Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

"Another great game in the Oddworld series."

The first game I played on my Xbox was Munch. Sure, Halo was there but I didn't care. I loved the original Oddworld games and couldn't wait for Munch. Five years later it has come to a close for me. Originally it had been a rental and I had gotten to level 8 or so. Bought the game last fall and started playing it all over again a few weeks back (it's near the end of February 2006). I must say that it has aged very well in most areas but a few areas are a bit lacking...

Munch is the last of his kind. A lonely fish like thing. He gets captured one night and must escape the labs. In a different area Abe, our hero from the last two Oddworld games is sent on a mission to find Munch as he is what Abe needs to help free his own race. Now Munch and Abe must get to each other and save their own species from being destroyed. The story is fairly simple and the midpoint change is nice. I do have to say that the Angelic Quarma ending is a must see. Not sure how the other two are but I haven't played a game in a long time that just made me feel good and feel like I actually accomplished something.

The graphics in munch are top notch, even by today's standards and I have to say, even today the PS2 couldn't handle this game. The water effects are very nicely done; due to the bump mapping which I love and think is the highlight of the Xbox. Character models look good. Munch and the sort all have a unique character design and really stand out. Sure, everything you fight tends to look the same but they can kind of be thought of as aliens or as animals, they all kind of look a like anyway. Not a large variety in enemies but that isn't what the game is about.

The sound in the game is nicely done. On the voice acting front we get an amazing voice cast. No clue who they are but they add a lot of personality to Abe and Munch. Munch just sounds cool. Sound effects are very well done as well. Explosions, zaps from electricity, splashes of water, slapping of bare feet on metal. It's all here and it sounds great. The music is very nice, it just creates the atmosphere and while I can't remember any specific song I must say the song during the ending I got was pure classic.

Ah, most games do have a fault and I must say it is the control for this game. I think on any other controller this game would control a bit better but the Xbox has bad button placement and it does feel at times that the control wasn't thought out too well. You move around with the left analog and the only use for the right analog is by clicking it. This is your attack. A is jump and it's very quirky, for lack of a better word. It's just absurdly awkward to jump as Abe. Munch doesn't do a lot of jumping but his water jumping is smooth. The three other letter buttons are for talk commands. Hit once for a command or hold for the other choice. This felt sloppy as well because I was confused for a while on how to tell my guys to attack as they stood there and got slaughtered.... L trigger is used to chant. R trigger is for showing your health. Black button switches characters and white centers the camera. Now you can move the camera but the problem is, it's on the freaking d-pad. Now please explain that to me. How can I move around and move the camera at the same time when one is right under the other. It just never worked well for me.

For those that played the old Oddworld games then you should know how this works but this time around it's in 3d. Let's talk about the differences in the characters first. Abe is your quick guy and he does most of the work in the game. He has to rescue his race, he can posse enemies, jump well, throw guys/bombs, attack ect but water is not his friend. Munch on the other hand is slow on land, heck he walks on his fin. However, he can get in a wheelchair to speed around. He saves the Fuzzies, another race that is being held in the lab. He swims excellently, as it doesn't kill him like it does Abe. He doesn't attack though unless he has drunk some zap juice. He also can't jump well unless in a wheelchair. Oh and munch is the only one able to use the cranes.

Juices are in this game as well. I can't remember if they were in the old games but oh well. There is the Zap juice for Munch, invisibility juice, speed juice, bounce juice, water bounce juice ect. These are used to solve the many puzzles in the game. You will need to learn how to use each to your advantage. But those aren't the only items that can help you out. Sponce are all over the levels, well most of the time. Abe uses these to posse the enemies, but sometimes you can't posse enemies due to magic barriers. However, Sponce also have another use. They unlock doors, resurrect Abe's friends and can upgrade them. Abe can also regenerate the Sponce. Also, if Abe or Munch die they can be brought back by going to the egg and hatching it but one needs to be alive to do that and some stages only have one egg.

Now you might be wondering what the hell you do in a level. Well, imagine this. A wide open area, full of doors, cliffs, trees ect. Enemies are all around. Way on the other side is the exit. You need to get Abe and Munch to the exit. It sound simple but you need to use both to alternate opening doors, raising water, killing the enemies. It really requires you to think and that is what made the game fun for me. Now, there is a catch. There are over 300 things to rescue in the game. You need 85% of those to get the best ending and you'll get the bad ending if you get under a certain % so not only do you need to get Abe and Munch to the end, you need to rescue their friends.

The levels vary with what needs to be done, some are small but full of enemies while others are large and require thinking out a plan of attack so your friends don't die. And don't think you can just let them all die. You need Abe's friends to open certain doors so even that adds a new dimension to the game. Some of the later levels are just too good. The water one where you need to have Abe posse the people for the Lulu fund is just huge and offers a lot of nice puzzles.

The game is fairly long. It doesn't offer a timer and there was times where I was just sucked up into the game and lost track of time. Also, with three endings you can expect to replay the game a couple of different times to get those. No other features but the game is fun and it's very quirky. Fans of Oddworld should eat this title up. I'm sure it can be beat in a rental though.

So, is this a must own game? In my opinion an Xbox collection shouldn't be without this title. It's one of the few Platformers on the system and it offers a decent challenge. I did find the platforming bits with Abe to be rather painful due to his bounce like jumping but otherwise nothing in the game annoyed me (beyond the control issues). it's a very solid game otherwise and worth picking up.

Story - 9/10
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 10/10
Control - 7/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 6/10

Final Score - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/24/06