Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

North American Xbox cover art
Developer(s) Oddworld Inhabitants
Art Co., Ltd (GBA)
Just Add Water (PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita)
Publisher(s) Microsoft
THQ (GBA)
Designer(s) Lorne Lanning (director)
Series Oddworld
Engine A.L.I.V.E 2 (modified Gamebryo)
Platform(s)

Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Windows, Onlive, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PC, OS X

iOS, Android
Release date(s)

Xbox

  • NA November 15, 2001
  • PAL March 14, 2002

Game Boy Advance

  • NA September 24, 2003
  • PAL October 10, 2003

PC (Steam)

  • WW December 20, 2010

Onlive

  • NA May 17, 2011

PlayStation 3 (PSN)

  • NA December 24, 2012
  • EU December 19, 2012[1]

PlayStation Vita

  • NA December 16, 2014
  • EU December 17, 2014

iOS
November 12, 2015
Android
November 17, 2015
OS X
January 26, 2016

Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is a 2001 video game, originally released for the Xbox. It is the third game made by Oddworld Inhabitants. It is the second chapter of the Oddworld Quintology, following Abe's Oddysee, and the third overall Oddworld game.

Originally announced as a title in development for Sony PlayStation 2, it was instead released exclusively as one of the launch titles for Xbox. While an "Oddboxx" containing the first four Oddworld games was originally intended for a holiday season 2009 release on Steam, the fourth game in the series was not released until December 20, 2010 on Steam, over two years after the first three.

Plot

Taking place after the events of Abe's Exoddus, the story begins with a froglike Gabbit named Munch, whose species has been commercially fished to near-extinction by Oddworld's industrious species; their eggs harvested for a delicacy known as "Gabbiar" and their lungs used as replacements for those of the Glukkons, who are known for smoking. While calling for fellow Gabbits in song, Munch is allured into captivity by an animal trap when it mimics an answering call. Munch is then taken to his captors' hovering fortress, Vykkers Labs, where the chief operator implants an electronic device in Munch's head. Using the device's electrical properties, Munch breaks free and escapes the Labs with the help of the small, ferocious 'Fuzzles', on whom the Vykkers customarily perform experiments. The Mudokon hero Abe is apprized by an oracular 'Almighty Raisin' of Munch's plight, who commands him to rescue the Gabbit. The two find each other when Munch falls from the Labs, and the Raisin informs them that the last can of Gabbiar will soon be auctioned at Vykkers Labs, and that large stockpiles of Mudokon eggs are also stored there. To obtain both, Abe and Munch force various wealthy Glukkons to donate their fortunes to a front organization titled "Lulu's Fund", in the hope of buying the Gabbiar with the money thus obtained. Lulu, under their control, becomes a multi-millionaire; and when he travels to Vykkers Labs to join the auction, Abe and Munch infiltrate the fortress to rescue the Mudokon eggs. What happens next depends on the actions of the player throughout the game.

Endings

The game has good and bad endings according to how many Fuzzles, Mudokon Scrubs, and eggs Abe and Munch rescue throughout the game. When these creatures are rescued the player receives "Good Quarma", of which 50% is required to access the game's final two levels.

Gameplay

Abe and Munch fighting alongside their fellow Mudokon friends.

Munch's Oddysee was the first game in the Oddworld series in 3D, unlike the 2D Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus.

Abe's chant possession ability (enabling the player to control NPCs) was also changed: in Munch's Oddysee, it appears as a small ball of energy which the player controls, and must be earned by the collection of the spherical 'spooceshrubs', which may also be used for opening some locked doors. Other new features include Abe's ability to pick up objects and people, and different vending machines, which supply new abilities for a brief moment. The most significant new feature is the ability to switch control between Abe and Munch. Munch has his own abilities, such as using his sonar to control the Snoozers from the control panel, as well as pick up grabbers. He can also swim in water, while Abe can not. The game's booklet, it warns that Abe can only possess Industrialists; but in gameplay, the player can possess all the creatures permitted in Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus; and for the first time, a player can possess Slogs (the reptilian hounds kept by the industrialists as guards), though the options for controlling non-Industrialists are very limited, and usually result in the victim's destruction.

Development

Oddworld Inhabitants’ Lorne Lanning's original vision was to create a series of five videogames, the Oddworld Quintology, with each game introducing a new hero who would join the existing band of revolutionaries on their journey to put an end to the exploitation of cultures, people and the natural world by profiteering capitalists. Munch’s Oddysee is the true second Quintology title. In 1998 after the release of Abe's Exoddus (not technically part of the Quintology but a bonus title adding to the Oddworld mythos), work started on Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee in earnest. The gameplay moved from 2D to 3D, the platform from PlayStation 2 to Xbox, the publisher from GT Interactive (taken over by Infogrames) to Microsoft.[4] Microsoft wanted to market the game to casual game players and proposed that the game be called Abe & Munch's Fun Adventures.[5]

Release. Remakes and Refreshed Ports

Game Boy Advance version

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2003. It was developed by Art Co., Ltd and published by THQ. It is a top-down Platformer and the third Oddworld game made for a handheld console.

HD remake

An upgraded port of Munch's Oddysee was announced in April 2011 for release on PlayStation 3, developed by the team at Just Add Water. The game was released on the PlayStation Network and include enhanced 720p visuals, more detailed character models, re-mastered dialogue, bonus material.[6] Just Add Water later confirmed that both Oddworld Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath would be released on the PlayStation Vita.[7] On November 30, 2011, a LittleBigPlanet 2 costume of Munch was released on the PlayStation Store. The game was released on December 19, 2012 in Europe, and on December 24 in North America.

Refreshed Port

On February 25th 2016, Oddworld Inhabitants announced a public beta for a re-working port for the PC version of Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee. The port made by Square One has already released on OS X, iOS and Android. This is for the Steam version for Microsoft Windows. The new port will clear up all bugs that the original version had.[8]

Reception

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee received fair reviews from critics. More critical of the title, GameSpot gave the game a 7.9 stating "Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is a very smart game with great puzzles, yet there's not enough variety in those puzzles to keep it completely entertaining throughout.".[9] IGN gave the game a 7.4 saying "The final product comes off as anything but polished, and suffers from a lack of variety, and an overabundance of repetition that keeps this game from truly shining like I wished it would. As much as I like the characters and the design of the new Munch game, I'm still hoping for the true spiritual sequel to my good old Abe."[10]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-12-13-oddworld-munchs-oddysee-hd-due-next-week-on-ps3
  2. ↑ Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee "Good Ending" FMV movie.
  3. ↑ Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee "" FMV movie.
  4. ↑ http://www.oddworld.com/oddworld-history/
  5. ↑ "The Making Of… Oddworld". Edge. Future plc. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  6. ↑ Adam Ghiggino29 Apr, 2011 (2011-04-29). "Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee HD remake on the way, Hand of Odd revived – PlayStation 3 Video Game News – PAL Gaming Network". Palgn.com.au. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  7. ↑ Jim Reilly. "E3 2011: Oddworld Comes to PlayStation Vita – PSP News at IGN". Psp.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  8. ↑ "Munch's Oddysee 2016 Beta Released on Steam". Oddworld Inhabitants. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  9. ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/oddworld-munchs-oddysee-review/1900-2824045/
  10. ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/11/10/oddworld-munchs-oddysee-4
  11. ↑ http://oddworldlibrary.net/archives/web/oddworld.com/oddworld/company/ow_awards_mo.shtml

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.