Out of This World
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Out of this World
(1987 on
Commodore 64,
ZX Spectrum,
Amstrad CPC)
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Out of This World
(1987 on
Enterprise)
Description official descriptions
A young physics professor named Lester conducts a particle experiment. Suddenly, something goes wrong, lightning strikes, and in a moment Lester finds himself in a strange alien world. Now he must fight for his life, first with his bare hands, then with a gun he finds. But what gives him courage is that he is not alone. One of the aliens who escapes from the prison together with him helps him on his dangerous quest. Friendship can overcome all obstacles.
Out of This World combines shooting, platforming, and puzzle-solving elements. The game is divided into stages; some of them are straightforward and can only be accessed one time, while others are connected to each other, constituting a larger environment. Exploration and problem-solving are emphasized. Many levels include challenges not seen in the previous ones. Tasks may involve environmental puzzles, timed sequences, precise jumping, and combat.
Typically, enemies are defeated by using an energy gun found in an early stage. The gun's regular function is shooting energy projectiles. By pressing down and holding the fire button the player can activate an energy shield that protects Lester from regular attacks, allowing him to fire from relative safety until it evaporates. Finally, by holding the fire button even longer the gun creates powerful blasts which can disrupt shields. Most enemies are equipped with similar guns and are able to perform the same actions as Lester. Fighting enemies, therefore, requires tactical usage of regular attacks, shields, and bombs, as well as learning enemy patterns.
Each level can be accessed by typing a code the player learns after having completed the level. If Lester dies, the level must be restarted. There is no on-screen interface and no in-game dialogue in the game. Vector graphics are used for creating the game's environments and animated cutscenes.
Spellings
- Another World: Коллекционное переиздание - Russian spelling
- עולם אחר - Hebrew spelling
- アウターワールド - Japanese spelling
- 另一個世界 - Chinese spelling (traditional)
Groups +
Screenshots
Promos
Credits (DOS version)
12 People (4 developers, 8 thanks)
| Design | |
| Original Programming | |
| DOS Conversion | |
| Graphics / Artwork | |
| Music | |
| Sound Effects | |
| Thanks To | |
| Manual |
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| Illustrations |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 83% (based on 75 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 589 ratings with 25 reviews)
The Good
Graphics. Graphics and more Graphics. Remember we're talking about 1991, when computer games offered very simple graphics, this was really a breakthrough. I remember being amazed from it.
Excellent gameplay with very unique features for example finding a friend that will help you throughout the levels, picking up a weapon and more.
All of this is packed with excellent music and sound effects which enhance the gaming experience of this game.
The Bad
Nothing I can think of.. really.
The Bottom Line
One of the best platform games created - great graphics, great sounds, excellent gameplay and a nice storyline.
DOS · by Damian Fraimorice (8) · 2007
Vector graphics at its finest.
The Good
In the time of pixel art magic, one game made a rather unique move into the land of vectors and delivered us somewhat exotic title that felt a bit ahead of its time. With the lack of 3D graphic and special effects, this game uses math power to present a rather wonderful graphic in no more than 16 colors.
The opening cinematic is full of nice details and story keeps you intrigued as you constantly run for your life from the aliens whose culture seems a strange mix of Roman era and that of science fiction. Not so technologically advanced as simply being from Another World.
You soon befriend an alien inhabitant that shares the same fate as you, being imprisoned and all, and while not constantly accompanied by him, your paths cross every now and then. Seems like the two of you share the same goal, but go different way about it. The way it is presented gives a nice touch of player not being entirely alone, but having apart of a CPU on his side, even though it may all be pre-scripted.
Levels are versatile enough not to create the feeling of repetition, in fact, they are far from being repetitive, yet last too short. The fact this game does not feature dozens of enemy combatants on every screen makes it that much more realistic and prompts you to be cautious on each confrontation. The alien weapon you very soon come in possession of is rather useful, though sometimes annoying. It can create shields as much as fire laser beam of small or large destruction, and requires recharge every now and then... but levels where you can actually recharge it are very few. Luckily, most of the levels don't require direct confrontation as much as thinking your way out which adds a nice distraction to the genre.
The Bad
This game is certainly something unique, so one may understand why so many gamers think highly of it, but it is far from being one of the finest side-scrollers. The music, aside from intro and credits roll is non-existent. Sound effects, while fine, are very few at best, with no dialogs or even a talking text during actual gameplay. What little you can hear is from aliens that talk in their own language for which it would be nice to have some subtitles unless developers wanted us to feel as confused as our professor. And he may actually have a chance to understand them.
Many puzzles in the game can prove rather challenging, and direct confrontations are too hard. Developers didn't leave us much choice in our approach. The colosseum fight is one of the silliest things in the game and probably could've been done much better.
The Bottom Line
Was this game really something so special? I think not. Was it unique and fun experience? Certainly. And at a times with limited storage capacity and graphics it achieved something rather wonderful. If one game deserves being called a classic, this one tops it all.
Levels are very versatile and occasionally contain beautiful landscapes (and achieving that in so little colors is no small feat). You will squash fight deadly worms, run for your life from the huge beast, firefight your way our of prison, roll through the ducts, dash out of collapsing cavern, swim your way through the underground mazes, break into a girls only spa, and even fight in the colosseum, making each level an experience on its own, so using level codes is a fine approach to continue your game.
Platform games are plentiful, but very few could be called good. This one is. It's not from the same bunch and it does not feel like an arcade game.
DOS · by MAT (239833) · 2012
Best ambiance I have ever found in a computer game.
The Good
The most important thing with "another world" is, that the different level are not build from elements, but each level is different concerning both graphics and game play. So unlike many other games you cannot predict, what will happen next until all the end, which is really fabulous. Together with this point the very special graphics that concentrates and omitts unnecessary details contribute to an intense feeling of being lost which I have not experience in any game before or after.
I have first played the game in about 1993 and since that I play it every 1 or 2 years because it is simply so timeless and beautiful.
The Bad
At a first glance nothing
The Bottom Line
A game with an astonishing ambience, storyline and really flexible and everytime surprising gameplay.
DOS · by Udo Frese (2) · 2001
Discussion
| Subject | By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| DOS Manual | Freeman (64004) | Sep 19th, 2016 |
| No evidence on Win3x | eXo (346) | Apr 7th, 2015 |
| 15/20th anniversary | Cavalary (11443) | Dec 30th, 2013 |
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Another World appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
3DO version
The 3DO version of Out of This World is quite different from the other versions in terms of graphics and sound. The polygon backgrounds have been replaced by hand-drawn versions, the quality of which varies from stunning to amateurish. Music is played quite consistently throughout the game. It somewhat resembles a film score, and is similar to the music in the Sega CD sequel Heart of the Alien. The sound effects seem to be the same, however. Oddly enough, after the game is completed and the credits roll, the intro sequence from Heart of the Alien is played, with the same hand-drawn art style as the rest of the game. The gameplay has not changed at all. There is also a hidden mini-game by entering the password BRGR.
Advertisement
Due to its visuals, the game featured in a UK TV advert for the Amiga. The advert also featured a UK hit song called Sunshine on a Rainy Day by Zoe.
Apple IIgs release
Out of this World was one of the last commercially released games for the Apple IIgs. The port was written by Bill Heineman, who also was responsible for the SNES version (both the IIgs and the SNES share the same main processor). If the screen size was reduced, the game ran extremely smoothly on a stock unaccelerated IIgs.
Cutscenes
Out of this World was the first game to have cinematic cutscenes seen in many games today.
Development
When he needed a model for the rotoscoping in this game, Eric Chahi got his brother to run around in the back garden of their house!
DOS version
Released first on the Amiga and Atari ST, many players complained that Out Of This World was too easy. Because of this, the PC version includes two extra levels and has slightly increased difficulty in other parts of the game.
Dreamcast release
In Dec 2005 Out of this World was ported to the Dreamcast,with permission from Eric Chahi. Eric Chahi also allowed the Dreamcast port to include the datafiles. You can download the port here.
Ending
Some original storyboards, drawn up during the game's initial development, reveal an unmade ending in which Lester Chaykin survives and becomes a leader of the alien world. The storyboards can be viewed on the game's official site (http://www.anotherworld.fr/anotherworld_uk)
(Click on Another World from the side menu, then select Illustration from the top.There is a sketch with minimal detail at the bottom of the page that could represent the unmade cutscene.It seems to be Lester sitting at a throne, wearing a robe(?) and holding a sword.)
Flashback
Flashback is technically a sequel to Out Of This World. But since the storyline is completely different, it is not proper to call it a sequel.
Game Boy Advance release
In 2005, a free Game Boy Advance port of Out of this World was released by FoxySofts in the form of a downloadable rom, with the blessing of the game's original creator Eric Chahi. The port is a near flawless recreation of the original. It can be downloaded from: http://www.foxysofts.com/index.php?l=content/gba/anworld.inc
Graphics
It is important to note that Out Of This World is a technical achievement. All graphics in the game are filled vector images (2D polygons). This has been used before to save disk space with early adventure games (like King's Quest), but never before in an action game. Also, all music and sound effects are mixed in realtime to provide multichannel music and sound on modest sound hardware. All this on a 286!
ICO
In an issue of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, Japanese game designer Fumito Ueda cited this as an influence for ICO.
Intro erorrs
During the intro, watch Lester's hand as he's using the keypad. It moves forward too much, thus revealing...there is no arm attached to it! Also, at the very beginning of the intro, Lester goes up an elevator. Later on, a lightning hits a metal surface on the ground floor, but Lester is sitting right behind it. How is that possible?
Jaguar version
The Jaguar port contains an optional enhanced graphics mode (referred to as 15th anniversary mode), but everything else is identical to the original version, unlike the changes for the 15th anniversary version of the game,
References to the game
This game has a reference in Eiffel 65's song, My Console.
Release history
Out of This World was rereleased in 1995 on CD with a Windows binary in addition to the original DOS binary.
SNES version
The SNES version features a theme song -- the first time you hear it is in the very beginning of the game, when the black beast starts chasing you. There was also some tinkering with the background images of the last level (involving naked women viewed from the back) and all blood was removed.
Windows release
On April 14th, 2006 Out of this World has been re-released by it's developer Eric Chahi (who got back the rights to the game) in a completely remastered edition for Windows XP which supports resolutions of up to 1280x800. You can purchase it online and read about the making of the game (both the original version and the remake) at www.anotherworld.fr
Awards
- Amiga Joker
- Issue 02/1993 – #2 Best Genre Mix of 1992 (Readers' Vote)
- FLUX
- Issue #4 - #73 in the "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list
- Electronic Gaming Monthly
- February 1993 (issue #43) - Game of the Month (Genesis version)
- 1993 Buyer's Guide - Most Innovative Game of the Year
- ST Format
- January 1993 (issue #42) - #32 in '50 finest Atari ST games of all time' list
Information also contributed by Big John WV, Brian Hirt, Caim Douglas, Darksaviour69, Gil Megidish, leon101, hydra9, Jiguryo, Mark Ennis, Martin Smith, Matt Dabrowski, Zack Green and Zovni
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by IJan.
Zodiac added by Trypticon. Genesis added by POMAH. Jaguar added by Sciere. Windows, Symbian, Atari ST added by Kabushi. Windows 3.x added by Freeman. Macintosh added by Игги Друге. SNES added by Unicorn Lynx. Amiga added by MAT. 3DO added by quizzley7. Apple IIgs added by Garcia.
Additional contributors: Trixter, POMAH, tarmo888, Alaka, Игги Друге, Crawly, Klaster_1, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger, Jo ST, FatherJack, RufUsul, Kayburt, Vincent Kinian.
Game added December 12th, 1999. Last modified January 21st, 2024.