic cut-scenes are all still in place. The 2D polygon hero and aliens are here as well, as are all the anatomically correct moves. The feeling of being in a movie is always present when playing Another World.
Plotwise, it’s pretty corny. You’re a scientist who sneaks back to the lab one night to try "just one more experiment" which then goes wrong. You wake up after the explosion in another world (sic), with only your body and wits to find a way back home.
A glance at the controls screen shows you have a huge range of moves, and it’s a bit like a fighting game – holding down the ‘5’ key will be your action key, be it pick up object, fire a gun, punch an opponent or kick him in the crotch. You’ll be more inclined to keep your finger over the jump key, because the obstacles in Another World have no forgiveness. You’re going to need to concentrate and innovate from the first few screens as you jump over poisonous slugs. The key here is to actually kick and kill them, because very soon you’ll need to run back through the screens while being chased by a lion/thing to lure him over a cliff.
I know I’ve gone on about how easy games are nowadays, but if there was an award for "the game that is so frustrating that you want to throw your 6630 against a wall" it would have Another World engraved in the factory moulds. Your one saving grace is that you have an infinite number of lives in Another World. If you die you’ll get put back to the last ‘way-point’ to try that section of the game again. Beyond that, you’re not getting any help.
This is not going to be a game with general appeal. Neither is it one for the ‘dedicated’ casual gamer. Steve [Litchfield] was originally down to review this, and eventually had to return it on two counts. The first was the difficulty in the puzzles. They’re beyond hard, and while I know that this is because that’s what the designer wanted, the mobile market needs a bit more reward within the first few minutes, so Another World, perfect conversion that it is, isn’t as targeted to the mobile market as previous titles.
Secondly, the controls are awkward. Part of this is because the direction controls and action buttons on a number keypad just aren’t up to fast reactions (there’s another reason I still carry an N-Gage). In addition, there's the fact that Another World plays in 208x176 landscape mode, meaning that you’ll have to turn your phone through ninety degrees to make sense of the screen.
Another World is a great technical achievement on a mobile device, and it deserves praise for that. But, surprisingly, this is a remake too far in my mind. The game as it stands just doesn’t translate well as mobile entertainment, and while it might be a good flagship title, it’s a flawed flagship. Nostalgia means it gets a (just about) respectable score, but I wish Magic Productions and Telcogames had focused on something playable rather than something that looked flashy.
It appears that Another World really was predicting the future of modern gaming after all. But not the future of mobile gaming, perhaps...
Reviewed by Ewan Spence at