Alter Ego Female (also known as AlterFem) is a game about life. From birth to death and everything in between, you are given hundreds of unique situations and questions to which your answers dictate the life you lead. Make friends and foes, find a lover and raise a family, become successful in a lifelong job as you strive for the top. You can steal and cheat but expect repercussions as your mother sees that quarter disappear behind your back. Be rewarded for being kind but if you become someone's crutch that might be too much.
Graphics wise: There are almost no graphics. You have icons for the various types of questions and down each side of the screen for side sections (to do a situation involving work you will need to go to one of these side icons to get a job etc.). This is a fairly old game and I wouldn't expect to see the centerfold from the Playgirl magazine you can find but it would be nice to see that other baby you're poking or even the man you may marry.
Sound wise: We have blips. Blips that can become very, very annoying as everything you select makes you hear it again. No music or other sound effects. This game is really leaving lots up to your imagination.
Adult
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content: There is a fair amount, this is not a game for young children or those you wish to protect from such topics as sex, drugs and the occasional curse. As a baby and young child in the game, these things rarely come up. However, when you reach adolescence, your boyfriend will get angry at you if you won't keep his hands to himself even once. You will face peer pressure to drink and use drugs. You may find adult material such as a Playgirl magazine from which you can rip out and keep the centerfold to dream about. You can even have a midlife crisis and experience a sensual adventure with a younger man. While the descriptions are not overly graphic, some would consider this a bit over the top if such things are offensive to you. In the game's favor, when about to enter an adult situation it will warn you about sexual content or the like and ask you if you wish to continue. You will however find that many situations in the main scheme of things, as well as almost all romance and some after marriage situations will be locked off from you if you refuse to enter any of the adult situations. Without experiencing a certain amount of attachment to your boy friend, marriage is out of the question and with that goes the possibility of children.
Life lessons: This game can teach the young adult many things. We can see examples of what can happen if we lend a stranger a helping hand, though as a child that stranger may be after more than help... One recurring issue that comes up is the advice we give others. While we may only be trying to help, it is strongly recommended to tell your friend to talk to someone else. If you try to give direct advice to someone about breaking up a bad relationship or about difficult things at work, it will usually backfire for one reason or another. You may not have all the facts or the other person may simply want a listener rather than a talker. This game also teaches self respect, trustworthiness, thinking before you act, not forcing yourself to do something that's out of character and just being yourself, respecting others, not giving in to peer pressure, looking after yourself physically as well as mentally/emotionally, not letting debt ruin your future, working hard if you want something to work for you, giving others a second chance while not letting them walk all over you, and living a happy independent life.
Difficulty: Fairly easy. If you drink weird things as a baby expect an early death but those who are careful shouldn't find this much of a problem. There isn't much of a challenge to this game really, it's more based around the interest in the situations and about how your Alter Ego will turn out in the end. Will you be a content old granny who falls asleep for the last time beside her beloved partner with nothing in your mind other than love or will you become the great chef with gambling problems who could never settle down? Happy or unhappy? Loved or lonely? Other than age of death, those are really the only ways to decide how well you did. Just live your life as well as you can and you win!
Creativity and replayablility: There are hundreds of situations to increase your various stats (called "Spheres" including intelligence, social, physical, trustworthiness, vocational, familial, calmness, confidence, happiness and thoughtfulness spheres) which allow you to successfully carry out various actions and choices. If you aren't calm and confident you may make a humiliating mistake at a school performance dramatically lowering your social sphere and making your calmness and confidence go even lower. In such a situation, if you don't work hard to raise those stats again, you will be walked all over in school and work. You may even become depressed which can critically cripple your life experience. If you focus too much on work you may neglect family and friends and vice versa. Exploring all of these possibilities can take hundreds of replays. The questions have multiple answers to which different combinations lead to different situations and effects but the questions themselves can be a little repetitive. This game would be better if the questions and situations were random.
Overall: This is a good game for the casual or heavy gamer who doesn't mind lack of graphics and music. Age group I recommend this to would be young adult (16-24ish), though suitable for almost all ages if adult material already mentioned is taken into account.
I give this game a 7.5 out of 10. One point lost for lacking graphics and music, another point lost because the situations and questions aren't random, half a point lost because it is a little too easy for some who aren't so interested in the psychology side of things. As far as life sims go, this game is pretty good, definitely above average. I would recommend something like Princess Maker 2 more highly though.
