Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

The Good
If you take a brief look at the screen shots you might think that this is a simple platform game, this is certainly not the case. It is a combination of high-speed platform action and puzzles that has the words “adventure” written all over it. This game is pretty big, it certainly is bigger than Abe’s Oddysee and you won’t finish it in a weekend. The atmosphere that characterizes Oddworld is simply stunning. No elves, dwarves or other cliché characters. It’s really another world with very strange settings and a lot of peculiar creatures (ever heard of sligs, glukkons or paramites?). Even better, the designers & artists of the game make Oddworld come to life using outstanding visuals (as good as it gets in a 2D game). The pre-rendered backgrounds are very detailed and for once I enjoyed the FMV sequences. Besides being of good technical quality, they are also humorous. I saved my game before every FMV so I could watch them again (I later discovered there is a cheat that lets you watch all the movies, see tips).

The main character of the game is the Mudokon Abe. He is one of my favorite game heroes because he is so sympathetic. He's got no weapons or big muscles and looks so sad, which makes him a very unlikely hero. But Abe can perform a lot of different actions like defusing bombs, sneaking past sligs, hiding in shadows, picking up stones and throwing them at different angles. Abe also has two special abilities. The first one is possessing other creatures and this is lot of fun. After you’ve possessed a creature you play a part of the level with this creature. You can even possess your own farts and use them for scouting purposes or you can let them explode. Moreover Abe can talk to the other Mudokons by using “gamespeak”. Gamespeak enables you to give commands to the other mudokons. For instance you can tell them to follow you or start working. There are eight or ten different things Abe can say and you say something by pressing a key. Abe’s voice is well done, I like the way he says Yehwo if he wants to say hello. And probably the best thing about this game is that you can now also use gamespeak when you possess another creature. So if you possess a Glukkon you can tell your sligs to fire at each other and before you know it you are having conversations in paramite language.

Finally Abe is easy to control. This is one of the very few PC games I like to play with a gamepad.

The Bad
Some puzzles are frustrating in a “lemmings kind of way”. By that I mean you know how to solve the puzzle, it’s just that you have to give a certain command at exactly the right moment. For instance a lemming had to start building one nanosecond after he had turned in order to reach a platform. In Abe’s Exoddus for example, you'll have to guide blind mudokons past rotating blades using “gamespeak” which is equally difficult. These mudokons keep on walking and you have to tell them to stop at exactly the right time. There are more examples in the game of puzzles that are really difficult just because timing is so crucial. If not for the new quick save option (not included in Abe’s Oddysee), that allows you to save your game at any moment, you would probably destroy your keyboard out of frustration.

In my opinion the coolest levels are all in the first half of the game. Even though all levels look good, the levels in the second part lack the majestic atmosphere of the Necrum, Mudomo and Mudanchee levels. These levels take place in ancient tombs and jungles. In the second half of the game too many levels have the appearance of a factory. Moreover the Paramites and Scrabs only appear in the first levels. I’m not saying the later levels are bad, just that they lack the creativity that turned the first levels into masterpieces.

The Bottom Line
This second game from Oddworld Inhabitants is not too different from the first one, so if you liked that one you’ll love this one. I’m looking forward to the release of the next Oddworld game called Munch’s Oddysee, too bad it is only scheduled to appear on the X-Box :-(

The Good
More platforming/puzzle action comes your way in the form of the first sequel to the original Oddworld hit. Once again you get to play the mudokon hero Abe, as he tries to foil a sinister plot that involves the desecration of ancient mudokon corpses to be used as the main ingredient for "Soul-Brew" the hot new beverage preferred by all Sligs.

There's no point in doing a full re-cap of the original's storyline but just so you know there are two main races at work in Oddworld: the Glukkons, evil corporate moguls that rule most of the planet and the Mudokons, poor wretched souls that live in tune with nature and thus are often abused and enslaved by the Glukkons. Most Mudokons fall easy prey to the machinations of their evil counterparts, but the shaman-like Abe won't stand for that and sets out to put a serious wedge in the Glukkon's plans. As far as gameworlds go Oddworld's alien universe was one of the most original ones ever conceived and the sequel continues the tradition providing a bigger look into the ritualistic lives of the Mudokons and the industrial world of the Glukkons, as the game takes you from an initial Abe 1-sequence, to the Mudokon burial grounds and finally the Soul-Brew refinery itself.

The gameplay is exactly as you remember it: you have to get to the next area, which is locked and requires you to complete a series of sub-areas in any order to move on. These areas are completed in standard platformer action, with you jumping around and sorting out traps like bombs, rotating blades, electrical wires, etc. Along the way you'll also find groups of enslaved Mudokons which Abe can release by leading them to the bird-portals he can create with his powers, the Mudokons often have the key to completing each area and thus the game incorporates that good 'ol Lemmings gameplay style in which you have to lead to safety a ground of dimwitted creatures that lack all anything that even remotely resembles a sense of self-preservation.

New to the series are the inclusion of Mudokon spirits which are just trapped and must be freed, as well as blind Mudokons which are even more suicidal than the regular kind. Abe can also rip explosive farts now, yeah you heard that right: explosive farts! And he can also possess them and use them as guided bombs in addition to his regular possessing skills that allow him to control other creatures and use them to help him complete the levels. How can you not love that, uh? All in all a great addition to Abe's arsenal of weapondry which to that point included solely the ability to throw rocks and sneak around. As far as the levels go, each one of them are carefully crafted masterpieces that belong to the best examples of the genre, while allowing you to perfectly exercise each gameplay feature and explore their limitations, hidden areas provide even bigger challenges and are much easier to find than in the original.

Graphics are exactly the same as in the original, which is a good thing. The same quality of lovely animated, pre-rendered sprites is used to display Oddworld and it's inhabitants, and to move the storyline along, the game comes loaded with even more gloriously animated cgi cutscenes that to this day remain milestones of cg animation and have been showcased several times in cg expos and demos. These cutscenes provide most of the comedy in the game and help move the action along, blending seamlessly with the main game (in fact they are often used as transitions between screens).

The Bad
I experienced some unexplainable graphical slowdowns when playing, and I do mean unexplainable since I was way above the recommended configuration and the graphics are not that impressive as they were done originally to be displayed on a tv, which as we all know is much more forgiving resolution-wise than a computer monitor.

The Bottom Line
A great game that combines two great gameplay styles into a fantastically original whole with perfectly designed levels and a unique sense of humor that combines cartoonish touches with dark satiric undertones and an excellent graphic front to complement things. Not exactly for the timing-challenged but still simple enough as to be accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

The Good
Just like the first, only better.

The story is pretty simple (building off the first game: rescue Mudokon friends from the Glukkons), but captivating. Of course, there are elements that successfully contribute to the theme of the Mudokons needing to be rescued, such as addiction to brew; but overall, the story is simple. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not.

The setting is fantastic/ science-fiction-like, but only on the surface. As soon as the story begins, it comes across as surprisingly modern. Issues of industrialization and environmentalism are obvious, but also have ingeniously subtle qualities.

The game play is awesome: platforming adventure ho! There are many instances where Abe'll be running back and forth across four or five screens (up and down as well) trying to solve one puzzle. Some of the puzzles are difficult; some require a lot of careful attention to get through; nothing's clean-cut. This intensity, however, adds to the atmosphere that is oddworld. No difficulty leaves the player throwing their controller at the screen, but instead compels said player to keep at the puzzle/ adventure and see it through.

The gamespeak is awesome. Just as in the first game, it contributes to the puzzle fun; following the sequences is a necessary skill. But following the sequences, and concentrating on getting them right, is just another difficulty that compels the player to push on. It's fun; it's the oddworld version of simon.

The most awesome thing about this game, though is the expansion of Abe's abilities. Abe can summon more things than in the first game, such as certain robots (the smiling one in particular). The world is also expanded upon a lot. Abe travels through many places, each place very unique. This heavily contributes to immersion: as a player, it feels like you're Abe, and it feels like you're part of Oddworld.

The Bad
There's not much I didn't like about this game. It's hard for me to say if there's anything bad about it; anything negative escaped my notice. However, I will say that one down-side is that the game seams simply like an expansion of the first at times rather than a game that stands well on its own. Everything, fundamentally, is the same; what you're playing is Abe's Odysee with more enemies and more options to kill them. This isn't a bad thing, in my opinion, but I point it out to show that every great game has flaws.

The Bottom Line
A very strange, but very fun experience. A trip to Oddworld often guarantees immersion in Oddworld. This game is for anyone who likes: platformers, adventures, puzzles, gore, an interesting story, and farting. If you like Abe's Odysee, you'll love Abe's Exodus.