Afterlife

aka: Afterlife: A Última Palavra em Simuladores, Afterlife: Chaos im Jenseits, Afterlife: La Simulation Stratégique enfin Ressuscitée!, Afterlife: La Simulazione per Eccellenza, Afterlife: The Last Word in Sims
Moby ID: 202
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Buy on Windows
$5.99 new on Steam
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Description official descriptions

Afterlife is is a humorous strategy game similar to SimCity where the afterlife is subject to market-based economy. The player has to make it work by managing heaven and hell simultaneously.

In both hell and heaven the player constructs zones which deal with one of the seven capital sins respectively the corresponding virtues. Through the gates new souls arrive regularly which were sinful or virtues in one specific aspect. These go to the appropriate zones to receive their gifts or punishment - but only if the player constructed a street system. If there is no place left they wander through hell/heaven which is of course bad for business. After some time they get sent back to the home planet. These souls are the source of the player's income.

Of course these facilities also need personnel. These can be either hired or trained by building special training facilities. There are also additional things the player has to keep in mind, e.g. the satisfaction of each soul and the energy supply. Every buildings has to be micro-managed by adjusting their settings but there is also the possibility to use a tool which does it automatically - for a price.

Random disasters like "Birds of Paradise" (excrement rain down on the facilities) break the economic circle and challenge the player to repair the damage. Besides the free playing mode there are also five scenarios where the player has to solve certain tasks.

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Critics

Average score: 76% (based on 24 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 43 ratings with 7 reviews)

A great idea, but poorly executed.

The Good
Much like the SimCity series, this game has a really fun feel to it, with great graphics, really nice control layout, and a few funny secrets to be discovered by true LucasArts fans.

The Bad
While it IS a great idea, the game itself takes a longer time to get the hang of than the average sim game. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but it seems more like bad to me. Also, the thrill wore off rather quickly.

The Bottom Line
This game plays on the idea of good versus evil, as you play landlord to Heaven and Hell. LucasArts is possibly the best game developer out there, and the undisputed champion of adventure games. But in the future, they should stick to what they know best.

Windows · by lechuck13 (296) · 2001

A Good Simcity clone with poor execution

The Good
Afterlife (1996) clearly demonstrates a tremendous amount of good-old- fashion LucasArts creativity, passion and talent that has generally worked well for them. On paper, the opportunity to control the daily workings of Heaven and Hell, through the creation of various rewards and punishments sounds like a fun simulation. In practice, the game does feature some impressive graphics, music and sound effects and a witty sense of humor.

The Bad
The fundamental flaw in the game lies in the execution. Their are simply too many, highly complicated, real time things (i.e. virtues, vices, infrastructure, etc.) that you have to constantly watch out for and develop in both heaven and hell or else its game over. Making the execution worse, the game's instruction manual failed to offer an in-depth explanation of the controls, mechanics and rules. This forced the player to go through a frustrating period of trial and error or buy an official LucasArts strategy guide. While the graphics are good most of the time, close-ups of objects look terrible.

The Bottom Line
Afterlife (1996) is a Simcity-style clone that attempts to put you in control of an alien population's heaven and hell. The execution is critical in simulation games such as this, and this is where the game's flaws show up. A tremendous amount of trial and error, or access to a good, in-depth strategy guide will be required to really comprehend how to do much in the game. The game's graphics are best seen from a distance. Perhaps the best feature of this game is its amazingly witty and satirical sense of humor. Die hard fans of LucasArts humor and "Simcity" simulation games will probably get the most out of this game.

Windows · by ETJB (428) · 2010

Even better than Sim City 2000

The Good
The game is very funny, it is amusing to read all the detailed descriptions of the various punishments / rewards. But what makes it an excellent game is that it is more complex than it's obvious model, Sim City 2000. The vibes that the buildings in Hell and Heaven emit need to be taken into consideration - as it is possible to manipulate the living, it is better to let them focus on sins and virtues that don't create problems in either realm. Also, it is important to plan according to the different belief models on the planet - some people reincarnate, some wander through all punishments and rewards, some stay in Heaven forever and so on. It is important to direct the living to ease the work of the Demiurge. The player has two aides, the Demon Jasper and Ariel, who do tutorials and report problems in both realms, at least when they are not tied up into insulting each other.

The Bad
When both realms are at their full strength, the game becomes a little bit unclear and nothing really new happens. All is about maximizing balance, thus efficiency of the buildings, which soon becomes a tedious task. What can be seen as a goal of the game - as far as I remember to reach 1.000.000.000 souls in order to gain the most sophisticated special buildings available - can take a very, very, very long time.

The Bottom Line
A Sim City like game with an esoteric theme where the player has to build up and administrate Hell and Heaven.

Windows · by Hadanite Marasek (27) · 2004

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
intro shot correct? Corn Popper (69032) Jun 13, 2007

Trivia

Earth

The manual VEHEMENTLY denies that the world displayed in the game is earth. It specifically states "THIS IS NOT EARTH", even though they have the same seven sins and seven virtues as Christians do.

Secrets

By typing SAMNMAX three times, you can make Max trounce your poor little afterlife...it's quite amusing. SAVE FIRST!

Another Secret

By typing $@! five times, you can make the Death Star wreak havoc on your heaven or hell.

Information also contributed by Kasey Chang

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Ryan Lucas.

Linux added by Kam1Kaz3NL77. Antstream added by lights out party. Macintosh added by Wizo.

Additional contributors: Mitch Kocen, Rebound Boy, formercontrib, Patrick Bregger, BrandeX, dartg55, Edwin Drost, RetroArchives.fr.

Game added August 10, 1999. Last modified March 19, 2024.