Heart of the Alien

Infobox VG
title = "Heart of the Alien"


developer = Interplay
publisher = Virgin Interactive (Avalon Interactive)
designer = Jeremy S. Barnes, Michael Burton, Doug Nonast
engine =
released = 1994
genre = Action-adventure
modes = Single player
ratings = VRC: MA-13
platforms = Sega Mega-CD
media = CD-ROM
requirements =
input =

"Heart of the Alien" is an action-adventure video game that was made by Interplay and released in 1994 for Sega CD. "Another World" is also included.

"Heart of the Alien" is a sequel to "Another World", which is a famous cult classic video game. It is set directly after the events of the first game and stars the Buddy, who is the alien that travelled through the slave prison with Lester in "Another World".

"Heart of the Alien" is similar in gameplay and graphics to "Another World", but was much less successful than "Another World", which was released for more than a dozen systems, as it was released solely for the Sega CD. Some people also complained that it got rid of "Another World"'s tonality.

tory

The story picks up immediately after the end of "Another World". Buddy lands the pterodactyl in the ruins of his village, lays Lester down on a cot to rest and walks through the village, thinking of his past. This sequence contains many trichromatic flashbacks of events that lead up to Buddy's capture and his and Lester's escape from prison.

In the game, Buddy is searching for the red-eyed alien, who is responsible for the destruction of his village and the imprisonment of his people.

Buddy controls somewhat similarly to how Lester did in "Another World". He has some new moves that are provided by his powerful energized whip. For example, he can swing from stalactites or similar objects and his shields are deployed instantly, unlike Lester's, which take a few seconds to charge. Also, there is no heads-up display, like "Another World".

Plot

Buddy lands the pterodactyl creature in a ruined village. As he then lays Lester on a cot, he thinks about his previous adventure, the events of "Another World" from his point of view.

"Buddy is the ruler of a peaceful village. It is suddenly attacked by the red-eyed alien and the slave prison guards. Buddy and his loyal pet beast battle the guards. Eventually, the red-eyed alien manages to net Buddy, who is then put in the cell with an unconscious Lester."

Buddy sees Lester awaken briefly.

"When Buddy and Lester are separated for the first time, Buddy dives at a guard that's blocking his path. They both fall into a pit and the guard is attacked by a beast. The guard fires his laser gun while getting killed, each shot hitting the wall, thus opening a way for Buddy to escape. He tries to grab the guard's laser gun, but the beast then tries to get him. He runs off and is then faced with oncoming laser blasts until he is sent rolling down a hill. A guard opens a door that's a distance away and opens fire, but Buddy knocks him out with a rock and continues as laser blasts come towards him. In the background, Lester is attacked by a guard. The guard's laser blasts keep missing him, though. Lester stops running and blasts the guard before continuing towards the lower platform. Buddy is attacked by the beast that he saw before, but dives into a large pipe with the beast not following. As he crawls, he comes into a barred door and tries to open it. How he manages is not shown."

Buddy looks at his house.

"In the gladiator level, Lester and Buddy succeed in setting their pods off. Buddy lands in a building and is knocked out of his pod. Lester's shadow runs by and Buddy jumps through a stained glass window in order to help him."

Buddy then sets off on a mission to find his electric whip and kill the red-eyed alien. Later, Lester joins, but is quickly separated from him. The red-eyed alien soon attacks Buddy, knocks him out, and then gets ready to shoot him. Lester sneaks in and is just about to attack when he gets noticed. The alien fires at him, but he retreats with the still-unconscious Buddy. Lester checks him and then suddenly jumps at the red-eyed alien, clinging to him, attacking him. The red-eyed alien eventually throws him into an electric chamber and drops and rolls with Lester getting numerous electric shocks before finally collapsing. The red-eyed alien then checks Lester. Knowing that he is dead, the red-eyed alien escapes unharmed.

Buddy soon awakens. Noticing that the red-eyed alien is missing, he goes out in search for him. Later, the red-eyed alien attacks him again, but he quickly fights back with his whip until he is over a grey floor. It tilts and the red-eyed alien falls to a lower floor. Walls reveal heckling prisoners. The red-eyed alien's jaw drops when he notices a beast in a locked-up den. He yells for the prisoners to quiet, strikes a fighting pose, and then nods. Buddy then throws a switch and the beast's den opens up. The red-eyed alien starts beating up the beast as it launches out until one of the prisoners suddenly kicks him. The beast strikes back, dripping blood, and then drags the screaming alien into the den. Freed villagers suddenly break into the slave prison, setting fire and killing guards. Cells open and prisoners run free. While trying to get out, Buddy comes across Lester's body. He feels his forehead, only to realize that his alien friend is dead. He carries his body to his home village and puts him in a cremation coffin.

In the newly rebuilt village, Buddy hangs up his electric whip, pets his happy beast, and then eyes Lester's coffin, which has yet to be buried. A wide shot of the village is then shown, with the destroyed slave prison in the background.

Eric Chahi

Although Eric Chahi, who is the creator of "Another World", did not help with making the game, he had a few things to do with the development.

*Eric never had a sequel in mind, but Interplay chose to develop one anyway. Eric thought that it would be very interesting to play "Another World" from Buddy's view. He clearly stated once that he didn't want a sequel because he wanted people to be able make their own conclusions to "Another World". Still, Interplay chose to make a sequel, and events of "Another World" from Buddy's view were shown in the game's lengthy introduction. Eric spent six years developing "Heart of Darkness" and then left the videogame industry until 2006 [http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=72345] .

*According to an Interplay employee, Eric suggested Lester's death because there was no plausible way to return him to Earth [http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.video.atari/msg/816f4fb2a9df7b82?dmode=source] . However, he has since regretted it because it made a conclusion to a story that he had left a cliffhanger.

External links

*moby game|id=/heart-of-the-alien-out-of-this-world-parts-i-and-ii|name="Heart of the Alien"
* [http://hota.sourceforge.net Heart of the Alien Redux] - an open source rewrite of the game engine. This program is designed as a cross-platform replacement for the original executable (data files from the CD are still required).