Another World coming to mobile phones

All-time 16-bit classic Another World is to receive the mobile phone treatment some 14 years after the classic Delphine-developed title was initially released on the Amiga to worldwide acclaim.

UK-based Telcogames and developer Magic Productions is bringing Eric Chahi's memorable and atmospheric creation to Symbian-compatible mobile handsets later this month, and Chahi himself has given the project his full backing.

"When I see the result in my hands I'm totally amazed by smooth animations faithful to the original game," commented Chahi. "But the most stunning point is the intact and responsive playability which was the true challenge to do on a mobile phone. Magic Production succeeds in this 'tour de force'."

Old-timers will recall that the game puts you in the shoes of young nuclear scientist Lester Chaykin in a beautifully animated 2D flick screen action adventure. An experiment goes haywire and Lester finds himself transported to Another World, and you're thrust into a completely alien environment with only your wits keeping you alive.

Using a context sensitive control system, the game did a great job of challenging the player with unique scenarios right from the word go (who could forget the first time you end up trapped in a cage?). The trial and error game design lead to plenty of instant death, but the amazing, eerie atmosphere and sensible checkpointing more than made up for the frustration.

The game was also known as Out Of This World in the US, and was later ported (with varying degrees of success) to the Atari ST, Sega Genesis/Megadrive, Super Nintendo, 3DO and even the PC. If you want to play it in its original glory we definitely advise checking out the Amiga version, though.

Nicolas Hamel, the CEO of Magic Productions said: "the development of Another World on mobile devices was a challenge because of its powerful display engine and gameplay. We had to be very careful that the game would be playable and fun on actual mobile phones. We are very proud of the finished title and believe it runs almost as well as the original."

For more information, head to Mobygames website.