Out of This World
- 3DO Maniac Pack (1995)
-
Classic Collection: Adventure
(1994) -
Interplay's 10 Year Anthology: Classic Collection
(1993)
-
Out of this World
(1987 on
Commodore 64,
ZX Spectrum,
Amstrad CPC)
-
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 590 ratings with 25 reviews)
The Good
In the release time, this games was unique! Envolving, creative, amazing all I can desire for this game style! The history absorbs you in this parallel universe.
The Bad
Sometimes you get really stuck! Have to re-play an entire 'hard' sequence, because you forget a little detail - like open a door (guess to insight what is a key in this place...) 5 screens before you reach it.
The Bottom Line
Superb piece of imagination and gameplay.
DOS · by Killer-Ants (2) · 2002
An amazing classic, such as is rarely seen.
The Good
This game is simply amazing. I first played it on my neighbour's Amiga and was stunned, then played it on a friend's 286 and was again stunned. This game rocks! Fluid, beautiful graphics (vector-based... not a novelty, but it does look excellent) and quite realistic animation... great storyline, amazing 4-channel music (one of the rare games in this period which used modules) and excellent gameplay.
The Bad
It's really, really difficult. I never completed it myself, but I know people who had and had seen the ending on numerous occasions.
The Bottom Line
A real classic, one which is simply a must-have.
DOS · by Tomer Gabel (4538) · 1999
Amazing for it's time, but I dunno...
The Good
At the time of it's release this game was a really big thing. Thinking about it, it's easy to see why. The fluid and cinema-style camerawork that is present in all sorts of games these days pretty much began here. It's use of flat vector graphics meant it could give more freedom than most games, namely the quality of the animation. Out Of This World has stunning animation which is very smooth; this became a trademark of Delphine Software with Flashback, which many people see as a sequel even though it isn't. This game is also EXTREMELY difficult, which is good. Games really needed skill back in 1991. Hard games are thinner on the ground these days because of the desire to push gaming into the mainstream. Out Of This World has some clever ideas, and the simple yet great graphics enabled Delphine to do all sorts of clever stuff like have your character chased by a large torrent of water. They also split the game into short scenes which each have a password, thus removing (some) frustration when you die again.
The Bad
It's very very hard. While I normally like this, many of the puzzles were centred around pixel-perfect jumping. Also the jump key is the space bar, (you may be able to change it I don't know), and that's probably the least durable and sensitive key because of it's size. Plunging down a pit which appears just as you move onto the next screen because you missed the moment by a picosecond, forcing you to play the scene again for the 378th time, is damn annoying. But I guess this is what these games, like Prince Of Persia, are about. If you don't like that, you don't like the game.
Another gripe I've got is that the game is far too closed up. The first scene is great; you don't have a gun, you're in a large spacous outside area, you can run about, you can see things happen in the background, and you get chased by a huge beast. Most of the other scenes involve jumping over rocks in a cave, sometimes you have about 3 colours on the entire screen, and weird shapes that don't look like anything. It's depressing and you long for more of the great outdoors.
Also our hero is a gimp. He doesn't have much of a character, but you do know he's a nerdy science dude with ginger hair and an odd name. Not really a major downer I guess; but if you're going to have some reason to go on, it would help if you were controlling someone that you could respect.
The Bottom Line
Personally, and I know most won't agree with me, I think this has been overshadowed by Flashback. Flashback is far more attractive, varied, and intelligent. There are more frames of animation, your character has a much better name (Conrad Hart as opposed to Lester Knight Chaykin), and shooting is much easier. You never feel hemmed in either.
Anyway this game is still worth playing, especially if you want to test your metal as a games player. Or if you want to find a time when French developers weren't associated with the totally bizarre and actually had a name for themselves. I'd certainly like another Out Of This World
DOS · by Shazbut (163) · 2002
Discussion
| Subject | By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| DOS Manual | Freeman (65034) | Sep 19, 2016 |
| No evidence on Win3x | eXo (346) | Apr 7, 2015 |
| 15/20th anniversary | Cavalary (11445) | Dec 30, 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, Atari ST, Symbian 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 12, 1999. Last modified February 16, 2024.