Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

"Decent platformer from Microsoft..."

If you have been playing games for awhile, there is no reason you should be a stranger to the OddWorld saga. It had a wonderful introduction to the land of OddWorld on the PS back in the mid 90's. Soon after came a sequel, which was equally successful. Both games featured the classic sidescrolling gameplay that made the series a smash hit. A few years after, Microsoft adopted the rights to the game and made a daring move. OddWorld: Munch's Oddysee for the Xbox, was the series' first foray into the 3D gaming realm. While not quite as fun as the originals it did ok, thanks to the Xbox's superior graphic capabilities. Now, Microsoft, not satisfied with that, decided to bring Abe and Munch to the GBA A smart move? Let's explore.

Story: 5/10

OddWorld games usually have great storylines. This one doesn't. It seems like a smaller chapter in the other games, because the whole concept of the game feels like one objective in the massive Xbox release. You could say because the GBA couldn't handle that big storyline, they took this route. All I know is, the story just doesn't translate that well to the small screen. Give them credit for trying, but it doesn't work quite as well. Anyway, the story goes like this. Abe and Munch are summoned to save the Mudokon [and Fuzzle] races from Glukkon hands once again in a factory.. To do this, they must work their way into the factory, lending each other a hand every now and then, and put a stop to the evil Glukkon ways. Along the way, you will encounter classic enemies fom the previous games: Sligs, Paramites, Slogs etc. It feels enough like OddWorld, but doesn't feel as epic as the others.

Graphics: 4/10

I think in one word to describe the visual appeal of this game, I would say dull. Using shades of gray and brown to appear like a factory is a good idea, but the look is just awful. It feels like you are trudging through the same levels over and over again. The attempted 3/4 view doesn't work well here. It is hard to tell what is high up, and what is low. There are some parts when you can't tell if you are jumping to a higher ledge, or a lower edge. The GBA could've easily handled a sidescrolling perspective, and made the game infinitely more appealing than what is presented. The character animations are somewhat stiff, and there can be quite a bit of slowdown when you have many Mudokons following you. Graphics are probably the worst part of the game, because it is hard to distinguish ledges from walls, among other things, and the overall look is just eh.

Sound:7/10

I wouldn't go far as to say sound is the best aspect of this game, but it is better than the graphics. There are a few digitized voice sound bits, and they sound remarkably good for the GBA's tiny speakers. The music is average at best. Repetitious melodies and beats will follow you around everywhere you go, but you can turn it off. I would recommend turning off the music. The speech is very well done, but the sound effects are not as revolutionary. Blips and bleeps when you turn levers, walking, opening doors. It's all pretty standard stuff. But, because I was so impressed with the digitized voice, it bumps up this score to above average.

Control: 5/10

Control in this game can be summed up like so: Walk around, press buttons to interact with levers, jump occasionally, hold down shoulder buttons in combination with buttons to use Gamespeak. There is also one button to switch between the 2 characters. The control is very sluggish for Munch, and kinda clunky for Abe. Pulling levers has the occassional lag before anything happens. As Abe, you can sneak, but that makes him move even slower than he already moves, making the parts where sneaking is required, very tedious and boring. Control is very clunky, and will take fighting to get used to it.

Gameplay: 8/10

Despite the clunky control, average sound, and abysmal graphics; surprisingly, the game is very fun to play. It features classic puzzle solving found in other OddWorld games, the kind that make you feel accomplished when you solve them.
Even with the awkward control, you still can have lots of fun with this game. Playing as both Munch and Abe, you must use teamwork to get through each level. For instance, in the most simplistic puzzle, Abe cannot get through a door, so you switch to Munch to swim (since Abe can't), over to the switch and pull it. If there are enemies in your way, Abe can possess them and take over them, using them as tools to kill one another, clearing the path. In perhaps one of the coolest parts of the game, Munch can zap into control ports, and control machinery. I.E In one level he controls a giant robot that shoots everybody down, in order to progress. So these are your basic aspects of playing. You collect Spuce, that grows from the ground, to open locks, chant and posses enemies etc.,
But the main objective, as in all OddWorld games, is to talk to your fellow Mudokons (with Abe), or Fuzzles (with Munch) and lead them out of harms way. If you have many of them, you can use them to fight other enemies, just order them to and they will. This is a feature not found in the other games, which comes in quite handy, if you can't possess them. You can have them wait on switches, to trigger doors, and so on and so forth. Only using your brain will you get through some of the harder challenges in the later levels. Overall though, I enjoyed playing the game a lot while playing. Anyone can, if you look past the lackluster graphics and spotty control, which is possible.
My one MAJOR MAJOR gripe, is the save system. Why oh why, when the GBA cartridge has plenty of memory, do certain games STILL use the password save system? Not only is it annoying to put them in each time you turn it on, or annoying that they are hard to read, but it is extremely aggravating, especially in some of the long levels, that when you die you have to restart the ENTIRE level again. Frustrating indeed, ladies and gents. This is the main thing that keeps gameplay from a higher score.

Replay Value: 5/10

The game is not very long, and if you are a veteran of OddWorld, will only take you a few hours to beat fully. After that, nothing left. You could replay and try to find everything, save ALL of the Mudokons etc, but that would be out of boredom I believe. Once you play it once, suffice it to say, you probably won't pick it up again.

Overall: 6/10

I think the main reason the game feels lacking is its graphics and control. If this were a sidescrolling game, it would be another classic, But the overhead/(3/4) view just doesn't cut it. The gameplay is great as always, but the Password save system hinders that as well. If you are looking for a decent platformer, in the OddWorld license, this is what you have. If you don't like OddWorld, this probably isn't going to change your mind. A decent effort from Microsoft, but unfortunately, it falls a bit short.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/04