FAQ: Out of this World 2 - Heart of the Alien FAQ/Walkthrough Date: 10-19-2005 Version: 2.72 Author: SkedarJanitor Email: skedarjanitor AT gmail DOT com Best viewed with font Hyperfont, text color green, background black (to simulate Lester's Computer) Made on a Mac using BBEdit __ __ _______ ___ _______ ________ _______ _______ | | | | | ---- / \ | --- \ |-- --| / ___ \ | ---- | |=-| | | |==- / =- \ | |<-- / | | | |___| || |==- |_|. |_| |_ ---/|/_/ \\|_| \ \ |_| \_______/ |_| \\ ________ __ __ _______ |-- --| | | | | | ---- | | | |=-| | | |==- |_| |_| |_| |_ ---/| ___ __ __ _______ __ __ / \ | | | | | ---- | \ || / =- \ | | | | | |==- ||\ \ || /_/ \\ |_ ---/| |_| |_ ---/| || \ _- =============================================================== O U T O F T H I S W O R L D P A R T S I A N D I I |---===========================================================| |----------------- CHAYKIN PROJECT DEVELOPER ------------------| |------------ b9.3 (C) 1993 Lester Knight Chaykin -------------| | | | Quote of the day: | | "Childe Rolande to the dark tower came." | | | | Select a project: | | [1] PARTICLE ACCELERATOR | | [2] HOLOGRAPHIC SCANNER | | [3] FERRARI N20 TURBOCHARGER | | X[4] EXIT | | | | Goodbye! | | | |Last login: Sat Mar 03 04:40:35 on styp4 | |Welcome to PeanutOS! | |[dalektron:~] lesterkc% cmode -s | |simple cursor: active | |> contents | | | | 1.1___legal | | 1.2___controls (VERY IMPORTANT, because control must be | | precise in this game) | | 1.3___tips (Like how to kill guards) | | 1.4___walkthrough | | 1.4.01____BXDF | | 1.4.02____XRCL | | 1.4.03____KGDD | | 1.4.04____DGBJ | | 1.4.05____KTLB | | 1.4.06____RLRB | | 1.4.07____RJLG | | 1.4.08____LKHC | | 1.4.09____CXLD | | 1.4.10____TBBL | | 1.4.11____HLJC | | 1.4.12____FFTR | | 1.4.13____CDJR | | 1.5___ending | | 1.5.1___ending -rant | | 1.5.2___ending -rant -addendum | | 1.5.3___ending -discussion | | 1.6___access codes -misc[] | | 1.7___thanks | | 1.8___version | |--------------------------------------------------------------| |---====================| |1.1 | |> legal[] | |-----------------------| Copyright 2001-2005 W. A. R. This document is protected by US copyright law. This document may not be reproduced whole or in part electronically, on paper, or in any other format, except with the author's express consent. |---=======================================================================| |1.2 | |> man controls | | | |man: Formatting manual page...[] | |CONTROL(1) System General Commands Manual CONTROL(1)| | | | | |NAME | | control - Sega Genesis Directional Controls and buttons A,B,C | | | |SYNOPSIS | | control - [direction] [-a] [-b] [-c] | | | |DESCRIPTION | | control is the user interface to the character's directional control. | | The program allows a user to interact within the game environment. | | | | Options indicate simultaneous button presses. (Ex: up -b means UP+B) | | Multiple options such as -abc would indicate A+B+C. | | | | up | | doorway If the contents of the current background is doorway, | | then this becomes the character location (Enter doorways | | in the background). | | elevator When the character occupies an elevator, direction = up | | (you'll go up). | | ledge Jump to grab an overhanging ledge. This only returns true | | if the !ovrhead parameter is set to ledge (Only works if | | there's a ledge above you). | | teleprtr Teleport upwards if the !ovrhead parameter is set to | | teleprtr (if you're under a teleporter). | | | | up -b | | Attack with the whip towards the ceiling. If whip | | catching is successful on a spike or other protrusion | | then whip_swing is executed. | |/tmp/man.031337 (43%)[] | | | | down | | activate Activate switches. Note this function is only executed | | once. | | elevator When the character occupies an elevator, direction = down | | (you'll go down). | | pickup Adds to your possession items on the ground. Some items | | may be hard to spot upon first glance. | | teleprtr Teleport upwards if the !ovrhead parameter is set to | | teleprtr (if you're under a teleporter). | | | | left | | walk Travel slowly. Needed for precise movement. | | | | | | left -a | | run Travel quickly. run + cliff = bad. Tapping C will perform | | the running_jump, which clears much more ground than a | | standard jump command. | | | |/tmp/man.031337 (66%)[] | | | | -b | | whip Swings the whip in an offensive manner. Effective melee | | weapon. Though it will not penetrate enemy shields it | | instantly defeats the ceiling tentacle creatures. | | | | -c | | jump The character will make a small lateral jump. If running | | then running_jump is executed. | | | | -abc | | activate Activates a bomb. This is only needed once. | | | |ENERGY WHIP ATTACKS | | If the whip_energy is expended or malfunctioned then the following | | commands will execute with a FAILED condition. Locating a recharge | | station to auto-execute whip_recharge is necessary. | | | | -a | | laser This fires a simple, short beam of energy from the coiled | | whip. | | shield This requires the button to be held for a few seconds. | | This creates an energy_shield, which will defend against | | lasers. Note that it will expire shortly, and that a | | killaser will kill the shield process instantly. | | killaser This will create a very powerful laser blast. It is so | | powerful that it will kill any process (e.g. shield, | | door, tank, battle_ship, small_planet). | | | |SEE ALSO | | tips(1) | | | |FILES | | http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/segacd/review/R24970.html | | | |STANDARDS | | The control utility conforms to IEEE Std. 8008.2-1992 (''PEANUT''). | | | |PenOS June 6, 1993 PenOS| |>[] | |--------------------------------------------------------------------------| |---====================| |1.3 | |> tips[] | |-----------------------| GENERAL TIPS This game has very precise controls; if actions are not performed during the proper frames of animation, nothing will happen. Also, don't jump when on the very very edge of a cliff, you will slip off the edge. BOMBARDING THE GUARDS 1. *Quickly* make a shield before Quickdraw turns you into half a tonne of Dr Pepper's secret ingredient. 2. If you're very far apart, get a little closer and shield. Don't get TOO close, though. 3. Charge up a super blast. 4. Let it go to wipe out their shield. 5. Immediately tap A. Before they can make another shield, your laser beam will toast them. It's BACON! mmmmmBaconBaconBaconBacon. . .[] |---====================| |1.4 | |> walkthrough[] | |-----------------------| INTRODUCTION I'll describe how to solve each area's puzzles. I'll present each access code for each area before the actual material begins. |---====================| |1.4.01 | |> walkthrough code1 | |BXDF | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| WASTE NOT WHATNOT You start in a desolate wasteland. There is a cute little critter in the foreground, and somewhere there is a lion roaring. The screen to the right of the start (with the spikes in the background) has an overhanging ledge that you can climb on by pressing Up. HEAVY CHASE On the screen to the left there is a lion. Step onto the lion's screen for a second so it will give chase. Immediately run back to the right. LEDGE HAMMER AND ANVIL When you get to the overhanging ledge, stop running and press Up. You'll climb on the ledge and narrowly escape the pursuing lion. He'll eat the critter instead of you. FAULTY FLOWERS Go to the left until you reach the area with the three deadly disintegration flowers. Don't touch them, or you'll pop louder than Mir crashing into a bubble wrap factory. Stand still and jump over the flowers, but don't get too close when you do it, because jumping makes you hunch over like a monkey with the trots. The screen after the flowers has a wide pit. To make the jump, get a few pixels away from the edge, and then jump. You should just barely make it. Then climb the ledge & go left. |---====================| |1.4.02 | |> walkthrough code2 | |XRCL | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| THE TOOTH OF DEM BATTERS Those little harmless looking bats have teeth bigger than Julia Roberts after a calcium overdose. Don't get near them. COMBAT THE BATS 1. Wait for it to start flying up, then run by. 2. Wait for it to go up, then run until you reach the rock with the whip on it in the foreground. GET A WHIP Press Down to pick up your whip. Run back to the right, avoiding the bats again. When you reach that wide pit, the ground will shake. Get to the end of the ledge, then whip the pointy rock on the ceiling (i.e. the stalactite) and you'll automatically swing across. LION IN THE FLOWERBED Inch your way to the next screen with the flowers, and jump over them. When you go to the next screen with the lion in the background, he'll come out of the background after you! Go back left & jump over the flower. The lion will hit the flower and turn to liquid faster than Sonic the Hedgehog hitting a brick wall. Now go right. There are two pits here now. Remember when the ground shook? Fall into the left pit & you'll go to the next scene. |---====================| |1.4.03 | |> walkthrough code3 | |KGDD | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| ACID FLASHBACK: THE QUEST FOR COHERENCY These stalactites drip acid. One drop of the stuff and your body's acid/biomass ratio would rival Keith Richards'. So if you'd prefer not to disintegrate, keep away. And, well, it blows, but your stylish Tommy Outlander acid- washed jeans won't stop this acid. Don't touch the acid splashes near the ground. FIGHT THE STALACTITES Note: when I say the "first" stalactite, I mean the first one from the right. 1. Take 1 full step left. The first drops should be pixels in front of your nose. 2. First Stalactite: Wait, and take 1 full step. 3. Second Stalactite: This one drips two at a time. Wait for both to fall, then take 1 step. 4. Stalactites 3,4, & 5: When it's clear, run! 5. But stop at the next screen, or you'll step in the acid pool. Whip the stalactite over the pool and you'll swing over it, landing safely on the other side. Run up the slope to reach the elevator. SHAFT IN AIR FREE CAR There's a deadly, evil, disintegrating gas that spurts out of the sides of the elevator shaft (you'd think they'd have the sense not to connect the bathroom vents to the elevator). It follows this pattern: middle, bottom, top. You've got two screens of gas spurts to clear. Remember, if the gas cloud hasn't TOTALLY disappeared, it'll still kill you. And stay in the middle of the elevator. The gas expands at the sides. PASS THE GAS 1. Go up until the top of your head almost reaches the middle gas spout. 2. Go down, but not off the bottom of the screen; if you go off the screen, the gas pattern starts over. 3. When the gas clears, quickly go up. You'll miss the top spurt by half a second. 4. Repeat the previous steps for the second screen. Well I'll be chuffed to buggery. The words "go off when spurt repeat" at the start of the last 5 lines go down in a cascade. Hmm. Anyway. . . POWER TRIPPING THE RIFT At the top, go to the room on the right, and electricity will flow through your whip. It now has more stolen power than every member of Congress COMBINED. Press Up to walk through the doorway to the prison. |---====================| |1.4.04 | |> walkthrough code4 | |DGBJ | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| THE ROCK, STOCK AND BARREL It's high noon at the high security prison colony. From the left, a steely-eyed prison guard is ready to draw his blaster. For your convenience, bis: BOMBARD THE GUARDS 1. QUICKLY make a shield before Quickdraw turns you half a tonne of Dr Pepper's secret ingredient. 2. If you're very far apart, get a little closer and shield. Don't get TOO close, though. 3. Charge up a super blast. 4. Let it go to wipe out their shield. 5. IMMEDIATELY tap A. Before they can make another shield, your laser beam will toast them. It's BACON! mmmmmBaconBaconBaconBacon. . . ALIEN AT LARGE For this next screen you'd better run like you just crashed a truck carrying mousetraps and grenades. The guards in the background are shooting at you. FLOOR THE DOORS Well now you're in for it! There are four locked doors barring your way to the left, and two guards have come from the right. Easy, Harry, the guards are infinite, so use your Magnum Force on the doors to the left. 1. Run to the left. 2. Turn right and make a shield (two if you're panicky). 3. Turn left and super blast the door. 4. Repeat the last 2 steps for all four doors. THE PIT AND THE PENDULOUS TEST O' COOL In the screen past the doors, there's a pit below and a force field blocking the left way. There's also a guard down there who'll go LAPD on your arse if you land on his patrol. Swing your whip at the ceiling spike when the guy is in the middle of his walk & heading left. You'll knock him into the pit, and his gun discharges & takes out the force field. |---====================| |1.4.05 | |> walkthrough code5 | |KTLB | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| FORCE BOX MAKES FORLORN NERD NEEM BOYS Down the elevator, you must shoot the control box for the force field right before you smack into it. Watch out, because at the bottom of the elevator is a gas spurt. Jump over the helpless guard stuck in the crack. Otherwise you'll fall on spikes and end up with more holes than the plot of the Tomb Raider film. There are two guards at the end of the next passageway. DOUBLE PLAY THIS PASSAGEWAY 1. Get halfway between the symbols on the wall. 2. Shield yourself. 3. Shield a couple more times, you're waiting for the right moment. 4. Charge up a super blast. 5. Let it go the moment the front guard's shield goes out. 6. Use standard guard killing procedure on the last guard. On the next screen there are two guards protected by impenetrable shield defenses. INCENSE THE DEFENSE 1. Quickly climb the ledge while the guard is busy. 2. Shield yourself. 3. Adjust your position so you can press Up & B to whip the grate. Your human friend will fall on the guard's head. 4. Leave the screen & return so that the bottom guard is no longer alert, otherwise he'll instantly kill you when you go down the teleporter. Go down the teleporter, then shield. Your buddy grenades 'em! DUCT AND COVER You'll automatically help your buddy into an air duct in the elevator shaft. When going down this elevator, hesitation will kill you. Don't stop until you're clear of the gas vents. HE'S THE GREATEST - VATOR BOUNCE At the bottom, though, watch out, because there's a force field here. You need to make the elevator bounce up and down faster than Oprah's blood sugar while you shoot at the control box on the left, and hopefully you'll kill the force field. |---====================| |1.4.06 | |> walkthrough code6 | |RLRB | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| FOREGASSED CLOUDY There are some ceiling gas vents here. Just run past them, one at a time, when the cloud clears. But the next room is just frightening. The air here is full of more gas than the sixth annual Irritable Bowel Disorder Support Group Chili Cookoff. You'll need some careful timing. HARASS THE GAS "First" here means first from the right. 1. Step under the first spurt when it's clear. 2. The moment the second spurt clears, run until you've passed all of them. 3. Stop running on the next screen or you'll land on the spikes. SPIKE VOLLEY Edge up to the spike pit, and swing your whip at a ceiling spike to get across. On the next screen, whip the guard's feet; you'll clear the spikes and kill a guard in the weirdest way possible. OCTOPUSSY-WHIPPED Whip the tentacles, then run past the nearest vent. Must. . .not make. . .obligatory. . .tentacle hentai joke. . .Wait until the vent & the last tentacle are clear, then run. Press Up under the teleporter to exit. |---====================| |1.4.07 | |> walkthrough code7 | |RJLG | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| FLAT AS A FRENCH CRATE After the cinema, you are standing in an unfamiliar area of the complex. Go left, but not too far. On the next screen a crate will crush you flatter than Gwen Stefani's chest. BAIT THE CRATE 1. Shoot the switch. 2. Stand next to the spot where the crate falls down. 3. Whip upwards. 4. The crate will hit the ground instead of you. THRICE POISE Continue left. Jump across the 3 lights, or you'll be alien shish kabob. Go left and kill the guard. Then edge up to the electrified doorway & jump over the 2nd skull. If you don't, a snake comes out of it, grabs your leg, & pulls you in. Kill the guard in the next screen, then run to the end & charge your whip before you leave through the doorway. |---====================| |1.4.08 | |> walkthrough code8 | |LKHC | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| LEVEL HEADED You'll emerge into a two-level area. You don't need to go up for a while. Run right, until you reach the force field gates. SKATE PAST THE GATES 1. Run past the first one, then stop. 2, Wait for both the second and third force fields to disappear, then run. At the end of the corridor is a teleporter downwards, and a guard. Kill him or shield and run if you want to. Go down the teleporter. There's a guard on the right. Take him out. Go left one screen. There's a guard behind an indestructible shield wall. BRAWL WITH THE WALL 1. Shield yourself. 2. Inch forward and shield until you're under the teleporter. 3. Press Up, then run to the left. 4. Turn right. Go down the teleporter and shoot the guard in the back. It looks like he was guarding some kind of odd switch (with rotating lights) nearby. Shoot the switch to deactivate a disintegrator down the hall. Go all the way to the left, passing tentacles and guards, and go down the elevator. This one is clear, fortunately. THE DESTRUCTIBLE MACHINE Jump over the pit, and on the next screen are several gas spurts that go off in sequence. Just run to the left as soon as the second gas spurt clears. On the far left of the next screen is a strange contraption making more weird noises than a chicken in a washing machine. Super blast it to hell. You'll deactivate a force field. . .somewhere. |---====================| |1.4.09 | |> walkthrough code9 | |CXLD | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| BARMY PIPE SNAKE Now comes the hidden part: You have to go left, because beyond the machine is a room with a valuable item. In this room, there is a pipe creature hanging from the ceiling. Since regular shots are about as effective as Gary Coleman teeth-tossing unstuffed Beanie Babies at T-1000, kill it with a super blast. THE TRIFORCE IS WITH YOU Go left and pick up the pyramid object on the ground. You'll need this for later. And if you die before you get to the next continue point, you'll have to get the item again. SLACK BLADDER Go right. To clear the gas bladders on the next screen, just take off running into the screen and don't stop until you clear the gas. Jump over the pit and go up the elevator. Continue right until you reach the first teleporter going upwards. Take it up. |---====================| |1.4.10 | |> walkthrough code10 | |TBBL | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| BULLSEYE BOMB BATS IN BUGGER'S CANYON The next screen has more evil bats. Take off running when the closest bat flies up. You'll clear the second one. Then take the first teleporter upwards. Kill the guard, then pick up the item to the left. You have completed the bomb! You are The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight! But don't use it just now. Go back down, and go left. There's an L-shaped barrier made of pulsating voltage. BOLT PAST THE VOLTS 1. Walk left until you are close to the electricity. 2. Press Up and B WHILE THE ELECTRICITY IS OFF. The electricity will be off by the time you swing across. BOMB BLAST TICK Go left. There's another machine here, but this one is impervious to super blasts. Walk next to the machine and place your bomb. Now leave the screen, otherwise they'll need an electron microscope to ID your remains. Wait on the other screen, and about 10 seconds later the screen will shake. Your bomb has destroyed the machine, and you now have access to the last part of the level. But you have to get there first. |---====================| |1.4.11 | |> walkthrough code11 | |HLJC | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| BREAK THE BUGGER BARRIER To pass the L-shaped barrier while going right, swing the whip WHILE THE ELECTRICITY IS FLOWING. Run past the bats when it's clear, and go down the teleporter. |---====================| |1.4.12 | |> walkthrough code12 | |FFTR | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| UP-RIGHT CITIZEN'S BARRICADE Run right, until you reach the teleporter in the ceiling. Go up. At the top of the teleporter, go right. There's a guard standing on the other side of the door on the second level. Take the teleporter up to the top level. Make a shield, then super blast the door. This surprises the guard about as much as discovering Edward Scissorhands is his proctologist, so he won't even make a shield. Just shoot him. A SHOT, WHIP, AND A JUMP Go up the teleporter here to recharge your whip. Run to the left, and stay on the second level. Shoot the guard below the teleporter in the roof, and go up. If you had gone here before using the bomb, there would be a platform to the left hovering above the spikes. Your bomb blew up the machine causing the platform to hover. All you have to do is walk all the way to the left and enter the doorway. WELL, BIG SUPPLIES THERE But when you enter the next room, a crate falls on your head! Walk to the left and pick up your electric whip. The wires are split - there's no charge! Now your whip's as empty as a porn theatre showing Esperanto-dubbed episodes of "Welcome Back, Kotter." |---====================| |1.4.13 | |> walkthrough code13 | |CDJR | | | |> [] | |-----------------------| THE BLACK-EYED SQUEEZE Go through the doorway here. When you walk all the way to the left, a fist will knock you to the ground. Get up. In the next screen, the menacing final guard stands staring at you. If you don't act quickly he'll shoot you. TOSS THE BOSS Remember that box that fell on your head? There's one dangling right over this guy's head. Whip the box to drop it on 'em. He'll stagger off into the next screen. Follow him into the next screen. 1. Take 2 steps towards him. 2. Whip him. 3. Take one step. 4. Whip him again. 5. Take another step. 6. Swing the whip up to snag a box & drop it on him. 7. On the next screen, whip, step, whip, step, until he's on the platform. 8. Now press Down while you're in front of the switch. The platform will fall out from under him. |---====================| |1.5 | |> ending[] | |-----------------------| SCRIPTED The guard fights a lion gladiator-style while prisoners watch, then the alien walks amid the burning rubble of the looted prison and discovers his human buddy, dead or unconscious. The alien carries him somewhere, and here follows the part that makes no bloody sense. INTERPRETATION I gather the alien is apparently concerned about the human's increased risk of skin cancer. So he places the human into what must be a fusion-powered gamma radiation tanning bed, because it promptly vaporizes all the clothes, skin, muscles, and soft tissue from his body. Guess he forgot to lay on the SPF 10,000 sunblock. . . Then the alien walks around and you see recycled footage of the happy village from the intro. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED The alien cremates the dead human. Then the alien walks around and you see recycled footage of the happy village from the intro. "And to think it only took you 40 hours just to see the intro again. |---====================| |1.5.1 | |> ending -rant[] | |-----------------------| SNUFFED FILM RIGHT. So I think we can all say that these game designers really did a hack job of the ending, didn't they? The guy goes through every kind of **** imaginable, narrow escapes, breaking out of alien traps, setting alien traps, all that. Some bum-grabber in the Interplay office goes, "Hey, what's the best way to screw with the gamer's mind after all this hard work keeping Lester alive? Have the game lock up? No. Have the ending say 'Congratulations!' and that's it? No. That's been done. Even better, let's SNUFF HIM OFF BY SOMETHING COMPLETELY ****ING RANDOM!" IRREDUCIBLE COMPLEXITY They couldn't at least show the guy ending up home, they opt to do something that they think has the least frames of animation possible. Because him going home, THAT would involve all kinds of skullduggery for the artist, drawing doors and windows and tables and other horribly complicated modern things. Oh no, they couldn't just, I don't know, draw a PORTAL made out of a bunch of CIRCLES and recycle some footage of him walking through it!! |---========================| |1.5.2 | |> ending -rant -addendum[] | |---------------------------| READ SATISFACTION My original ending rant was intended to be comical, however there is a ring of truth to it and I will elaborate for any who may not have been satisfied with the original explanation. TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES The ending sequence does recycle a portion of the animation and drawings from earlier cinemas. New animations created just for the ending are hastily put together - either the polygons appear out of place, or there are relatively fewer frames of animation per second. Judging by these technical elements alone it demonstrates that the designers cut some corners. However, in addition- HE'S DEAD JIM, DIBBS ON THE DARK MEAT The resolution of killing Lester seems abrupt, as if it were a last minute story decision, because there is little to no foreshadowing of Lester's upcoming demise. The player is led to believe through all of Lester's hardships that he will somehow survive. Granted, I may have overlooked a subtle element of foreshadowing somewhere. But it must have been very subtle, because throughout all the plays and replays of the game I conducted for the FAQ, I never caught it. And if he lived - HOME ON THE STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND He never did have to go home. Lester could have remained in the alien world, contributing to his friend's village and perhaps improving their quality of life. My point here is that the story opportunities of Lester surviving are more interesting. How would this human deal with the issues of the alien society? Also, such a story would show the player how this strange society works through Lester's eyes. This story course would be more complex, but I believe it would be much more satisfying because it provides depth to the setting and to Lester's character as well. Imagine an ending where Lester eventually changes his human clothing and attitudes, and through time, becomes a brother to the aliens, adopting their garb, language and culture. If these aliens had a tribal culture, he would go through a rite of passage, such as hunting one of the lion-beasts. After going from outsider to warrior to village elder and scribe, he would die a legend in the village mythology, "the one from out of this world". And through it all his alien friend would be there with him, teaching him the ways of alien life. TECH WITH A GREY KNOWS ALTERNATIVES They could have written the ending so that Lester had a chance to go back home. Why? The level of technology is as advanced, if not more so, than ours. They have flying vehicles (this was in Out of this World I, where you had to push the right buttons to escape the arena). We have flying vehicles (airplanes). They have devices that levitate by some form of power (floating platform in OOtW 2, close to the end of the game). We have levitating devices (maglev trains). They even exceed our technology with laser guns that fire pure energy, generate force fields, and recharge almost instantly. If their technology is greater than or equal to ours, then Lester very well could have built a way to get home, given the time. He would not need to build another particle accelerator. If the technology is advanced enough, he could build somthing else to cross dimensions. And it would bring so much emotion to the story. How would Lester depart from this world that brought him a friend, probably the only true friend he ever had? THE ART OF DARKNESS The game's ending is rushed. All of the alternatives that I have proposed would have taken much more time during development, because of this game's inherent design difficulties. First of all, the game itself is very unique, using a polygon graphics engine on a 16-bit system. Developing cinemas that used this unique graphics engine must have been a real nightmare because there are few games like OOtW. Also, scripting an ending using one of my alternatives, without any spoken or written words, would be quite challenging - all cinemas in both games show the action without any recognizable spoken words or subtitles. But it could be done. They could have made a combination of the two alternatives, have Lester live a life of the aliens for a while, and then stumble on a way back home. Or he could try as hard as he could to get home, but fail, and then make peace with the aliens and become part of the tribe for the rest of his life. |---====================| |1.5.3 | |> ending -discussion | | | |>[] | |-----------------------| Care to grieve about the ending? Then share it here. Our first offering is a lovely lucid little musing courtesy of "Jer": ALTERNATE MYSTERIES, PAST AND PRESENT "In the beginning of the game, we see a brief re-cap of what has transpired in OOTW:1...the escape from the prison, the gladiator ring, and the ride on the dragon to Lester's big buddies village. "We then see the big alien depositing the unconscious (broken backed presumably,) Lester in the remnants of a home, and then going on his way for...what, vengence? A walk? To grieve? Ok, that's fine. "But throughout the game, we can see Lester moving around with us, as if we're trying to help him escape from the prison all over again. He goes through the same escape routes, and we meet back up with him in the same times and places as we did in the first game. I think Heart of the Alien, is simply Out of This World 1, but through the eyes of the alien, and not Lester. We're seeing what the alien had to do at various stages to meet back up with Lester until they could make their escape from the prison. "I think what we see after that -- the cremation, life returning to the village, is what happens shortly after the alien returns with Lester to his village -- back in present time, and not the events that happened in the last game. The alien cremates Lester who had presumably died during their dragon-flight, and then the people that were set free during the prison escape, finally make it back to the village. (Though it must've taken them longer to get there, since they weren't flying on the back of a dragon.) There's a lil time lapse, which shows the village thriving again, and that's the end. "So Heart of the Alien isn't really a sequel at all -- it's OOTW:1, replayed as the alien, with sequel footage at the beginning of the game (the alien and Lester arriving on the dragon) and sequel footage at the end (the alien cremating Lester). "But even then, something isn't sitting right -- the alien found Lester in the prison, unconscious and already dead, at which point he brought him back home to be cremated. But didn't we see Lester being layed down in relative safety (and completely incapacitated) in the beginning? Why and how did he get to the prison? "Second theory; after the re-cap footage, and the alien depositing Lester on the bed/slab in the alien home, the game goes into 'what if' mode. What if in the first game, we were playing for the alien's survival, and not Lester's. I think the ending is saying; Lester wouldn't have made it out of the prison, and as the alien battled to get out, still helping Lester when he could along the way, Lester was inevitably captured, and killed. Which is why the alien cremated him in the end. "Either that, or there are two Lester's. Gah." Jer deserves much hearty applause for his valiant efforts instilling some sense into the painful, anticlimactic storytelling blueballs that is the soddy ending to Heart of the Alien. Hopeful as this may seem, however, our email exchange inevitably concluded as follows: SJ:Anyway. Two Lesters? 'What if'? Past and present? My head's still spinning... Maybe it all wasn't as half- arsed as we think. Jer:I wouldn't go -that- far... SJ:Naah. Jer:precisely. PIPPINZ'S LOCK STOCKING (AND BARREL) "Hi hi, its great to see that *someone* has done a FAQ/walkthrough for Heart of the Alien, as far as I know its the only one to exist. Anyways, its a jolly good FAQ all round, particularly the discussion at the end concerning HotA's WTF ending, and it got me thinkin'. What exactly the hell is going on?" Good question, good question. It's all so foggy in my head, one of these days I should actually play it. "The simplest solution that I can come up with is that perhaps Lester didn't have such a broken back after all, perhaps he was simply in shock from his day of trauma and subsequant bashing up by a hostile alien life form, and was thus unconcious for a brief period of time, in which the Alien had put him on a bed to rest before wandering off to tend to some unfinished business. Lester, waking up at the moment the Alien wanders off, is curious is to where his new found Alien friend is off to, and is lead into yet another dangerous situation, this time not surviving." Ah yes, shock can do that to people. I've woken up in strange places far too many times for my own good, often discovering to my horror that my face had been covered with obscene magic-marker graffiti by my illustrious mates. "Then theres the twin-Lester theory... When Lester's cyclotron particle accelerator overloaded there was a split in the fabric of reality, which not only takes Lester to an alien planet, but also creates *two* of him, both of which do not meet through out the course of the game. While one Lester is escaping the prison for the first time, the other continues to rot in his cell. After the incident the the first game, the second Lester makes his attempt at escaping, and runs into the Alien several times. The other Lecter remains in a coma safe and sound in the bed the Alien placed him in at the beginning." Double trouble! Though if there really were two of them the designers might have made that more clear, give one a mullet or something so you could tell them apart. "Lester Gear Solid"! I can see it now: Lester sneaking around in prison crates, smoking lasered cigarettes and collecting alien dogtags to unlock the Cremated-Corpse costume. "Personally, I prefer Jer's hypothetical/"what if" theory, but hey, its worth discussing. ^-^ " -PippinZ This does make the twin-Lester notion sound more plausible when put this way. Let's see what our next commentator has in store for us. A SAFE BETT Mr. Bett weighs in with the most rational perspective I've heard yet. Can you top it? "Hi. First of all, thanks for the walkthrough on Gamefaqs.com, it made ploughing through Heart of the Alien far less of a chore than it would have been. At the end of the walkthrough, you discuss what the ending's all about, and how it doesn't make sense. I have, however, a solution with which I am 100% confident, and hope you will agree." Bring it on. "First of all, Heart of the Alien is a straight sequal, starting (as the intro suggests - importantly, you see Lester's eyes open and move as he is laid out on the bed, meaning he is alive) where Out of this World ended, rather than a "what if?" or a viewing of the original story from the Alien's perspective. More importantly, Lester's being dead was not totally random at the ending, since he in fact died half-way through. There is a lengthy cutscene between codes RLRB and RJLG, where Lester fights a guard, and ends up falling straight into a bunch of electic beams. Here he dies. The cutscene at the very end of the game has the Alien going back for Lester's body." No doubt to collect on his life insurance policy. The bastard had it in for him the whole time. "Also of significance is the colour of the guards' eyes. In the opening cutscene the leader of the soldiers who attack the village has glowing red eyes. The guard who Lester fights in the middle cutscene has red eyes. The boss at the very end of the game too has red eyes. I think it is safe to assume that they're supposed to be the same guy, the eyes being an easy way to identify him. This also gives a vague reason for what the Alien was up to at the very beginning, as the game proper opens. Red-eyes is apparently responsible for the destruction of the village and capture of the villagers (from the arena scene in Out of this World we can presume they were inteded for gladiatorial combat), which gives the Alien an incentive to go after him. Later he kills Lester, adding to the Alien's grudge against him. When the Alien kills Red-eyes at the end, I think the idea is that he has finally got revenge against him, and of course the villagers are freed. This is presumably why one of the first places you go in Heart of the Alien is another prison block." You'd think with all their incredible technology they'd at least have some Visine for the poor chap. No wonder he's so angry, he has to walk around all day with those dry itchy peepers. Must be allergy season there, I hear a good folk remedy is black-lion musk with a dash of cremated Lester. What? Me? Bitter? No. . . "So, if a chronology was to be built: * Red-eyes leads an attack on the Alien's village, kidnapping all the people. The Alien fights back and is put in a special cage. * Lester arrives after his experiment teleports him to the alien world, is captured and put in the same cell. * Lester and the Alien escape the prison and flee through the citadel, but at the very last gasp Lester is heavily injured (probably broken legs). The Alien manages to get him to the flying animal, and with that they manage to escape the citadel altogether, and find refuge in the village's ruins. * Lester is left to recover, but the Alien goes off to free the villagers and kill Red-eyes (he first goes to find his whip which he must have dropped when first he was captured, then enters the prison block through a secret underground passage). Presumably Lester recovers extremely quickly, since he rejoins the Alien before long. * Somewhere inside the compound Lester manages to save the Alien from being killed by Red-eyes, but ends up dying himself, Red-eyes surviving but unable to go back for the Alien since he ends up on the wrong side of the electric field * The Alien carries on, causing heavy damage to the compound (such as the bomb and the various machines he destroys) and eventually meets back up with Red-eyes. They fight, and Red-eyes is dropped into the pit where animals and gladiators are kept. He is killed by a black lion-thing, and the captive villagers are all released. They waste no time in burning down the citadel, and the Alien goes back for Lester's body, which he cremates. With the oppressive citadel destroyed and the villagers free life can continue as it was. "Very neat I hope you'll agree. "A pedant may point out that the boss at the very end of Out of this World also has red eyes, and of course Lester kills him, but I don't think it is the same character as in Heart of the Alien, since the character hadn't been written when Out of this World was being made - the red eyes were simply to help the player differentiate between him and the alien-friend, so you don't think you're about to kill the wrong guy. "Well, that's all my theory at least; you may disagree, but personally I can find nothing wrong (continuity-wise) with it." Well neither can I. Gob-smacking good work! TIRRELL-MELL Tirrell reinforces Mr. Bett's analysis with some outside confirmations. "For whatever reason, I have an almost fetishistic fixation on Out of This World (and by extension, Heart of the Alien). Every time I get access to a new console or OS I try finding a version of OOTW for it." That's nothing, you should see my chum Wotter, we head for the pub and we stop to pick up Wotter at his place unannounced (to be specific, Wotter Ellis Att*). We walk in and it's all over the shop. We're talking world map with pushpins, stacks of polaroids, website prinouts. It's a scene straight out of The Sweeney. It's a mess, a right dirty mess. And you know what it's all for? This monument to research and evidence gathering to rival the world's most elite topnotch intelligence agencies? SAILOR MOON CARDS. Now, Go home today. And think. Think long, think hard. Is there someone? Could there be anyone? With a fix worse than mine? Possibly? Just remember what you read today, because there, you'll find the answer. And that answer will be the same, as long as Wotter Ellis Att walks the earth. For there will always be one who is worse, lower than the lowest, more pathetic than the noises George Bush makes when "Finnegan's Wake" appears on the teleprompter. And that someone is Wotter, who no doubt searches for Flying Quimby Kitty-Bubbles #7 at this very moment. *We had to protect the poor bastard. It's a fake name. Really it is.** **All right you don't believe me, try saying it. Out loud, seriously. Oh and we're right back to Tirrell's sum-up. "Anyhoo, I'm all in favor of your going through it again and using screen captures for illustrative purposes. I think, however, it is pretty clear that Mr. Bett's chronology is right on. Despite our desires to see Lester survive, it seems readily apparent that HOTA is a true sequel, and that he does indeed die by getting pushed into those blue lasers while trying to protect buddy. Lester is not dead at the beginning of HOTA, as he wakes up and his eyes blink during the introduction right after buddy lays him down and has his black and white flashbacks (hmm...Flashback? Mixing games here...). "Then there is the cinema where Lester saves buddy from being shot by the guard with red eyes. (I agree with Mr. Bett that this appears to be the same one that stormed the village and also is the last boss. However, there do appear to be other guards with red eyes in both OOTW and HOTA. I assume it just means they're evil.)" Since the red-eye problem seems to be fairly chronic I'd venture it's a symptom of an opium fix. See, the prisoners are mining drugs, and the guards are snuffing between shifts. In fact they could call it "Heart of the Colombian" and it would be just like your average high school! Except the consequences for hitting brown acid are a smidge worse than a bad trip (disintegration's a bugger). "In the game closing, you can see buddy return to the exact spot where Lester got fried to collect and then cremate him. Speaking of which, if there is a silver lining, it appears that Lester's coffin is visible in the end cinema, right after buddy peers out of the door of his hut. It is sitting in the rebuilt village. So, at least there is some sort of tribute to the guy who helped save that village from enslavement." It would be fine and noble if that coffin was indeed a tribute, however from the look of things Alien and Co. have found themselves the perfect coffee table. Who can tell? For all we know, the Aliens discovered a right kicking artificial sweetener. 'This brew's a bit strong, get me two spoons of Lester powder deary.' "I agree it's a little depressing, especially considering that, despite evidence to the contrary in the excerpts from Lester's journal (in the OOTW introduction of some versions), it appears that Lester goes from ill-fated experiment to dead in about a day. I don't feel that his death is tacked on, however, in that he dies in the middle of the game, we just don't get conformation of it until the end cinema. Perhaps the developers were hedging their bets." It's called LYING TO YOUR AUDIENCE. And any storyteller that does it is walking a fine line. Because when you do it, you'd bloody well better do it RIGHT. That means foreshadowing, hinting, leading... Not overt, but it has to be there. You don't just go and pull the rug out because that sends your audience bollocks up and out of the theatre. Predictions? Prophecies? Nothing of it. It's all told without words, making prophecies difficult, however a disturbing dream sequence would have been nice, or even a simple skull-and-crossbones type of iconic imagery prevalent through the scenes leading up to the death moment. I am aware the overall atmosphere is dark, but nothing stood out in particular as extra menacing (with one exception - I got a shiver from one closeup framing the cockeyed visage of a creature called "Lester"). "This is an interesting issue, in that there may have been some discussion about a sequel, or at least ports to other platforms. It seems very, very odd that HOTA only appears on Sega CD, which didn't do well in America (I don't know about the rest of the world), when OOTW was on just about every bloody computer and console you can find. I've personally played through the Apple IIgs, Super Nintendo, Genesis, DOS, Macintosh, and Sega CD versions many, many times (SNES and Sega CD being the best). OOTW is also on the short-lived 3D0 system as well as the Amiga and I think a few others. Why then was HOTA only on the Sega CD? It boggles the mind, and allows for the possibility that expansion onto other systems and maybe even a sequel were possible. Perhaps the developers ran out of money and/or steam while developing the Sega CD version." Methinks the developers knew a liability when they saw it STOP And the sheer volume of rage they would release upon the world with this shoddy ending would spell World War 3 STOP I mean if 1000000 people went off half as bad as I did when they saw the ending you'd be reading this FAQ over a telegraph wire right now STOP "It does seem that HOTA ends in such a way that a sequel is impossible. Perhaps Eric Chahi was just finished with this plot line and wanted to move on (in fact, Chahi's involvement in HOTA seems a matter of debate). You can see in something like Heart of Darkness (coincidence?) Chahi was still doing the same type of thing, so who knows?" Oh come off, a sequel's not IMPOSSIBLE. If you look at it the possibilities are truly endless: * Alienna Bones and the Ashes of Doom * Final Fallacy 3: Mystic Dross * Lester Suit Larry * Cremains & Conquer: Dead Alert GOODMAN SAYS THE LUCK STOPS HERE And here is our first counterpoint to the argument that Lester is dead, from G. Goodman. Take of it what you will. "1. The creators of the game want you to believe that our hero, Lester, was cremated as a ritual performed by the alien people. But he did not die. If another sequel would have been made, I surely think that Lester would be in it, because his body was REGENERATED from the REGENERATOR, not cremated from the cremator. Lester was given a new body like being reborn just as he was born again went he dramatically appeared in the swamp/lake as he first entered into another dimension/world in the original game; coming out of the water symbolizes coming out of the womb." Right, so it follows that the falling computer in the pool symbolizes the falling ****-log in the toilet which inspired Eric Chahi to make the ending. Anyway... I jest. Obviously Eric's inspiration was a looser bowel movement KIDDING! I mean it escaped my mind, I forgot to mention the cornUCOPIA OF IDEAS HE HAD! Yeah that's what I meant. Really. "1a) At the end of this game, the alien people are finally free from tyranny and oppression. But the purpose of Lester's appearance to this world was not just to help liberate it, but he must also return to his own "dark" world--the real world. Why do you think Lester was doing before he got zapped out of this world? His purpose in life is to give nuclear fusion (the clean, efficient, blue energy source) to liberate our world from: pollution, acid rain, dependancy on oil, burning fossil fuels, and most importantly, to end all wars between nations." So Lester is the savior of mankind as well? Here I was thinking he was a loser with the #1 most failed Science Project ever (of course not counting last year's gaff with baking soda / white phosphorus). Perhaps he and that guy from that "Grid" movie or whatever should get together, they'd start Revolutions at chess clubs and lock-ins across the GLOBE. ON THE FRITZBY It looks like we have fans. For screenshots and a breathless summary of both games: http://www.geocities.com/jfritzyb/jers_heart.html I REMI BOVE THE LAWS Remi Laws provides the human perspective. "The ending may not be as bad as you may think. When I first saw it I thought 'JEEZ! That sucks!'" And that's all for Remi's comment. Short and sweet! Thanks everyone for the excellent comments. Send yours here: ( skedarjanitor AT gmail DOT com ) Oh hang on. "I Led Lester through all those puzzles, monsters and guards just to see him become flash fried?! That sucks! I feel TERRIBLE!" There we are! So concise. Exactly how we all felt. Thanks everyone for the excellent comments. Send yours here: ( skedarjanitor AT gmail DOT com ) Care to join? I'm starting a Gmail lawsuit. "Then a few minutes later I thought 'Well, maybe that's the point.' Life isn't fair sometimes, and it sure wasn't fair to poor, poor kentucky fried lester." No, life is fair. Lester is unfair. I would be too, for wasting everyone's time by refusing to self-cremate at the bloody START. "'Oi hows this gun work?" *CLICK* *BACON* "Even so, I really wish they hadn't up and killed him. That really SUCKS hard, especially considering how much work those games were. Still, there may be a hope for a theory of my own, dubbed the Chahi theory." We've tried printing this theory but the length causes errors. No problems with the first pages of the job, but then the end comes and it's all ash. Bugger. "The Chahi theory is as follows: Eric Chahi realizes the universe needs more OOTW and HOTA, and remakes both, with an ending where CHAYKIN DOESN'T DIE. Eric Chahi doesn't like HOTA anyway, but really liked OOTW, so who knows?" There is but one flaw with this theory, and that is that Chahi is not a masochist. Sadist, maybe. "Maybe if we email him enough times he'll get off his artistic posterior and do it." REDACTED (I would transcribe my laughter here, but this site could use that space for hosting more game info, like Hi-Def trailers) "Or maybe he'll feed us to the tentacles, but it's worth it." To do that, he must be deaf to criticism. If he won't listen to my ending feedback filed under "sharp spikes, being whip-swing kicked into" can you call him REASONABLE? Thanks everyone for the excellent comments. Send yours here: ( skedarjanitor AT gmail DOT com ) If you've got nothing to say, why not let me know if you've Rated This FAQ. I'll know how well this guide is helping you. |---====================| |1.6 | |> access codes -misc | |TTKX | |GCXB | | | |>[] | |-----------------------| NO MEGA CODES These are codes for the latter part of the game. However, they aren't used in the walkthrough because the objectives were completed in a different order. TTKX Before the bats, but without the first piece of the pyramid bomb. Also, disintegrator is not deactivated. GCXB In the area with the floating platform above the spikes, but with no bombs. |---================================================================| |1.7 | |> thanks | | | |DEVELOPERS | | To Delphine Software, Virgin Interactive, Interplay Productions, | | Sega, and all others who contributed to this compelling game. | | | |DODGY BASTARDS | | And to the pawnbroker that sold me this game, even though it was | | in wretched condition and I had to clean it several times before | | finishing this guide. | | | |BARE BONES HEADED | | This document was (re)created with BBEdit 6.5.2, which has every | | single feature you could ever want in a text editor. If you need | | to write FAQs or especially develop software or web pages, this | | is the best. Editor. Ever. What others allow you to rewrap the | | text for an entire document automatically, columnize plain text, | | and configure text for different encodings (ANSI, ASCII, etc.) | | on the fly? Awesome.[] | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |---================================================================| |1.8 | |> version | | | | 10-18-2005 2.72 Commentary from Remi Laws and reorganization. | | | | 03-19-2005 2.71 New contact info and a reader's fansite. | | | | 11-14-2003 2.7 Commentary from G. Goodman added. With a jolly | | good-natured riposte. | | | | 11-01-2003 2.6 Commentary from J. Tirrell and a confirmation | | of the HOTA website project with illustrated guide. | | | | 07-19-2003 2.5 More discussion from the illustrious Mr. Bett | | and PippinZ. This has sparked such serious inquiry | | that I just might come along and provide pictures to | | prove my point. | | | | 04-19-2003 2.3 New Header to further press the point that this | | is a session on Lester's computer, and also a new | | "Ending Discussion" section sparked by the great | | feedback I'm receiving about it. Been a while. | | | | 07-17-2002 2.2 Updated new email address for contact information | | and added a spiffy signature while I was at it. | | | | 07-13-2002 2.1 RE-redid the document so the whole package | | resembles a session on Lester's computer! For further | | inspiration I decided to use Darwin to fill in any | | blanks in the "Peanut OS". ;) | | | | 06-18-2002 2.0 Redid the document with BBEdit 6.5.2, the BEST | | TEXT EDITOR EVER MADE. And added the particularly | | lucid ending rant Addendum. | | | | 10-01-2001 1.911 Fixed a goofy little foobar with the | | formatting. Word replaced all my normal apostrophes | | with those "smart" apostrophes, rendering all | | contractions illegible. | | | | 09-30-2001 1.91 Added ASCII art title, changed headers to | | vaguely resemble the "Peanut Computer" OS running on | | Lester's computer, improved content of walkthrough | | | | 06-18-2001 1.0 This is the first GameFAQs walkthrough that | | covers the entire Heart of the Alien game. I'll try | | to add more in the future if anyone contacts me about | | this FAQ (include "Heart of the Alien" in the subject | | line of your email).[] | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| http://www.plasmagrey.com Adept and playful animation and sound. |.- ,`. | `. ,' `. | `. .-``. .` | `,' !-`. '. | | `' . |,.._ | _..,| . . \`-' \__\_._/__/ `-'/ || `. |`| .' || ,''-;-..._\ / _,/__ |M | ;.. 'i:i''' ; |O | \ |---.(|),.-.''\ \ |P \ ,-.|SJ_| | _.' + 1| _,'_.-`-:.._|___,,'`._' 2| ,',-'. ./'':.:_ `-. `._ 0| ,-'.' / ) `/ <:`-._`._|| |_ | ,/ / | \. - ||\ \|.'\ '. .' '-._ | ".:\\: ` -| \ |. ,-' ' || '| \ `\ ,--' ._,!!..._ ,'. '| | <__ : `'o'''/`\ _.......-'''/_ : : : '' ..|W.A.R.\'::, ``-._____ _""....__'. : : :' '..____.' ...---=:'''' ||||-||=. `'..:_._________i__i,,...........,---""""'