Gamescom '11: Hands-on with Another World for iPhone and iPad

Ask an Amiga fan what games made the biggest impression on his young(er) self and Another World is bound to feature in the conversation.

A striking animation-cum-film-cum-game, it was the French equivalent of Dragon’s Lair, albeit one with a lot more interactivity and strikingly stylised visuals.

Playing as a man thrown into (quite literally) another world, you job is to survive the various set-pieces into which you're thrown.

These set-pieces range from running away very fast to the slightly more complicated act of shooting the right creature with a laser gun at the right time.

Stray from the required actions and it’s Game Over, but it isn't so much the freedom of gameplay but the expressiveness of the flat polygon visuals and unusualness of the sombre and underplayed story that makes the original such a well-regarded classic.

Renegade master

DotEmu has been very careful to make the game approachable to newcomers while retaining its emphasis on trial and error.

It comes with three different difficulty levels, Hardcore providing exactly the same level of aid as the original (i.e. none).
So, for example, an early scene sees you having to kick leeches before you can progress. On Normal, Lester will automatically bend down and sweep his foot – giving him longer range.

On Hardcore, you need to press both 'down' and 'kick' to perform said move, while the leeches themselves have a tendency to suddenly leap forward, nipping you on the leg, which leads to an early demise.

The controls are another area where DotEmu has been careful not to overburden the player, with two methods – touch and D-pad – available to use. Out of the two, the touch controls feel more natural, if only because their addition meant no obscuring of the screen as with the D-pad.

As revealed at GDC earlier in the year, the original creator of the game, Eric Chahi, is on board with this most recent retelling of Another World.

While I can’t tell how much influence he’s had in the development, there's a feeling that Another World for iOS walks the thin line between fan service and appealing to newcomers skilfully.

Whether that’s through the various gameplay options available or the fact that you can quickly switch between retro and HD graphics with a simple two-finger flick on-screen I can't say.

What I can say is that I’m looking forward to seeing the old classic awaken in the strange new world of iOS gaming on the 22nd of September.