I spend some time with a very strange Mudokon. A Look at Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee.
Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants
Publisher: GT Interactive
Platform: Playstation
Genre(s): Platformer, Puzzle
Release Date: September 19, 1997
"Oddworld: Abe's Oddysey is one of those games that when an unsuspecting gamer unfamiliar with the series first sees it they do a double take. The Oddworld series gets it's name honestly. The world and characters that have created and presented to us with this series are both head scratching and loveable, arguably none more so than our good friend Abe.
Abe is admittedly a very gross looking character but oddly (there's the word odd again!) he is a very appealing and interesting character. A Mudokon slave, Abe and his fellows are forced to work as slaves in Rupture Farms a very, very large meat packing plant which specializes in using various species as the meat until they've exhausted the species into extinction. Abe accidentally discovers that the Mudokons are next to be served. Abe then embarks to rescue his fellow Mudokons from their grim and relatively disgusting fate.
Abe's Oddysey is a platformer and yet at the same time not a platformer. It does have many elements of a platformer, along with puzzles. Abe can also speak to other Mudokons using 'Gamespeak' which will have them follow Abe to either freedom or their demise. The puzzles are the big challenge in Abe's Oddysey and are the key to progressing to the next screen. The tricky part is keeping your fellow Mudokons alive saving them is the whole part to the game afterall.
Allow to many Mudokons to die and you'll be treated to a poor ending, save enough and you might just get the best ending in the game. Abe's Oddysee is not a game you can turn your mind off and play, it is a game that requires you to think to get the most out of it.
However, Abe's Oddysee is a difficult game. The puzzles can be quite hard at times and I found myself screaming at the television anytime, I would get killed by an enemy or have a Mudokon die because he didn't follow me the way I wanted him too. I was pulling my hair out at some of these sections and felt drained after playing this game all day because of how worked up it would make me get.
In conclusion Oddworld is a game that is surely not meant for everybody that strange world, and just as weird story may turn some off. Not to mention those not fond of puzzles. But for those who want something a little different, and enjoy a game that makes you think. Then take a trip to Oddworld."
+Nice Cinematic Graphics
+Comical Characters and Sounds
+Solid Platforming
+Multiple Endings
-Difficulty Spike not meant for everybody
-Enemy AI can be really bad at times
8.5/10
Silver seal of Recomendation