Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

As you may have guessed already; it's quite odd.

I remember a long time ago, when one of the early 2D Oddworld-based titles was about to make it’s debut on the PC, and then-publishers (and now defunct) GT Interactive, sent me a crate of ‘Soulstorm Brew’, the addictive drink around which the capitalist-satire plot was based. In an ironic twist, the ‘Soulstorm Brew’ turned out to be a particularly strong German lager, that the eager PR guys at GT had sent me in a bid to win my favour; they should have read the game’s sub-plot before doing this. The game was brimming with commentary on cut-throat consumerism, the environment, and the manipulations of big-companies. It made me laugh, certainly. Which makes Oddworld an odd choice of game for one the Xbox’s flagship titles…

Sadly, Microsoft forgot to include the beer with this game too, so I was immediately hardened against it, though my resolve faltered somewhat upon playing what is actually a fairly original, if slightly flawed game.

The design and plot impresses immediately with it’s off-key influences, and slightly-gothic style, the whole story and premise behind your quest proving a humorous and inventive excuse for some ‘wacky’ characters, insane puzzles, and somewhat ‘alternative’ environments to explore and survive. This plot centres around you playing as Munch, a bizarre one-footed sea-beastie off in search of others of his species, Munch being the last of his kind. On his travels he is joined by previous Oddworld hero, the Golum-like Abe, who you can also play as from time to time, as this unlikely pair encounter all-manner of 3d-platform style puzzles, dumb bad guys, and generally attempt to rid Oddworld of the evil Vyckers, and their factory.

The plot is progressed nicely between levels, via some lovely CGI sequences, which do much to show the power of the Xbox’s hardware, as well as demonstrating the impressive voice-acting already present in the game-proper.

All isn’t entirely rosy however, the game may make a refreshing and imaginative change, but it isn’t without it’s problems. Throughout the game, the various sound effects, such as Munch’s hopping are very irritating, and the puzzles are often rather too linear. Yet it is still a game that is addictive, just not perfectly-balanced, nor at times, very original in-terms of new gameplay. What’s more, the camera angles are occasionally rather disorientating, the controls also proving less than intuitive at times. These being the games most fundamental disadvantages.

Regardless of it’s inferiorities, Munch’s Oddysee is a fun and amusing game, the dialogue between Munch and Abe coming across well, and the story as a whole rolling along convincingly enough. The scenery is a definite plus, and you do get the odd inspired moment during the game – though as a whole it can get a little tedious in the way many games of this genre do.

All in all then a fun and imaginative, if not inspired nor perfect Xbox debut for the Oddworld series – occasionally grating but it certainly has it’s moments, and is certainly a worthwhile purchase for younger gamers and those who enjoy the 3D platform genre. The graphics are lovely too.

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By Luke Guttridge