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  #1  
11-09-2001, 07:44 PM
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Review and New Video on techtv.com

Here is a nice review of Munch, 5 outta 5 in all categories (no suprise there). And no spoilers, I risked reading it . And much more important (to me, anyways) is a video of Abe running around with some Mudokons, and gives a spotlight to some hilarious gamespeak, and the Ressurection Totem...My question is, if a Mudokon des, and then you ressurect him, does he still count towards your Quarma? Maybe spending the spooce towards ressurecting him helps your Quarma, but not as much as getting him to a bird portal alive...I'm still specualating...even though I'll be playing Munch next Thursday at this time...
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  #2  
11-09-2001, 10:44 PM
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sswwwwwwwwwwwwweat pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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11-09-2001, 11:08 PM
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oops! I posted this topic and never even looked at the pics Thanks Abe333...I assumed they'd be the standard ones we all have ingrained on our retinas...3 of 'em are, but the first 2 I've never seen before!
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11-09-2001, 11:16 PM
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the first one and the last one.... WHOOOOOO.
the pic is great, and the quality.... FAR OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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11-09-2001, 11:16 PM
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Thanks Fuzzy you fellow XBOX and Munch lover. Real cool review and link.

Here it is in all it's glory....

'Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee' (Xbox) Review


Overall Rating



By Jason D'Aprile
November 9, 2001

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Video Highlight
Munch's Intro


Munch's Oddysee






If ever there was a game that truly lived up to its name, it's "Oddworld." The original "Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee," and its sequel, appeared on the Playstation and PC and gave gamers a compellingly bizarre mix of side scrolling, platformer gameplay, and generally action-based puzzles. Using wonderfully rendered characters and locales, the games looked fantastic and told the story of Abe through the use of some of the best cinematic sequences ever to grace a TV screen. The gameplay itself fluidly moved from fascinating to frustrating, starting out simple and working up to incredibly challenging.


And now, we have "Munch's Oddysee," the first foray of the series into the realm of 3D. Originally slated as a PS2 exclusive, the developers, Oddworld's Inhabitants, decided to move the game over to the Xbox, and the results are stunning. "Oddworld" is better than it's ever been, and everything about "Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee" is refined, polished, and utterly playable. Not to mention that everything in the game looks fantastic.


Characters and story
In addition to taking up the mantle of the savior of Mudokons, the rather pathetic Abe, you'll get the chance to take control of a new character in the Oddworld universe, Munch. Munch is a cute little one-legged aquatic fellow called a Gabbit who hops about freeing cute yet sadistically vicious Fuzzies in his quest for freedom. The villainous corporations of Oddworld have hunted Munch's kinfolk to extinction, using them for everything from caviar to lung transplants.


When Munch falls victim to a trap, he gets abducted and taken to Vykker Labs, where he wakes up to find himself strapped to a chair with a newly implanted sonar system stuck in his head. Munch soon learns that he can do more than just send out sound waves, however, and begins to free the caged Fuzzies in the lab with an electrically charge zap from his head. As Munch struggles to escape from the labs, Abe has simultaneously been sent on a quest to rescue him, which makes up the first part of the game. Throughout much of the rest of the game, the two must work together to conquer the levels.


Gameplay
The gameplay in "Munch's Oddysee" takes everything from the original "Oddworld" and smoothly moves it into beautifully rendered 3D environments so well that "Munch" actually plays better than the older games. Controls are intuitive and the camera work is excellent and easily tweaked by the player. The gameplay is a wonderful mix of running and jumping platformer action and wickedly engaging puzzles. As before, you aren't just moving Abe or Munch through these levels by themselves, since you'll also have to guide to safety any of their rescued Mudokon and Fuzzy friends.


The main goal of the game is to free your oppressed brethren, and how many prisoners you rescue ultimately dictates the outcome of "Oddworld." To that end, you have a Quarma rating in the form of a halo that shows how well Abe and Munch are doing. A jagged, red halo, for instance, would be bad, while a smooth, golden one means you're doing great.


Abe and Munch can talk to each other when they're together, as well as to anyone they've rescued. You can order the lazy, grumbling Mudokons to help you out by chanting in chant circles, which open doors, or order both the Mudokons and Fuzzies to attack enemies. Since Abe and Munch's attack abilities are somewhere between minor and non-existent, you need your pals to help you out. But if any of them get killed, it lowers your Quarma.


While these refugees can attack for you and help you out by chanting or pulling some levers, their mobility is limited. They'll follow you all around as best they can (or stay if you tell them to), but they can't jump or climb ladders, and that's where the puzzle elements really come in. Divining safe paths for your entourage usually involves making dangerous ground less deadly. So Munch and Abe will go off on their own to clear a path for the rest of the group, while rescuing any friends along the way.


Munch is best in the water, where he can move quickly and jump extremely high, and on land, he'll occasionally get a wheelchair for rapid action. Both Abe and Munch can make use of vending machines that give them super speed, invisibility, better jumping powers, and, for Munch, the ability to send jolting electrical shocks through enemies. Abe, on the other hand, can take over enemies and make them do his bidding before they blow up.


Sound and design
The reason the game works so well isn't just great gameplay and control, but also presentation. As expected, the graphics are simply beautiful. At times, the gameplay is indistinguishable from cinematic sequences, and everything in "Oddworld" looks fantastic. The audio work is equally well presented. The voice acting is hilariously perfect for the weird cast of characters, the sound effects are entertaining, the musical score first rate, and when presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, the game is a marvel for the ears.


More than that, though, the character design, story, and dialogue are so dark, wacky, and biting that this "Oddysee" is almost like a really bizarre, black fairy tale. The Mudokons you rescue are hysterically lazy, self-serving, cowardly; Abe and Munch are incredibly unlikely heroes who seem uncomfortable in their own skin; and the villainous corporations that serve as the ultimate nemesis for "Oddworld" are like hellish caricatures of business tycoons from the '20s. Add to that the almost art-deco, retro industrial look that much of the game possesses, and "Oddworld" stands alone if only due to the art design.


"Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee" is essentially an intellectual 3D platformer. Mixing twitch action with devious puzzles and a great story, it makes a phenomenal debut for "Oddworld" on the Xbox. While it's probably not for everyone, anyone who appreciated the original games or just wants something that will challenge both their twitchy fingers and brainpan will love "Munch's Oddysee."

Watch "Extended Play" Fridays at 9 p.m. Eastern on TechTV.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
Platform: Xbox
Developer: Oddworld's Inhabitants
Publisher: Microsoft
ESRB Rating: Teen

Ratings
Graphics: 5
Sound: 5
Playability: 5
Gameplay: 5
Overall: 5

Go to Fuzzy's link for those screens.....
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  #6  
11-10-2001, 12:58 PM
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Ooh, pics... *looks* Why does that mud have a mushroom on- oh, sorry, it's a hat. *grins* Am I the only one that doesn't see big-brothers as even remotely scary/threatening? *shrugs*

Oh well. I need money, Odd-dammit!
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11-10-2001, 07:27 PM
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They always reminded me of Muscle-Builder guys. I know they're strong, and can hurt me, but I'm not threatened by them because I assume they're stupider than me...I know that's sterotyping, but those were my impressions of BBSs..

BTW, just curious, but Sydney/AbeBabe...Do I get a byline on either site for finding this? Heheheh...J/K...
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