Oddworld: Something New 'n' Tasty
https://basementmtl.blogspot.com/2014/07/oddworld-something-new-n-tasty.html
A game I’ve always taken for granted was Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. Released in
1997, I was weirded out by the cover art and ignored it like the rest of my
friends (back then I had to judge games by their covers since I never checked
reviews). What really piqued my interest in the game recently was YouTube user Caddicarus and his video on
this game.
Basically, I loved his passion for the series, so I decided
to check it out. Oh yeah, it was free on PlayStation Plus, which was a plus.
Since it was free.
In total, I only played a couple of hours, but wow was it great. What I loved was its great visuals and creativity. It’s a 2D platformer, with static, pre-rendered backgrounds. Pre-rendered graphics aren’t anything new, but the cutscenes were really well done and I didn’t feel like it had shown much age. I loved the voice acting since it had its funny moments despite feeling a bit grim overall.
In total, I only played a couple of hours, but wow was it great. What I loved was its great visuals and creativity. It’s a 2D platformer, with static, pre-rendered backgrounds. Pre-rendered graphics aren’t anything new, but the cutscenes were really well done and I didn’t feel like it had shown much age. I loved the voice acting since it had its funny moments despite feeling a bit grim overall.
It set a darker tone in many ways, which makes me feel that
this game was mature for its time (no wonder I was weirded out as a kid). The
developer really wanted to stand out from the rest, starting with developing
Abe as a character. Abe might be the weirdest-looking protagonist in any game
I’ve played, but he has multiple redeeming qualities, like his charm and
innocence. He’s kind of dumb, but you can’t help but feel bad for him.
What really set this game apart from the rest was “GameSpeak”. Basically, Abe is a Mudokon who is trying to rescue other Mudokons from their oppressors the Glukkons, who use the Mudokons for slave labor.
What really set this game apart from the rest was “GameSpeak”. Basically, Abe is a Mudokon who is trying to rescue other Mudokons from their oppressors the Glukkons, who use the Mudokons for slave labor.
You rescue Mudokons by guiding them using GameSpeak: a set
of commands allowing you to tell other Mudokons what to do, similar to Lemmings.
This system is pretty intelligent and complicated. For its time I imagine it
really wasn’t that complex, but seeing as how we’ve been babied so much
nowadays, GameSpeak can become a pain if you forget which button does what or
if you don’t time your commands properly. There’s even a GameSpeak option in
the main menu, which I would assume serves as practice.
Unfortunately, I never went back to the game, but my few
hours with the game were memorable. More importantly, Abe’s Oddysee is getting
an HD remake titled Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty! and I feel like this is the
perfect opportunity for me to properly re-acquaint myself with the series, and
give it the love I think it deserves.
