A must-have for anyone that doesn't already have it on an old-school system. This experience will stay with you forever.
The story is simple enough. The game begins with an opening movie - a movie which can be found on youtube - where our protagonist (with a dorky grin) pulls up outside a bunker-esque installation in his Ferrari, passes a retina scan, then proceeds to experiment with a synchrotron (advanced science knowledge required!)
Something goes horribly wrong (during an experiment to create anti-matter) when a thunderbolt strikes the particle accelerator, sending electricity through and ultimately warping our intrepid redhead and his whole desk into another world.
This intro movie, and other cut-scenes within the game, are so delightfully different and entertaining I think it's the main reason I keep coming back to it.
The game takes the form of a 2D side-scrolling platformer, but there's more to it than that. Much of what you have to do is scripted, such as making a cage swing so that it eventually lands on a guard, and my personal favourite: running to the edge of the screen, expecting the screen to change, only to get ambushed and grabbed by the neck, whereafter you must kick the guard so that he drops you, then roll-dive to your weapon so you can shoot him.
Being another world, you'd expect a different language, and you'd be right. It's funny hearing the ogre-shaped fellas saying things like "Alustup! Alustup!" or your new friend say "Mysobah!" while pointing, which sounds so much like "My soap bath!" which you really don't have time for after breaking free of your cage. Speaking characters were a rare thing in earlier games - there just wasn't space on the disk/s for too much dialogue, or if there was, there just wasn't enough room left for a decent game to go with it. Another World manages both dialogue and a decent game - this in itself is a rare feat.
While progressing through the screens, you may notice things going on in the distance, or closer to the screen. This also is revolutionary, for it's time, as it adds a sense of perspective, and realism - so many games lose believability when they're 2-dimensional. The simplest example is when you break out of your cage - there are the same ogre-like fellas working away with mining tools, digging like slave labour - that is, not making much progress. Once you break out, they all stop to watch you. Great to watch, and fun to play.
Controls are pretty simple - you only need to remember arrows and the CTRL key. That's it. Can't get any simpler than that, making the learning curve pretty short (5-15 minutes), and giving you more time to appreciate and wonder over the remarkable graphics - graphics which have been markedly upgraded (in some cases completely overhauled). It'll even let you play in up to 1400 by 1050 resolution. My favourite!
Throughout the game you will encounter a variety of challenges, some which may not seem altogether obvious at a first glance. First of all, you don't have to kill everyone. Sometimes your friend saves you. Sometimes you'll have to save your friend. Other instances require you to be quick on the trigger. When in doubt, try anything.
It may be a short game for the experienced player, or someone that's played it before, but new blood, as long as they try to work it all out themselves, may spend a good few hours trying to solve some puzzles.
Some games work with huge plots that take days or months to play through properly, others work as fillers, for when you're between activities. Another World, while one of the latter, is far from boring, boasts a unique gaming experience, and has the potential for a continuing franchise. I shouldn't have to tell you either: it's an experience that's out of this world!