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

The Good
First of all, I LOVED Out of This World. I think it's one of the best platform games ever made and also one of the most emotionally powerful games ever made, with a unique visual design, terrific gameplay and a wonderful, tear-dropping story about friendship.

I'm not going to spend any more time talking about the original classic because it's not the point here, but if you recall, Out of This World ended with a fantastic and powerful open-ended sequence (think Fallout if you have no idea what I'm talking about) that left the door wide open for a sequel. Now, just because a story isn't completely closed before the credits roll doesn't mean that it needs a sequel per se, that's how I felt about "...World" but the fact is that Delphine did release a sequel, and this is it.

Well, actually it's sort of a sequel, as I suspect it was just a "bonus track" for what's essentially the Sega CD port of Out of This World. Regardless, you get to play through a brand new adventure taking place after the events of Out of This World as the good ol' nameless alien buddy.

The game starts with a wonderful intro that shows you just what your alien buddy had to do on his own while you were doing your thing in the original game, and then shows how the alien takes Lester back to his home village to heal. Those bad aliens are at it once again however, and since it was that time of the month when they had to burn down a village they do just that to your homestead. "Alien Buddy" thus has to escape alive from the wild monsters and troopers, rejoin his friends, and finally storm the bad aliens with the help of Lester for a final showdown and the chance to liberate their enslaved comrades.

Graphics and soundwise the new scenario is on par with OoTW, which is good, as they were fantastic the first time around and they make playing both parts a seamless experience. The same lavish alien landscapes, smoothly animated creatures and those kickass laserguns are back, except you are no longer in the shoes of Lester and instead of handling a laser pistol, Alien Buddy has an energy whip, which basically does the same as the original gun, except you can also use it to swing around as an added move.

Basically it's more OoTW, PLUS the original hit in it's best conversion ever (though to be fair, I can't find much that's different from the good ol' DOS version except the audio).

The Bad
I regret to say that there are various problems with Heart of The Alien, and the new scenario falls very short of the expectations one could have. Yes, I know that coming as the "Part II" for OoTW it already had to deal with a set of monumental expectations that it was never going to overcome, probably that's the reason why it wasn't released as a full-blown sequel and merely added as a bonus for this port. But still, there are numerous problems with the game regardless of that.

First of all, Alien Buddy is NOT Lester, he's much slower than him and every action needs to be thought of and executed half a second or so before it happens which brings to the game a much more challenging timing-oriented gameplay, which is made only worse by the truly anal level of difficulty. You will need split-second timing and pixel-perfect precision to make it through even the earlier levels, performing all sort of feats that would have been challenging with Lester but are downright nightmarish with Buddy.

The levels themselves are surprisingly dry and generic, a sad surprise since the stages of OoTW defined creativity in platform games. I can remember every area from OoTW, from the starting desert, the jail complex, the underwater caves, alien city, etc... And that's because they were visually unique locations, with challenging yet fun puzzles and obstacles to overcome. As for Heart of the Alien? Uhm... I think It ended in a big alien stronghold... or something... A distinct sense of laziness fills most of the screens from the game, and you can't help but feel like you are wading through filler material 90% of the time.

Finally, as it has been mentioned around here, the ending sucks. Well, no it doesn't suck, but it's pretty shitty. This requires a bigger explanation and I credit it to the same lazy approach they took with the level design. Basically it's a "filler" storyline that lacks the "high adventure" feeling of the original and mature overtones. One can blame this on the fact that you are no longer playing the disoriented human lost in an alien world, but it's more than that, as the story just boils down to the classic "hero rescues town" cliché from the earliest games. Finally, as for the ending itself, I don't exactly hate what happens per se, but it feels like a last minute cheap shot aiming for the emotional impact of the original in a game devoid of it.

The Bottom Line
First of all it is the most complete version of OoTW, and for better or for worse, it continues the adventure and you get to play more of the wonderful gameworld crafted by the guys at Delphine. So yeah, you should get it.

On the other hand this "Part II" falls very short of the original, and feels like those crappy remixes bands around the world put in their "greatest hits" compilations to try to steal some more. Maybe it's still good when compared with what's out there, but it's only a shadow of the original. Heck, in the end I sought Heart of the Alien for so long only to return to Out of this World... as far as I'm concerned, the story ends THERE.

The Good
The Sega CD version features part 1 (Out of this World/Another World) as well as part 2 (Heart of the Alien), which was made exclusively for the Sega CD. Both games offer up impressive graphics, fluid character animation, cool music, sound effects and a very interesting, oftentimes intense, dark science fiction story. All in all, this is probably one of the best side-scrolling, action-adventure games for the Sega CD.

The Bad
Both games are incredible difficult, on a level that is much more frustrating in comparison to a game with a similar format; Flashback: The Quest for Identity. Be prepared to die often and to perform very precise movements (i.e. walking, running, jumping, climbing, etc) while be chased and or attacked by some vicious creatures. While similar in its design, Part 2 was made without the involvement of the first game's developer and contains an amazingly depressing ending for skilled gamers who complete both parts.

The Bottom Line
Parts I and II are both ambitious and well designed games that feature some impressive graphics, animation, music and sound effects. Both games are too hard and dark for novices or young children. Teenagers or adults who enjoy a difficult game with lots of dark science fiction, suspense and violence will likely enjoy both games.

The Good
This Sega CD version of Out Of This World is surely the best one to have, as it is the only one that includes the sequel.

I'm not going to review the original game here. I bought the PC version when it came out in 1992 and absolutely loved it. I still do. In this review, I'll just talk about the sequel.

OK...Good things. Well, the game is certainly addictive and compelling, despite the often ludicrously high level of difficulty. You will die many, many times in this game, but somehow it manages to avoid being annoying - well, most of the time. In fact, at times, it's almost peaceful, probably due to the serene blue graphics and atmospheric soundtrack. The graphics and music are indeed, very good. The animation is variable - Usually very good, but sometimes noticeably below the standard set by the first game. On the whole, though, this is a fun follow-up to a classic game.

The Bad
The most off-putting thing about the game is certainly its high level of difficulty. There are many screens which require split-second timing, where you will probably die fifty times before you finally get to the next section. This is not helped by the sluggish controls, which often seem to take a while to respond. Just as Lester had a gun in the first game, so the alien protagonist has an energy whip in the second game. This whip can be used to lasso stalactites and thus swing across gaps (very cool) and it can also be used in exactly the same way as the gun from the first game. There is nothing wrong with this idea, as the gun was an inspired creation, but the problem is the controls; When 'firing' the whip, they are very over-sensitive, meaning it is way too easy to make a force barrier when you are actually trying to fire off shots. As I got further through the game, I did get better at using the whip, but it never became easy.

The game's levels are a mixed bag - Some are interesting and fun, while others border on the tedious. Overall, the feel is rather scrappy and patched together, especially when compared to the first game which offered something completely new on each level, and had a strong feeling of continuity. This is more like a patchwork of puzzle rooms, alternating the basic patterns of deadly bursts of gas, electric beams, guards to shoot and chasms to leap across. There are few (if any) real set-pieces, whereas the first game was inspired set-piece after set-piece. The gameplay does satisfy at times with little puzzles to solve, but too often it comes down to learning split-second timings and remembering where the traps are. The first game also had a lot of that, but nowhere near the level seen in the sequel.

I know I said the graphics were good, and that's generally true. There are some very nice caves and industrial complexes to walk around, but where this game falls down is in its cinematic sequences. The cut-scenes in the first game were always done in a way that was both stylish and clear, whereas the cut-scenes in the sequel tend to look somewhat messy and convoluted.

Then there's the ending. I won't spoil anything for you, but, well...it sucks.

The Bottom Line
Out Of This World was an amazing game that had an incredible amount of purity and clarity, both in its unique visuals and in its simple, but flexible controls. Its gameplay balanced action with puzzle solving and Eric Chahi managed to create a truly wondrous new gameworld, full of intrigue and emotion.

The sequel, while it is definitely worth playing through (unless you'd prefer not to see the ending) does not have the same purity. It has some messy visuals at times, difficult controls and many players will be put off by its totally unforgiving nature. However, it is a solid and enjoyable game, that I found compelling to the end. If you liked Out Of This World and have huge amounts of patience (definitely a requirement), then I think you'll like this one, too.

Right. Now I'm off to play Heart Of Darkness...

The Good
Heart of the Alien ,the sequel to "Out of This World" is a great game too ,but the ending is really sad. In Heart of the Alien ,you lead Lesters friend. Your task is to destroy the evil fortress ,near your village. Everything is okay ,the action is quick ,the music is just swell ,the graphics are okay. Nothing wrong I guess ,except the ending. It is a little sad ,but maybe Im just too sensitive . Some people really liked the ending ! Anyway ,this game is worth playing.

The Bad
I really didnt like the ending . After all these hours of gameplay you watch this beautiful outro :P I also didnt know which things happened when in the intro... Maybe Im not the only one who doesnt know :)

The Bottom Line
A very good side-scrolling Adventure game. Maybe not so many puzzles ,but it needs a good skill to finish it.

The Good
I liked too see what "buddy" did on intro (flashback from Another World) and playing with him. It was brilliant to see everything with his eyes. New animations are nice, like playing around with whip and jumping. Graphs are also nice, they are bit better than in Another World.

Worth of trying

The Bad
This gonna spoil, but I have to say this: It was MAIN IDEA to get Lester out from this world, but Lester won`t make it. It was so stupid ending, I have to say! This really, really annoys me.

Also, some thinks from Another World have got worse. When you fire your gun, it takes about one second to launch trigger, which is too long. You have to be extremely fast to press A or it`s too late. This specially bothers when you have to fire your weapon in split second, because you probably die, if you cannot make it. Game is too hard

Whip is fast, but you need it as weapon for only once

The Bottom Line
Worth of testing, but Another World was much much better