|
Platform: PC Review by: Matthew Fraser
Walking, talking, large, muscular
mounds of sound are all too prevalent in gaming nowadays. This
tradition is obviously not exclusive to gaming and probably has its
roots in film. Guys with huge fucking biceps and machine guns
running through the forest blowing the shit out of anything stupid
enough to move have infiltrated gaming from movies like Arnie’s, Sly
Stallone’s, etc.
You have your Serious Sams, you have
your Master Chiefs, and you have…well…make that nearly every FPS
character in existence. All of these are super human dudes who pack
plenty of heat and can take millions of hits before they go down—and
that’s without body armour.
Abe is different. He’s a skinny,
lanky guy who has no weapons in a world of armed guards and
territorial creatures with pointy things designed for stabbing
people. All you have is your wits, your loincloth and your farts,
and you must take down a multi-national conglomerate that has both
evil and tasty plans for your brethren.
Since profits have been dropping at
the meat house where Abe works (due to said meat house hunting most
of its delicacies into near extinction), the executive creatures
named Glukkons have decided to switch to slave labour to cover
costs. Abe finds out about this and becomes determined to escape and
save his friends.
The stage is set for a unique game.
Now, I have to say one thing: I don’t believe that I can really do
the game justice simply describing its mechanics. Don’t take these
words as absolute gospel, because the fun of this game is based very
much in its experience rather than something that’s easily
described.
Now, Abe’s Oddysee is not an action
game, nor is it totally a puzzle game. It’s a 2D side-scrolling game
in which you must evade various nasties such as falling meat packs,
land mines, electric fences and other dangerous things, and, with
any luck, save enough of your Mudokon friends to warrant the good
ending once its all done and dusted. But these inanimate objects
aren’t the main focus of the game in terms of puzzles—that’s
something even more novel.
At this game’s core are the various
interactions Abe has with both the player and the creatures in the
game, and even the interactions between creature and creature. Each
thing in the game reacts differently to different situations. For
example, there is a crawling menace called a Paramite, which will
run away from Abe if on its own; but if they outnumber you, they
will attack you. It’s this interaction that becomes an integral part
of the game, but its implications are much larger with the
introduction of GameSpeak.
GameSpeak is Abe’s ability to vocally
interact with other creatures in the game. For those who have played
Strangers Wrath, it’s NOTHING LIKE THAT RUINED SYSTEM. I’ll say it
now: The GameSpeak in Strangers Wrath is royally fucked in the ass.
This game was the first to implement GameSpeak, and it works great.
Now, onto what GameSpeak actually is.
You have a set of eight or so commands you can give to your friends
and other creatures. In order to save your friends, and therefore
get the good ending, you must utilize these commands as best you
can. You tell one of your buddies to follow, and he will dutifully
follow. Tell him to wait, and he will. Some are there for some
pointless fun though, such as farting, laughing, growling etc.
(although in a latter game, Abe’s Exodus, farting plays a major
role).
Throughout this game, you’ll need to
bait animals with meat, whistle a bit of a tune, blow shit up, and
possess the bodies of guards on patrol, called Sligs. Not the most
pretty of faces, but bloody useful if you can manage to snare
control of one of their bodies. You see, they have one HUGE
advantage over you: They have guns. You can cause a right riot with
these babies, and even if other Sligs realize you’re possessing one
and therefore try to kill you, you can defend yourself.
And these guys have GameSpeak too,
and can control their pets, Slogs, which are also after your demise
About the only animals in this game not trying to kill you are your
Mudokon buddies and Elum, your…well, we’ll call it trusty steed,
even though it doesn’t even look like a horse. And all of them
uglier than that one aunt in your family with hair on her face, lips
that can be seen from space, and who always wants to kiss you with a
mouth with more saliva glands than Barry White has testicles.
In any case, the gameplay of Abe’s
Oddysee is superb, although very difficult on a first run. One
thing, though: Never play this game on a PlayStation. The controls
there are designed for people who are Mensa-approved IQ blitzers
with contortionist hands. On the PC, however, and that is the copy I
have and play still, there is not a single problem with the
controls. Not one. Even if you don’t like the initial setup, which
to me seems unlikely since it’s pretty well mapped, you can
rearrange the buttons to whatever you want. No boundaries whatsoever
save for the obvious “One button can’t do more than one thing.”
There’s a bit of replay value as well
for completionists. Unless you were extremely vigilant the first
time, you can run through the game a second time to actually save
every Mudokon in the game. And, there may be something for the
sadistic bastard who KILLS every Mudokon in the game….
As far as 2D side-scrolling games go,
this game’s graphics are top notch. It’s nice to look at, sporting
innovative character design and plenty of purty colours. The
soundtrack is fantastic too, full of both industrial, tense and
tribal drum chase music. Explosions have a good bit of grunt behind
them, and the animals make a wide array of interesting sounds.
Perhaps difficult to find now, being
somewhat of a cult classic, this game is worth the cash you’d find
it on eBay or Amazon for. And while you’re there, pick up a copy of
Exoddus, too. Both of these games will keep you going for a while,
and every now and then you’ll feel the compulsion to return to this
series. It seems that every summer break, I play the Oddworld series
once more. It’s an important relic from my childhood, and I will
definitely make a point to hang onto it long into the future.
-- Matthew Fraser {03-2007} Rate this article — |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Past Reviews by Matthew Fraser:
Grand Theft Auto:
Vice City Stories (PSP) |
