Heh, this has turned into a "How did you become interested in Oddworld?" thread. Some interesting stories here - Funny that most people seem to have been given AO when they were young rather than buying it for themselves, and that it turned out to be very influential for them.
My story:
I was staying with my cousin back in 1998. I was 11. We went round one of his friend's houses, and they were both looking through what was on a PS1 demo disk. One of the demos was for Abe's Oddysee - I watched them play through it thinking that I hadn't ever seen a platform game that looked anywhere near as good, or as fun (I grew up with PC DOS games and wasn't familiar with consoles). In fact that may have been the first time I saw a Playstation 1 in action, I can't remember.
Two years later in 2000 I had a friend who wanted to lend me the PC version of Abe's Oddysee. Recognising it, I accepted that offer. Unfortunately his and my parents fell out and so I lost contact with him... Effectively I stole his game. :S But I still have the CD and still use it 13 years later every time I want to give AO a replay.
In 2001 I found Infrogame's "Replay" re-release of Abe's Exoddus (PC) for £10 in Electronics Boutique. Bought it along with Worms Armageddon with some pocket money I saved. I remember re-reading the info on the back of AE's box while on the train home from town and being really excited to play it. Heh.
Both games helped me through some weird times that I had around the early 2000s, mostly involving a housing development being built over some local woods and being involved in the protest to try and stop it from happening. I remember going out to do petty sabotage on construction equipment late on moonlit nights while avoiding the security guards (minor stuff, I was too chicken to do any real damage), feeling a little like Abe going through the Stockyard levels. Fun times.
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