Product Description

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee puts you in charge of Munch -- an unlikely hero, even for the Oddworld games!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8367 in Video Games
• Brand: Oddworld Inhabitants
• Released on: 2001-12-03
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Platform: Xbox
• Dimensions: .31 pounds

Features

• Munch is a Gabbit, a race being used for lung-transplants by the cigar-smoking Glukkons. Abe frees him, and now Abe & Munch are the unlikely saviors of Oddworld
• Munch will spend the first part of the game in a wheelchair, helping Abe solve puzzles and avoid capture by the Mudokons
• He'll do that through a a unique interface that allows him to control machines
• When he's all healed up, Munch will begin breeding & condition creatures in & around the ecosystem to handle certain tasks for him
• Save the Oddworld with the most unusual hero you've ever seen!

Amazon.com Review
Abe, the strange Mudokon, is back with his powers to possess enemies and lead other Mudokons. This time he's joined by a Gabbit named Munch, an amphibious creature that can communicate with Fuzzles and shoot electric beams. They are definitely two of the weirdest characters in gaming, but they ooze personality, partially because of their design and mainly because of the outstanding voice acting provided by Lorne Lanning, president of Oddworld Inhabitants. Although the characters are cute, in a peculiar way, the game's dark humor gives them an edge.

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is primarily a puzzle game, with some action and adventure thrown in. The puzzles are great brainteasers that require players to use the special abilities of the two characters, know when to switch between them, and know when to guzzle performance-enhancing SoBe beverages. Several of the game's best puzzles get the player so caught up in their conventions that they overlook much simpler solutions.

This curious world seems totally believable through the power of Xbox. The mountains, water, caves, and factories in this foreign world are extremely detailed and lifelike. The in-game cutscenes are comparable to Pixar movies. Although the Oddworld games for the PlayStation had spot-on personality and gameplay, the Xbox has truly brought the developers' visions to life.

Oddworld Inhabitants has crafted a captivating experience that's imaginative, clever, and beautiful. Simply put, this is a must-have Xbox title. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Unmatched uniqueness and personality
• Awe-striking cutscenes
• Addictive brainteasers

• Might not have enough action for impatient gamers
• Quite possibly, too strange for some

Amazon.com Product Description
The power-packing Xbox hardware delivers the third Oddworld title in one of the most brilliantly realized settings to grace any gaming system. Blending unique gameplay, humorous characters and interactions, and the aforementioned graphics, Munch's Oddysee simply feels unlike any other game in the 2001 console gaming lineup. Players control two characters in the game: Munch, a wheelchair-bound hero, and Abe, a character some gamers will recognize from previous Oddworld games. Their goal is to find and free the Mudokon queen, keeper of the remaining eggs of an endangered species.

Both characters feature unique talents that, via a tag-team style of play, propel the player through the game. For instance, Abe can climb and jump to reach new areas, as well as temporarily possess an enemy's soul via a chant. The web-footed Munch can swim to new areas and, when on the roll in his wheelchair, use his sonar plug to control machinery remotely. Saving an entire race also requires a coordinated effort on everyone's part. To get the job done quickly, players can deliver verbal commands to kinsmen. They'll gladly greet you (in a witty manner), then gang up on a mean-spirited enemy or accomplish difficult tasks for you. As with the rest of the game world, the finely detailed characters and environments, as well as a refreshing charm, draw you into an experience with the quality of a Pixar film. Prepare for gaming to get very odd indeed.

Customer Reviews

Intelligent, but odd...
In Munch's Oddysee, the third installment in the Oddworld saga, Abe is
joined by Munch, the last of the Gabbits. They must work together to
rescue enslaved Mudokons and fulfill Munch's quest for other Gabbits.

This is the first Oddworld game that is fully 3D. It is only available
on the Xbox, and the graphics are obviously tuned to take maximum
advantage of the platform. The environments are richly detailed (the
water is incredible) and a lot of effort went into making beautiful
cut scenes. And while the visuals are a quantum leap over what was
possible in the previous Oddworld games, the dark humor and
personalities of the characters still shine. The only visual flaw in
the entire game is some barely noticeable sparkle along a few texture
seams.

The gameplay is very addictive. The game is well paced; levels in the
beginning are super easy, but don't be deceived! Things really heat up
near the end. There are one or two places that use repetition as a way
of adding difficulty; however, for the most part the game doesn't fall
into this trap. The two leading characters complement each other
well. Each has abilities the other lacks; for example, Abe can
sometimes possess and control his enemies, while Munch can operate
machinery. Many of the puzzles require Abe and Munch to work in close
cooperation. Add the ability to order around Mudokons and Fuzzles
(little furry creatures with big teeth that adore their savior Munch)
and you've got a very fun game. There's a decent amount of gameplay,
too; the entire game took me about 30 hours to complete.

The controls in the game are well mapped out and feel natural
quickly. As much as possible, the controls are similar no matter who
(or what) you happen to be controlling. The only flaw in the control
scheme comes from the third-person camera. Occasionally the camera
makes it difficult to perform a task. The camera can't always be
made to go behind a character because there's a wall in the way. This
makes it difficult to see what's directly in front of the
character. Also, the camera will sometimes pan or dolly while the
character is running, forcing the player to adjust the stick left or
right just to keep going in a straight line. (To be fair, almost every
third-person game made suffers from these problems). A control to
temporarily make the camera first-person would have solved both these
problems.

Overall this title is very compelling. Oddworld always does an
excellent job of creating a believable world that's fun to play in,
and Munch's Oddysee is no exception. I would recommend it to anyone
who likes puzzle games, but likes some intelligent action and mayhem
thrown in as well.

Not your typical platformer
Munch's Odyssey is definitely NOT your typical platformer. While it's suitable for pretty much all ages, it's humor is aimed at a more teen or adult audience.

The graphics are incredibly realistic, especially in the cut scenes. And even if you are familiar with the back story of this series, you have to watch the introductory movie. Hysterical.

The gaming is easy at first, and you get lots of help early on to get you into the flow of the game. I haven't finished it by far, but I've heard that the puzzles will get harder as you progress, but that only means that you shouldn't get bored with it very easily.

If you're tired of the well-done, tried and true Mario-like platform games, and are looking for something that has it's own unique (albeit wacky) style, give Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee a try!

For lovers of the wacky adventure game
Yeah I admit it, I really love this game. It is just so chock full of character and personality it's really hard to not love it. Once you get by the wackness of it, there's a lot to like here.

Anyone who likes adventure classics like Monkey Island doesn't need to think twice here. Munch's Oddysee is five times as wacky as Monkey Island is at its wackiest (and that's pretty damn wacky). The characters are loveable and hillarious in their various twisted ways, and the story reads like something that a psychedelic proponent might come up with. The graphics are believable and chock full of eye candy that really give this game life.

That said if your a big action gamer that only likes fast paced games, you'll probably be bored stiff at this stuff. Slow going to be sure, but a lot of fun nonetheless. Maybe give it a rental first to see if its your style before buying. Personally though, I think its the best launch title for the Xbox after Halo.