Classic Review: Out of this World


Last week in my Unreal review, I mentioned the fact that Unreal's amazing ambiance and environment, combined with the eery and haunting music, reminded of one of my favorite games of all time, "Out of this World", published in 1991 by a small French software company named "Delphine Software", and released in the US by Interplay.

That comment prompted me to find the box of OOTW and re-install it. Having played through the game again, I can safely say that Out Of This World was a game way, way before it's time, and after all these years (7 years is ages in the computer gaming biz) it still is a fascinating and highly entertaining computer game. If you happen to see this classic in a discount bin at a local computer store -- get it.

Billed as "the Next Generation of Action/Adventure games", Out Of This World (OOTW) is essentially a side-scrolling adventure, in the style of Prince of Persia and other classic video games. Controls were simple: left right, jump, shoot, and draw your weapon. However, in this game, like the modern classic Unreal I reviewed last week, the story is what is really interesting. The box says that OOTW is an "Action/adventure ame that actually tells a story", which pretty much sums it up. Up until this time, action games were of the "shoot-em-up" variety, where graphics took a back seat to the story.

The story of OOTW is quite interesting, which builds as you play through the game. Sent through space and time by a nuclear experiment gone wrong, you find yourself on an alien planet, populated by deadly monsters. Early in the game you find yourself captured and imprisoned, and are only set free by the help of a friendly alien, who is your compatriot for the rest of the game, helping you out in many sticky situations.

The graphics, specifically the animations, are fascinating, using state-of-the-art (at the time) "rotoscoped animation" sequences. The rotosope animations were amazingly stylized and artistic (the lightning bolts in the beginning sequence stand out in my mind), sort of like Disney animation, yet more dark and gritty -- the VGA palette consisted of a large variety of blues and blacks. Playing the game was akin to playing through an animation.. the sequences flow into each other, as something simple as jumping would trigger an animation of your character jumping up and grabbing a vine, swinging over a blood-thirsty monster.
The copyright of the article Classic Review: Out of this World in Computer Gaming is owned by Dan Finkelstein. Permission to republish Classic Review: Out of this World in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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