SEGA CD

Heart of the Alien: Out of this World parts I and II

The inclusion of the original game on this disc makes a good argument for purchasing a Sega CD. You'll see a good movie, play a good game and get a healthy dose of heart-stopping alien action.

While so many believed, or probably more accurately wanted to believe, full-motion video games were the future (the choppy, grainy, cheesy future), there were others that hadn't given up on the traditional side-scrolling action experience. Prince of Persia showed us all that you could achieve more in a side-scroller than simply jumping on an enemy and touching a flagpole, and the cinematic scope and scale increased exponentially with the arrival of Out of This World. Heart of the Alien continues the fine legacy of its predecessor by re-telling the story from the perspective of the large, hulking alien companion. Think of it as One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest for the Sega CD!

This CD is packed to the brim with the original Heart of the Alien game and this all-new sequel. This time you're Buddy and must rescue Lester from your mysterious brethren. The graphics are dated, but the game is so difficult that it keeps you going for hours.

As far as historical goes, Out of this World stands out as probably the first "strategy platform game" to ever be released. Also, for it's time it was recognized for it's incredibly smooth character animation (such a high frame rate, and number of frames per animation for characters, had ever been seen before in PC/console games). Altogether though, both games contained on this CD are excellent translations of the PC originals.

Heart of the Alien continues the classic, sci-fi fantasy adventure with all-new realms to explore. I know that cinemas don't make the game, but the ones in this game are really cool! Even though the graphics are mostly comprised of polygons, you overlook it because the game is put together well from the story to the music to the gameplay and to the various puzzle-like scenes. Chalk this up for one to buy.