Sorry, it's another 5 stars... (Oddworld: Abes Oddysee (PS))

Member Name: adidadi_young

Product:	Oddworld: Abes Oddysee (PS)
Date:	21/09/01 (331 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Backgrounds, visuals, Story, effectiveness of the intro, Magical and atmospheric

Disadvantages: 2D and too challenging?

Oddworld. This planet is known to be 10 times the size of the Earth. Some say it is too big to be fully explored by any one being; even the countries are way too big to know everything on. Well, there is one particular country that is probably the smallest of them all. On Mudania, Mudokons are the most populated species here, although there are so many different creatures you wouldn’t be able to say. Somewhere in the heart of the country - Glukkons rule the businesses. They own RuptureFarms, and are using these Mudokons as slaves for their dirty work. One of these slaves (Glukkons insist them to be employees) is probably the hardest working of them all. His name is Abe…

(From the manual)
You are Abe, an ignorant, happy floor-waxer in RuptureFarms, the most dangerous slaughterhouse on Oddworld. You and the rest of the blue guys are Mudokons. You’ve been a slave all your life for your boss, Mullock the Glukkon. Mullock represents the Magog Cartel, the meanest bunch of Corporate Weasels you’ll ever meet.

You start the game chained up in a cell. Awaiting interrogation by Mullock the Glukkon. You’ve done something bad… very, very bad. What have you done? You’ll have to play the game and find out, because Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee is a flashback. That means it happened in the past, even though you’ll be playing it in the present. Or something like that. Just play the lousy game, all right?

Now, that’s all from the manual. I’ll put the second page in my own words, so I can see how it compares, or whatever. RuptureFarms is a meat factory, and is thought to be the biggest meat processing plant on Oddworld. They are a big business, and the Glukkons of the Magog Cartel (on the top floor of RuptureFarms) are nothing but Fat Cats, in the saying sort of way. They supply many types of meat, and have even wiped out species’ to keep it running. They sold meats such as Paramite Pies,
Scrab Cakes and Meech Munchies. The Meeches had become totally extinct, and were no longer selling, so they survived on the 2 original products. One night, Abe was working late on the top floor, and was happily humming through the corridors, waxing the floor as he went. He noticed a small gap in the door of the main office as he passed, and heard some Glukkons talking and conferring. The ‘big screen’ was displayed, and their ratings were on-screen. They were going down (in a ‘dehn’ sort of way). They needed a way to raise the sales. And boy, it was a good one. They could see it rising before their eyes. “Mudokon Pops”. The crunchy snack where you can eat Mudokon heads right off a stick, M mm! Abe, terrified, had to escape. He had to save all the others from certain doom as they know it. Abe will be a hero. He has a destiny. Help him!

Wow, I made it longer.


So, where does Abe’s quest start off? Well, in the beginning of RuptureFarms, of course. Only the most dangerous meat packing plant on Oddworld. Should be a walk in the park, really. Here, you have got 28 ‘employees’ to rescue and make them into escapees. This is such a big place, it’s got barrels of meat going on for miles in the background, make sure you don’t miss anyone there. Be careful of Sligs, these are yellow robots with excellent speed, agility and aim. Nothing will distract them, except maybe a good chant and possess. This place is really a training level, but make sure you look thoroughly. If you just look on surfaces, you will only find 14 Mudokons. If you exit without any more, then they all DIE. Casualties = 14. And yes, you think you have been everywhere, well look harder. They are there. If you escape from this hellhole; you will go onto the Fire-Free Zone. This is like the outside barrier for RuptureFarms. Lasers and Scrabs guard here. Get through it and it turns nighttime, this will be the first time into th
e Stockyards. Not that by now the background detail is absolutely wonderful, indescribably better than any pictures you see. I’m going to go on and describe the areas, but I won’t get into the story. The Stockyards are sort of on top of a cliff, and a giant moon faces the country, bright and beautiful. It’s got a nice blue background, and the foreground is mostly shadow. Look out for Slogs, a Slig’s Best Friend. Use the meat to get past them, otherwise you are dead.

Next up? The Monsaic Lines. This is the holy caves of the Mudokons. For some reason, this is the place to train and learn new moves, etc. This place is nearer to a Jungle of Stone, while still being inside a temple/cave thing. Look at the backgrounds, they are very lush. Scrabania is the next one. It’s a large desert; it’s all trackless wasteland. Watch out for Sligs, they are on the lookout for any remaining Scrabs and also you. Paramonia has the same basic thing; only this one is full of forests in the background and wooden raft-like floors that have been created by the natives here. This place is my favourite.

I’m not going in any further; it’s time you knew what I’m going on about. Abe’s Oddysee (It’s spelt like that) casts you as Abe, and you must get him to the present. This involves getting through 2D worlds, so it’s a 2D platformer. But not totally. Its got very good puzzles that will tempt you muchly (it’s not a word) to get a guide. When I say that you must get to the present I mean that the very start sees Abe in a small room, hanging from a rope. He can still stand, though. So, now this is a flashback and at the end of the game, you are caught up with the present. How well you did depends on what ending you get. This is determined by how many Mudokons you rescue as you go through. Although most of the game is set out of RuptureFarms, all 99 Mudokons are placed in RuptureFarms, you will find out how
. The intro I mentioned earlier, I thought was made so original and influential for how simplistic it is. The makers have put quite a good humour to Oddworld, although most of it has been put into Abe’s Exoddus. “If we have to tell you how to turn on your PlayStation, then the game is going to go straight to your head, so return it now and invest your cash in a job training program” is one example.

Abe has to free his allies by leading them to the bird portals, which are circles of birds. Abe can communicate with the Mudokons be saying ‘Hello’ with a combination of buttons. ‘Follow Me’, ‘Wait’ and ‘Grrr’ are the other orders. Chanting opens these portals, and provided the Mudokons are in the same screen/nearby, and then they will jump into the portal, which then goes into their freedom. It’s a clever system, which is highly satisfying when you first try it out. The chant is also good against enemies, say, against a Slig for example. It puts you in control of them, so you can move them around and shoot/order whatever and whoever. This makes you feel even better. Once you get bored with the Slig, merely chant again and he explodes. Boom!

The graphics in game would be PlayStation bog-standard, but this is only when you don’t pay attention to detail. The Full Motion Videos are astonishing, and the fact that if you take notice to what Abe narrates, the whole speech is a poem.

“I had just got past those Slogs,
And then the strangest thing, I saw.
A huge moon was before me,
And its face… was my paw!

Then I fell, and cracked my head
And some Bigface appeared
And said I was dead!

Said the land was unfree,
In balance at best.
And setting the creatures free,
That was my test.”

Ah, so clever.

And if I may forewarn you: However you found completing the game, you will find rescuing all 99 Mud
okons approximately 4/5 times harder. It is a good, challenging game. Try to persevere and try your best. Explore is the best way. Now, sorry I’ve given this game another 5 stars but I’m going through my collection, of which I bought only after reading many unbiased reviews. So, it’s another game worth buying. But are there any major flaws? Well, if you don’t like this type of game, or you don’t like hard games/get tempted to cheat too easily, it’s best to stay away.

The game carries major atmosphere, and watching the backgrounds on every single screen will just leave you breathless in a non-literal way. And remember, Oddworld is big – very big – and Abe’s Oddysee is just the first glimpse of the strange and exciting depths of THE ODD!

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