Afterlife
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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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 76% (based on 25 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 46 ratings with 8 reviews)
If you thought you were playing god in SimCity...
The Good
This is a fun world builder game that came out after people started calling world builder's "god games", then took that idea to a whole new level. It has some quirky humor that fits right in with the other non-Star Wars themed LucasArts games at the time. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't find the game that complex to manage, but I was also playing games like SimCity 2000 and Civilization 2 around the same time period.
The Bad
The different ports of the game varied graphically, with the Macintosh port being far superior, supporting at least 16-bit color, if not 24-bit. Even in 8-bit color mode, the color palette on the Mac version represented the source artwork better than DOS or Windows. As best I can tell, the GoG version of the game is DOS version and suffers a bit for it.
The Bottom Line
Regardless of the graphics, this is a fun game to play, especially if you like other world builders of the period. But, if you can scrounge up an old Mac version of the game and a PowerPC Mac, that's the superior way to play.
Macintosh · by xfade551 · 2024
The Good
Well, it was original...
The Bad
The game mechanics were just too complex. The learning curve was really high, and the amount of work requred to get a little humorus payoff did not work for me.
The Bottom Line
A great idea, but probably not enough design/prototyping to insure it was fun from the start.
Windows · by Tony Van (2796) · 2000
Great Sim City 2000 style game!
The Good
I loved Sim City and I loved this one. It's harder than it's Maxis predecessor, but still good. It's complex nature is perfect for the demiurge player. Everyone should play this game, whether they believe in an afterlife or not. Lucasarts should pursue an Afterlife 2 with different stuff.
The Bad
The only I didn't like about the game, is that I wasn't very good at it. Other than that, it was pretty good.
The Bottom Line
Fun, Sim city like, a must play
Windows · by Laey'zur Tiberius Hawke (9) · 2001
Discussion
| Subject | By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| intro shot correct? | Corn Popper (68968) | 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 September 19, 2024.