Amiga Games

Amiga Games
Re-visit Those Amiga Games

08/07/2009

Amiga Games - Another World - Amiga

Another World
This classic game was an original and rewarding gaming experience and still stands out as one of my all time favourite Amiga games.

Another World is a classic game amongst the vast ranks of software available for the Commodore Amiga.

The game begins with an very atmospheric movie-like intro showing your character Lester Knight Chaykin arriving, in his Ferrari (very swish), at a laboratory.

Another World - Just Arrived
He begins an experiment using a particle accelerator just as a storm starts. The lab is struck by lighting which enters the accelarator and next thing you know poor old Lester (and most of the desk he was sitting at) disappear in a flash to, you've guessed it, Another World!



The action quickly starts as you appear in this new and dangerous place. If you're not quick enough with the joystick as soon as Lester arrives underwater you can quickly find yourself dragged away to an unknown but no doubt horrible death by a large tentacled monster!!

The game is a 2D sideways action adventure, but what really set it apart from other games in the genre were the brilliantly animated characters, the wonderfully atmospheric backgrounds and immersive sound effects.

On-screen there were no health bars or scores display. You were dropped in at the deep end (literally!) then had to wander around to find out where to go or what to do next.

The story progressed by way of cut scenes setting up the next stage and hinting at what you need to do. Many times it took trial and error to find the right path or to get the timing right to complete the next part of the game.

One major complaint aimed at the game was its length. You could probably complete the game in under an hour once you got the hang of it. The game was short but it was one of the few games that I played more than once.

You had an unlimited number of lives and as you progressed to the next stages when you died you would be given a code to continue from that point. Sometimes this did prove frustrating on later levels when you died just before the start of a new section and had to redo the entire last part. But as frustrating as it was, you always came back for 'one last go'.

In the first level Lester can defend himself by kicking. But very quickly he acquires a gun. This gun added an another element to the action, as it was equipped with three modes of firing:
  1. Fire a laser beam that would turn people to skeletons that exploded into dust (very cool)
  2. Hold it down for a short time to create a force field to protect you from laser fire
  3. Hold it down for a full charge to generate a massive laser beam to blast through solid barriers like walls and the bad guys' force fields.
Another World - Captured
Another great element of the game was teaming up with your cell-mate at the start of the second level. This friendly alien comes to your aid and you to his throughout the game and creates a very cool cooperation element. This helps immerse you in the game's world and you really care what happens to the big guy - its the start of a beautiful friendship, even if you don't really know what 'MATSEWAWAH' means!

Another World - Poison Worm
The game is also one of the first games I remember that creeped you out. There were numerous monsters dotted about and each new monster you discovered seemed to kill you in a more gruesome way!

The popularity of the game prompted it's creators Delphine Software to create a 'sequel' - it wasn't really a sequel but it was similar in style. This game was called Flashback and it was awesome! I'll write a post on that pretty soon.

As you can probably tell I am a big fan of Another World and if you haven't played it I suggest you download an Amiga emulator (WinUAE is pretty good) and get playing. Try Lemon Amiga for an idea of where to find the game.

Developer: Delphine Software
Year Released: 1991
Genre: 2D Arcade Adventure

Check out the video below to see our hero Lester meeting some of the inhabitants of Another World.



Classic Games, Arcade Games and Amiga Games

1 comment:

Martin said...

Hey buddy - nice post on a very nice game. I'll have to dust of my Amiga and play this one again...

The Retro Brothers Favourite Amiga Games...