I first played Another World on the Mega Drive in 1993 and I was "blown away" by the animation in the game. I suppose it's sort of quaint in retrospect but it really was pioneering stuff at the time. It's a rather short game, but difficult, and this caused it to get a mediocre review from Mega magazine, my gaming zine of choice as a 12-year- old. I should have stuck with it more back then but I preferred Flashback, its spiritual successor, as it had more action.
You play as Lester, a genius scientist attempting a particle acceleration experiment in a remote laboratory. However lightning strikes the lab before the experiment is over, ripping a hole in space and time though which Lester is catapulted after an explosion. He ends up on a desolate alien planet. He is captured by humanoid Vin Diesel-like aliens and imprisoned, but soon escapes and teams up with a fellow alien prisoner to flee to safety.
The game has you solve puzzles and dodge traps through the prison, a cave system, and a tower. It sounds simple but many small details are important and you have to persist through a lot of trial and error. It's a lot of fun exploring the alien world and feeling the lonely atmosphere, plus the simple friendship between you and your alien buddy is kinda sweet.
Another World will always hold up as a groundbreaking video game and it's nice to see each new generation looking back and discovering it. Further adventures can be had with Buddy in the Mega CD sequel Heart of the Alien.
