Alter Ego (1986) Review

A game about life, live what you have never lived, learn to live what is to come!

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Presentation

What if you could live again, remake every choice you ever did. Impossible?
In Alter Ego you can. You can just live your life or live a totally different life! Either way it's fun!

But you are presented with the game with little information about it, but seeing that this is a life simulator one can see how that can be realist. The day I was born I did not play any tutorial to learn who to live!

This game has a female and a male version for different experiences!

Graphics

What can I say, the game is from 1986, you cannot expect graphics!

The game is mostly text based. Just imagine a "Make Your Own Adventure" fantasy book and play it like one. Seeing who colourful our minds can be, I believe that in you head the graphics could beat any modern game.

Sound

Apart from some irritating beep to inform you your choice was selected there is a lacking of sound to this game.
But in the year it was release it was difficult to make any sound at all.

Gameplay

This is where this game truly shines.
You are living you life, from the womb of your mother to if you live a careful life a peaceful dead at some advanced age.
And as life itself this game is made of choices that will develop your personality over time and as your personality is moulded you'll notice your past choices affect you further on.

In this game your alter ego will laugh, cry and live trough a panoply of emotions. Involving you in them, and making you feel them together with your alter ego.

Although some of this game situations are written in a funny way this game is a game for adults, as it deals with every situation as death, jobs, and such.

The only problem I found here is that the world around you does not change, as the society itself does not evolve with time.

Longevity

Well I'm still playing it after all this years, so I think all is said in this topic.

The game itself can change depending only in a single choice of yours so the options are seemingly endless.

Final Thoughts

This game is a jewel of gaming.
How amazing it is to reach the end and look back and see your lifetime friends, your proposal, your first job, your career progress. It's a game that will make you laugh and certainly a game that will make you think about like.

In this fantasy community of ours who great is it to look at real life and at this game that does such an excellent job at simulating it?


I recommend this game to anyone, at least I ask you to try it and judge for yourself.

In recent versions of windows to run this game you will need DOSBox or anything similar (I use D-Fend Reloaded that uses DOSBox)and you can get it in any abandonware website for free.

Screenshots

 
You choose the actions that have different images representing them, being it a family action, a brain activity, a social activity, etc...
And you can review how your personality is developing at any moment in a couple of windows!


/ [Stoned_Elf]

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