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"A revolutionary and engrossing experience for its time"

In 1997, the PlayStation was being blessed with two video game gems that helped Sony to establish the console´s reputation for high quality gaming: "Final Fantasy VII", the game that secured the success of the PSX in Japan alone, and "Oddworld: Abe´s Oddysee", the debut of an ambitious project led by Lorne Lanning from Oddworld Inhabitants. And this first part of the Oddworld story arc did not just turn out to be a promising start to the series, but also one of the most innovative titles to date and one of the best entries in the PlayStation gaming library ever.

Unlike in many other platform games, the story in "Abe´s Oddysee" is rather complex and important, representing just a small part of the gigantic Oddworld universe. The main character, Abe, is a member of the Mudokons, a race of green-skinned, alien-like creatures. Like most of his fellow-Mudokons, Abe has been enslaved by the greedy Glukkons, and he is forced to work in the meat processing plant "Rupture Farms" as a janitor. Due to his clumsy and naive personality, he does not exactly realize the misery his race has found itself in, and in fact he even thinks he has quite good job at Rupture Farms. However, this changes quickly one day when he finds out about the true motives of his employers: Rupture Farms is at the brink of bankruptcy, with the sources for their main products - "Paramite Pies" and "Meech Munchies" - almost being extinct and thus the profits plummeting, so they are trying to find a new meat product to sell. And Molluck the Glukkon, the evil CEO of Rupture Farms, reveals to the board of directors that he plans to make a tasty new meat product out of the Mudokon slaves. Abe, secretly having witnessed the revelation of these terrible plans, finally realizes the situation of his race and himself, and even though at first it might be your sole task to escape from Rupture Farms, Abe will learn that he has been chosen to liberate the Mudokons. The story honestly is a weird mix of black humor and dramatic events, and that´s what makes it work. It´s an engrossing experience unlike anything that has been done before in the video game market. Here, you don´t have to deal with a cheap pseudo story that merely serves as an excuse for the hero to go on his adventure, instead you get an exciting story that even makes you think about a lot of real life issues. Another amazing aspect about the plot of this game is the entire setting, as the developers at Oddworld Inhabitants have created an entire world, inhabited by all kinds of unique races like the innocent and likable Mudokons, the greedy Glukkons and the violent Sligs, along with some terrifying creatures like the Paramites or the Scrabs. Creating a complete cosmos on its own for a video game is a considerable achievement, and Lorne Lanning and his crew deserve praise for the originality and charm of their Oddworld.

Gameplay-wise, "Abe´s Oddysee" mixes elements of platform games with creative puzzles, being more of an action/adventure rather than a plain Jump and Run. Instead of entire levels, "Abe´s Oddysee" is divided into tons of different screens within larger areas, with the transition from one screen to another being flawless and consistent, though. Almost each screen features a new obstacle for Abe to overcome, like solving brainteaser-puzzles, avoiding certain mean traps or sneaking around enemies. That sounds quite simple at first, but the puzzles for example are pretty complex and need a good deal of thinking, and as for the traps and enemies, chances are you´ll have to try a lot of the screens several times before you can get past them, since some passages are very tricky. This adds to the high difficulty level of the game in general, since Abe doesn´t have a life bar, which means that once a Slig shoots him, for example, he´s dead, and you´ll have to restart at the beginning of the area you died in...and apart from being shot, there are several possibilities of dying in this game, like being crushed, eaten or ripped apart by a monster or being cut up. Fortunately, though, you can try each screen as often as you want, since there´s nothing like a "game over" sequence in this game. Nevertheless, the difficulty level can be quite frustrating at times, and no matter how intelligent the puzzles and traps might be, they become some sort of a try-or-die experience, and the same goes for avoiding your enemies, which is also quite tough due to the considerable AI. This leads us to another innovative feature in "Abe´s Oddysee": Abe has a special ability called "chanting", which allows Abe to take control over an enemy, for example a Slig, so he can get rid of other enemies lurking around in the area. Other than that, there´s another important feature you´ll need in order to beat the game, and that is the "GameSpeak". With this ability, you can communicate with your fellow Mudokon slaves, and since it is your duty to free them, you can convince them to follow you to a portal through which they can be sent into freedom, but you can also tell them to help you with a certain task. Depending on how many Mudokons you save, you will be rewarded either with a good or bad ending, and I think that this is a good way of motivating the gamer to take his task of freeing the Mudokons seriously. And since all these innovative features are easy to execute thanks to the game´s excellent controls, "Abe´s Oddysee" is a fresh and innovative experience that was ahead of its time in terms of sheer gameplay.

Graphically, the developers at Oddworld Inhabitants have created an outstanding masterpiece that puts most of its ugly 3D competitors on the PlayStation to shame and easily outclasses them in terms of aesthetics, design, animations and detail. "Abe´s Oddysee" is the perfect proof that 2D games still had potential and that they were indeed able to impress gamers even in the 32-Bit era. First of all, Abe´s animations are truly fabulous and as smooth and fluid as it can possibly get in a 2D platformer, and it´s simply a treat to watch each character´s movements. The character models themselves have an incredible depth to them, featuring a slight 3D approach and a superb amount of detail that makes them come to life onscreen, and the same goes for the neat backgrounds. Not only are they amazing to look at, they also provide your eyes with lots of surprises and funny details. Another high point in AO´s visual department certainly are the full motion video sequences. At the time of the game´s release, CGI sequences might have been a popular method for developers to flesh out a game´s graphical appeal and sometimes to hide gameplay flaws, but in this one, however, they help to deepen the engrossing storyline of "Abe´s Oddysee" and to bring the fascinating Oddworld closer to you. When it comes to the sheer visual quality of the CG cutscenes, the only other game back then that featured sequences on the same high level was "Final Fantasy VII", and that´s saying a lot about the awesome work the developers put into the creation of them. So in the end, one could say that the visuals help to make "Abe´s Oddysee" a piece of art among the dozens of bland and ugly standard PlayStation games.

The audio in "Abe´s Oddysee", much like the game´s other aspects, comes off as very unique and intriguing, as a means to enhance the game´s storytelling even more. The music, for example, does not consist of an epic score. Instead, the game focuses on atmospheric and background tunes that are more calm during the puzzle passages and threatening when there are enemies around you. It fits the game´s design perfectly and manages to create a tense and fascinating atmosphere that sucks you deeper into the game, especially during some of the more dramatic cutscenes. The voice acting is surprisingly good, too, even though most of the dialogues are more cheesy and sometimes even silly (but still rather dramatic), but that is practically the perfect approach for unique characters such as our beloved Abe or Mullock the Glukkon - and on a funny note, Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning himself provided the voice for Abe.

Even after all these years, "Abe´s Oddysee" remains a milestone in the 2D platform genre, and it hasn´t lost its charm and appeal at all. Whoever is eager to experience a unique and fascinating game that manages to suck you deep into its world until you beat it should give this title a chance. It´s a timeless classic that manages to outclass a majority of its modern day competitors.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/06