"A little hard, but VERY worth it"

The Oddworld series makes its first appearance on the PS1 and the world is already a little better for it. This bold, almost old school sidescroller has since became a cult classic and famous for being so, well odd.

Abe's Oddessy is the story of a slave named Abe. His race has been forced into servitude by the evil Magog Cartel to work in meat packing plants, bone mines and various other corporate work places. The Magog Cartel (made up mostly of a race called Glukkons) has taken over the lands where Abe's people (the Mudokons) previously lived. The land was also the ancient home of Paramites and Scrabs but they've been hunted to near extinction for use in Paramite Pies and Scrab Cakes. One night while Abe is working late he eavesdrops on a meeting of the board of directors of Rupture Farms (where he works) and hears them planning on making the Mudokons their next big menu item! So basically, he splits.

The sidescrolling control is spot on, very tight and with no room for doubt. If you push this button; then this will happen. Very simple, easy to understand controls, but their execution is often very difficult, but for good reasons. Abe's Oddessy is almost as much of a puzzle game as it is an adventure game, and you'll encounter certain areas and enemies that require very specific timing and where the slightest error sends you to your death.

The environments are lush, original and chucked full of great landscape shots, as well as views of the grungy insides of the Magog Cartel's meat houses. The characters themselves are easy to see, as well as just plain awesome looking. You never get hung up on jaggies or anything like that. The graphics are superb.

Voice acting in this game is so cool; you have to hear it to understand. Everything from the narration (which rhymes most of the time), to the gamespeak (a system of button combos that let you talk to your fellow Mudokons) to the cries of the enemy, its just cool. The music is appropriate, nothing to awe-inspiring though.

How to sum this game up? It's a game for people who absolutely love video games. It's honestly hard, so you never suffer a cheap death. If you die, it's because you aren't good enough. No other reason. The characters are out of this world. The satisfaction that comes from surviving its trials and sticking it to the man is extraordinary, and its just plain obvious that the people who made this game have some serious, friggin-a talent.
Buy it. Right now. If you've never played it, you need to. Holy friggin crap, this game is awesome!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/07