[General Topics] Menneisyys:
Legendary game Another World (& Flashback) released for Windows Mobile – for free!

Many of you may already have heard of Another World (also known as Out of this World in the US and Outer World in Japan; Wiki page HERE; Abandonia page HERE), which was one of the best vector-graphic action-adventure games back in 1991-1992.

Compatibility

It’s only compatible with WM5+ and QVGA devices, it seems. According to iPmart(R) Network, it’s also compatible with touchscreen-less MS Smartphones– I’ve left my HTC Vox at work so I couldn’t test this.

It won’t run on VGA devices (tested on the VGA iPAQ 210) because of major screen distortion. Note that it uses landscape mode by default. You can also switch to Portrait mode (which is preferable on models with serious Landscape polarization issues) in the menu, which is definitely a plus.

Unfortunately, it isn’t compatible with WM2003(SE) (I’ve tested this). I had no speed problems running it on even the slowest, 195 MHz TI OMAP 850-based HTC Wizard. That is, it runs OK on all platforms. Unfortunately, as is the case with most Windows Mobile titles, it uses the CPU at 100%, which means heavily decreased battery life on most CPU platforms. If you do need to run it on non-QVGA or pre-WM5 devices, you’ll need to find one of the console ports (for example, the Sega Mega Drive version) and use, for example, SmartGear (currently, the best non-SNES / non-GBA emulator compatible with practically everything and using very little battery) to run it. Note that I haven’t tested the compliance of the MegaDrive version with SmartGear; if it’s incompatible,give a try to other Mega Drive emulators (see the dedicated Bible HERE). You may also want to give a try to the SNES version (see the SNES Emulation Bible HERE) in these cases. However, I seriously doubt the latter will work flawlessly on slower systems – if at all.

Downloading, getting

Interestingly, the official homepage of the original developer doesn’t have it (not even the French version – I’ve checked it because the second-language versions sometimes don’t have the same info as the original-language ones. For example, the French version of pocketpcfreewares.com lists the also-free FlashBack, the successor of Another World; the English version doesn’t). Neither does Telcogames (who bought the original creator, Magic Productions) – they only have the commercial Symbian version online.

I couldn’t find it on ClickGamer, PocketPCFreewares or Handango either. The only places I could find it for download are XDA-Developers and iPmart(R) Network – see THIS and THIS threads, respectively.

If you download it from the XDA-Devs thread, all you need to do is just tapping the CAB file to be installed.

The desktop version

I’ve also tested the (commercial) upgraded, Windows-conpatible and high-resolution desktop version on my HP TC1100 tablet. Worked flawlessly – if you’re a fan of the game and would like to play it on your desktop in high resolution (unlike the 320*200 resolution of the original), make sure you give it a try. The trial version is available HERE.

The sequel – Flashback – is also available for free!

I’ve already pointed out the PocketPCFreewares page of Flashback, the successor of Another World (Wiki page HERE). I have some good news for you: it’s also available for free for Windows Mobile (even for WM2003(SE)). The only difference is that you’ll need the original game files in order to run it (which are already included in the Windows Mobile version of Another World). Should you not have them, they’re available HERE. Note that the – discontinued, which may mean it gets closed sooner or later – English page of the latter title is HERE. I haven’t personally tested it – hope it works OK.

Verdict

Go get it even if you don’t know the original game – it’s an excellent title, you’ll love it! Also remember: it’s free, unlike on Symbian or desktop Windows.