Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is a 2001 video game, originally released for the Xbox. It is the third game made by Oddworld Inhabitants. It is the second chapter of the Oddworld Quintology, following Abe's Oddysee, and the third overall Oddworld game.

Originally announced as a title in development for Sony PlayStation 2, it was instead released exclusively as one of the launch titles for Xbox. While an "Oddboxx" containing the first four Oddworld games was originally intended for a holiday season 2009 release on Steam, the fourth game in the series was not released until December 20, 2010 on Steam, over two years after the first three.

Plot

Taking place after the events of Abe's Exoddus, the story begins with a froglike Gabbit named Munch, whose species has been commercially fished to near-extinction by Oddworld's industrious species; their eggs harvested for a delicacy known as "Gabbiar" and their lungs used as replacements for those of the Glukkons, who are known for smoking. While calling for fellow Gabbits in song, Munch is allured into captivity by an animal trap when it mimics an answering call. Munch is then taken to his captors' hovering fortress, Vykkers Labs, where the chief operator implants an electronic device in Munch's head. Using the device's electrical properties, Munch breaks free and escapes the Labs with the help of the small, ferocious 'Fuzzles', on whom the Vykkers customarily perform experiments. The Mudokon hero Abe is apprized by an oracular 'Almighty Raisin' of Munch's plight, who commands him to rescue the Gabbit. The two find each other when Munch falls from the Labs, and the Raisin informs them that the last can of Gabbiar will soon be auctioned at Vykkers Labs, and that large stockpiles of Mudokon eggs are also stored there. To obtain both, Abe and Munch force various wealthy Glukkons to donate their fortunes to a front organization titled "Lulu's Fund", in the hope of buying the Gabbiar with the money thus obtained. Lulu, under their control, becomes a multi-millionaire; and when he travels to Vykkers Labs to join the auction, Abe and Munch infiltrate the fortress to rescue the Mudokon eggs. What happens next depends on the actions of the player throughout the game.

Endings

The game has good and bad endings according to how many Fuzzles, Mudokon Scrubs, and eggs Abe and Munch rescue throughout the game. When these creatures are rescued the player receives "Good Quarma", of which 50% is required to access the game's final two levels.

• In the Good Ending, Abe possesses Lulu and uses the latter's entire fortune to win the can of Gabbiar, leaving Lulu bankrupt; whereafter, the Vykkers who kidnapped Munch return to their laboratory, where a stack of explosives (implied to be left by the Fuzzles) kills them both and forces the airborne complex to the ground, revealing a second moon with a Gabbit's likeness on its surface.^[2] Should the player achieve "Angelic Quarma", it is revealed that in the aftermath of the destruction of Vykkers Labs, and the liberation of the Mudokon eggs, the industrial economy is thrown into disarray, and Lulu is blamed for it.
• In the Bad Ending, Abe and Munch are attacked by Fuzzles for not saving them from the Vykkers. Soon after, Abe's head is a trophy and the Vykkers are ready to take Munch's lungs for the Glukkon queen, Lady Margaret, killing Munch in the process.^[3] Should "Black Quarma" be achieved, it is revealed that the Gabbiar has been eaten and the Mudokon eggs have hatched into a new labor force.

Gameplay

Abe and Munch fighting alongside their fellow Mudokon friends.

Munch's Oddysee was the first game in the Oddworld series in 3D, unlike the 2D Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus.

Abe's chant possession ability (enabling the player to control NPCs) was also changed: in Munch's Oddysee, it appears as a small ball of energy which the player controls, and must be earned by the collection of the spherical 'spooceshrubs', which may also be used for opening some locked doors. Other new features include Abe's ability to pick up objects and people, and different vending machines, which supply new abilities for a brief moment. The most significant new feature is the ability to switch control between Abe and Munch. Munch has his own abilities, such as using his sonar to control the Snoozers from the control panel, as well as pick up grabbers. He can also swim in water, while Abe can not. The game's booklet, it warns that Abe can only possess Industrialists; but in gameplay, the player can possess all the creatures permitted in Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus; and for the first time, a player can possess Slogs (the reptilian hounds kept by the industrialists as guards), though the options for controlling non-Industrialists are very limited, and usually result in the victim's destruction.

Development

Oddworld Inhabitants’ Lorne Lanning's original vision was to create a series of five videogames, the Oddworld Quintology, with each game introducing a new hero who would join the existing band of revolutionaries on their journey to put an end to the exploitation of cultures, people and the natural world by profiteering capitalists. Munch’s Oddysee is the true second Quintology title. In 1998 after the release of Abe's Exoddus (not technically part of the Quintology but a bonus title adding to the Oddworld mythos), work started on Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee in earnest. The gameplay moved from 2D to 3D, the platform from PlayStation 2 to Xbox, the publisher from GT Interactive (taken over by Infogrames) to Microsoft.^[4] Microsoft wanted to market the game to casual game players and proposed that the game be called Abe & Munch's Fun Adventures.^[5]

Release

Game Boy Advance version

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2003. It was developed by Art Co., Ltd and published by THQ. It is a top-down Platformer and the third Oddworld game made for a handheld console.

HD remake

An upgraded port of Munch's Oddysee was announced in April 2011 for release on PlayStation 3, developed by the team at Just Add Water. The game was released on the PlayStation Network and include enhanced 720p visuals, more detailed character models, re-mastered dialogue, bonus material.^[6] Just Add Water later confirmed that both Oddworld Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath would be released on the PlayStation Vita.^[7] On November 30, 2011, a LittleBigPlanet 2 costume of Munch was released on the PlayStation Store. The game was released on December 19, 2012 in Europe, and on December 24 in North America.

Reception

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee received fair reviews from critics. More critical of the title, GameSpot gave the game a 7.9 stating "Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is a very smart game with great puzzles, yet there's not enough variety in those puzzles to keep it completely entertaining throughout.".^[8] IGN gave the game a 7.4 saying "The final product comes off as anything but polished, and suffers from a lack of variety, and an overabundance of repetition that keeps this game from truly shining like I wished it would. As much as I like the characters and the design of the new Munch game, I'm still hoping for the true spiritual sequel to my good old Abe."^[9]

• Nominee, Readers' Choice – Best Xbox Story of 2001 Xbox IGN, 2002
• Nominee, Readers' Choice – Best Xbox Graphics of 2001 Xbox IGN, 2002
• Nominee, Readers' Choice – Best Xbox Sound of 2001 Xbox IGN, 2002
• No.1, Best Characters – PLAY, 2002
• Xbox Elite Award for Excellence – Official Xbox Magazine, 2002
• Best in Show Xbox Games, E3 2001 – Edge, 2002
• Best Xbox Game – E3 2002 Review Electronic Gaming Monthly, 2002^[10]

References

External links

• Official Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee website
• Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee at MobyGames