When classic games get re-released they tend to have a lot of work put into making them look “modern”. Another World throws that out the window, though there are still minor upgrades.
Well, okay, I say minor. There is actually some fairly decent work that can be seen that was done with the graphics for this 20th anniversary edition release of Another World. Now, I never played the original, but it’s not very hard to compare the two. In fact, it’s so easy it’s as if they included a way in the game to switch between the two!
In Another World, you play as a man working on a program. Some stuff goes horribly wrong and you end up on an alien planet. You head in deeper and find yourself surrounded by stuff that wants to, and probably will, kill you. Along the way you’ll find crazy looking beasts, befriend an alien, and get into laser gun fights with other aliens.
Luckily, you’ve got great contr… I can’t even finish that sentence. The controls in Another World are horrendous. The hitboxes are even worse too. I get that this was an older game but come on… I shouldn’t be cursing out the game so much because I over (or under) shot a jump by one pixel and got eaten by a ravenous floor beast. I wonder how many times I fell down into that giant pit near the end from the jumping deciding that I jumped “too far” to grab onto what I needed. And then when I did make it, I’d just get shot to death. Perfect!
Speaking of shooting, it would’ve been great if it wasn’t on the same button as run. Oh, and if your gun apparently didn’t have a limited supply of power. I only ran out once – and it was a time that I had about zero idea where I need to go next – but when I started to have to pull off a lot of big charge shots in a row I started to get scared. Also, don’t worry, the enemies get better shooting and hit boxes than you. Even your shields hardly seem to help. In fact, should you want to put up a shield and then charge up a big shot, make sure your gun is past the shield. Why? If it isn’t, your own shield will eat the blast. Thanks, game.
I never really noticed much of a soundtrack in the game, but supposedly there was one there to remaster. I did, however, notice the sound effects. So many sound effects going off at times. Hey, they were at least pretty decent. Though man, I sure did get tired of hearing the sound for those floor things eating me.
You can also change between the original sound and the updated sound, though both from it not being able to be done on the fly and me not really knowing what it actually does, I’m not quite sure the point of it. And yes, not being able to do it on the fly is an issue – the game has no actual saves, just ‘chapters’ or whatever you want to call them. You have no idea when it decides one of these starts besides experience, though they’re “typically” your checkpoints. Checkpoints which already feel too few and far between. And even then, you’re prone to having to redo stuff should you reload. Peachy!
While the ability to switch between classic graphics and the “updated” – in other words, smoothed out – graphics is nice, the controls hinder the game a lot. They add far more difficulty than they really should. Also, seems the game can sometimes bug out. I had clearly finished a part, but apparently the game randomly decided I hadn’t again and made me get completely confused before I was like “I wonder”.
I wouldn’t exactly say I enjoyed my time playing the game, but perhaps it’s better on other versions. I somehow doubt it though. I have no incentive to go and try out the game beyond what I played (and completed) on the PS4 version, despite it being cross-buy on PlayStation systems. If you’re in the market for tough-because-the-controls-are-god-awful games then check out Another World. Otherwise, you’re best looking elsewhere. Luckily, I grabbed it off a Flash Sale for just under $2. I would’ve felt like I overspent if I had paid more.
Another World 20th Anniversary Edition Review Score
2/5
