Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

"Save the cute little blue and green guys from extinction and become a hero! Sounds good to me..."

A game that has a wicked sense of humour, has innovative and inventive gameplay and is completely 2D? In this day and age a game like this is a rare find, if you want proof that the age-old art of 2D games isn’t quite dead then you need look no further than this game and it’s sequel Abe’s Exoddus. By implementing some great puzzles and fresh ideas the developers have come up with a big winner. This game is part one of the “Oddworld” series, and seeing the standards that this game has set you can’t help but tremble in anticipation for what lies down the track.

Despite only having two dimensions the graphics of Abe’s Oddysee are beautiful. The amount of detail that is included in the whole visual outlook is simply astonishing, you could be running through rusting and eroding steel complexes with everything looking drab and dirty and polluted, or travelling through some lush, peaceful and serenity laced forests filled with graceful trees and wildlife. Not once during the game do the standards drop, there is always the same amount of brilliance in the surroundings.
The characters are all off-the-wall types of creatures and have some of the best designs I’ve come across in a long time. There are Sligs, which have a squid-like head and a mechanical lower half, the Glukkons which are really just a head, neck and two legs, and there are also Slogs which are the Oddworld version of dogs, just two back legs and a huge mouth. These designs are not only thought provoking, but also worth a good laugh or two.
The animations have all been done well, whether they’re humorous or deadly serious it doesn’t matter s they’re always deadly accurate. The FMVs found in the game are detailed, very good-looking and have a bit of realism to them. The transgression from game-play to FMV is hardly noticeable and always at opportune times, they thankfully never dent the flow of the game.
There are a large number of special effects, particularly a high count of explosions, and they all look gorgeous. Without being too flashy they still manage to appear mighty impressive to anyone that views the game, a good effort here also.
Overall, the graphics are just superb. Abe’s Oddysee actually gives 2D graphics a good name by giving a professional and classy outlook, this is eye-candy at it’s finest on display right here. There are no technical flaws or glitches evident whatsoever, it’s just a very fine performance.

The sound is also superb; it utilises the Playstations power to the fullest. If ever a good atmosphere was created in a game by the audio then this is the one. The music is a good example of this, it hides in the background, playing softly in it’s creepy little style, but when the on-screen action heats up then WHAMMO! The music rises to a crescendo and strikes fear into the heart of the player, also giving him a nice rush of adrenalins, it’s the little things like this that make the game so good. The tunes that have been selected are creeping and often have a good sense of foreboding about them, lots of deep drumbeats to have the player on the edge of his seat.
The sound effects are fantastic, it doesn’t matter whether you’re listening to the peaceful noises of nature or the hubbub of dangerous machinery, the accompanying effects will always sound good. Very rarely will one sound out of place, the timing for the most part is impeccable. There is quite a bit of speech said by the characters, all of the voices are spot-on for the characters and they’re delivery is very good. The voices for the most part are very wacky, Abe himself has a voice that you can’t help but fall in love with, it’s funny but at the same time will make you feel for him.
Overall, the atmosphere that this audio adds to the game makes it a godsend. Without this the game would certainly lose a lot of its appeal, but thankfully everything has been done right. The sound effects and background themes have no flaws in them, an astonishing job was done here, accompany this with the humour added by the “gamespeak” and you’ve got yourself a big winner.

The gameplay is quite advanced for a two dimensional game, it differs away from the basic running and jumping style that other games fall into the trap of utilising by introducing some fiendish puzzles. If it weren’t for the fact that Abe had unlimited lives then the player would be in for a lot of short games as it takes quite a bit of trial and error to discover the correct way to precede and properly execute it. There’s a lot of ways Abe can pass away as well, you can be shot, blown up, pounded into the ground, stung to death, fried, eaten, crash to the ground from a great height and numerous others.
Some of the predicaments that you find yourself in can be quite overwhelming, you may have to sneak past a couple of gun toting sligs, survive an attack from some killer bees or simply cross the screen without being blown to smithereens. No matter how simple a task may sound it will always take quite a bit of working out and lateral thinking.
The controls are quite simple but very effective, the directional buttons move Abe, there’s a button for jumping and one for various other actions, the four buttons up the top control the pace of Abe’s walking and also the various “gamespeak” commands. This “gamespeak” is a unique little feature that lets you communicate with other characters throughout the game, you can use such basic commands as telling other Mudokons (Abe’s race) to follow you or stop, whistle and if you feel a bit naughty you can even let Abe dispel a bit of gas. This option gives the player freedom as to the way they go about playing the game.
A side quest throughout the game is the rescue of the other Mudokons, there are 99 of the cute little things to save and how many of them you rescue decides whether you will have the pleasure of viewing the good ending or otherwise. These other Mudokons can complicate a game even further, as where a clear path may have seemed the way to go, you may have to take a more perilous trip just to save one of your comrades, it isn’t fun but it is necessary.
Another little trick that Abe is able to do is his little chant, this adds a lot more fun to the game as it annoys the heck out of your enemies. If you catch one by surprise then chanting will result in you possessing a Slig, once inside his body you can do wondrous things with their guns and bad attitudes, just another little thing that makes the game so much better to play.
Overall, the gameplay is innovative and original. It’s quite a cerebral game to play rather than a brainless jumping game, the task of saving Mudokons can completely take over your mind sometimes, you’ll play to rescue them all as if your life depended on it. It offers a great change from the majority of the games out there, and that reason alone is enough to warrant a good play.

The game has a decent lifespan on it. A game may take somewhere between five and ten hours depending on your skill level, but this is certainly a game that you’ll play a lot more than once. You’ll want to see both of the endings that are on offer and after that you’ll probably give it a few more plays anyway. You’ll find yourself mysteriously drawn back to the game time and time again to see Abe’s happy little face and control his body.

There is a pretty good fun-factor in Abe’s Oddysee, the game has the most outrageous sense of humour you’ll ever come across in a game. From the game booklet to the action that goes on in front of you, there’s an absolute truckload of witticisms and generally funny things. This makes it worth playing through the annoying parts that you just can’t seem to pass, it lessens the aggravation and will make the player more likely to persist playing through the game.

The challenge of this game would be somewhere between medium and hard, some of the situations thrust upon the player can seem impossible but it just takes a bit of hard work and straight headed thinking to see the player through to the end. It’s definitely too difficult for the gamers of a younger age but anybody else should find themselves tested within reason at some stage throughout the course of the game. Some people may not be into all of that tough thinking but the appeal of Abe may spur them to do so anyway.

Overall, Abe’s Oddysee is an absolute classic, seeing this game could trick a person into thinking that two-dimensional games are a dying breed. It’s got a dynamo audio/video package and some killer gameplay, is there anything else you could ask for? If you haven’t experienced the Oddworld then it’s definitely recommended that you go out and give this or the sequel a whirl, if you have then you should just wet your pants in anticipation for Munch, and the many sequels to follow.
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GOOD POINTS
- Graphics, audio, gameplay, the developers cannot do a thing wrong
- Some fantastic new ideas implemented here, try them now!
- The interaction between some of the characters is truly astounding, some great AI on display

NOT SO GOOD POINTS
- A few of the puzzles lean towards the more difficult side
- Why doesn’t Abe get a weapon!? It’s not fair!
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GRAPHICS – 9/10
SOUND – 10/10
GAMEPLAY – 10/10
LIFESPAN – 9/10
FUN FACTOR – 10/10
CHALLENGE – 9/10
OVERALL – 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/21/00, Updated 06/21/00