Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

Munch's Oddysee is a port of the game you know and love on Xbox.  If you don't love it on Xbox, there's not much of a reason to play it on the Game Boy Advance.  There are gameplay differences, but they're not improvements, they're just "different."  Game Boy Advance is capable of producing 3D graphics, but it is nowhere near the power of Xbox, so the developers had to start by making Munch a 2D game.  How could they do that without turning it into a side-scroller like Abe's Oddysee?  Simple: by using a slightly angled top-down view.  This keeps the game from losing its free-roaming capability; you can go wherever you want, whenever you want, assuming there are no barriers in the way.  Under most circumstances this would still change the context of game, but it was encouraging to see that a game could be converted from one dimension to the other without ruining it.  There are, however, some limitations that come with any game made for the GBA. 

There were missions to complete in Munch's Oddysee, but this port separates each objective, shortens the goals, and limits the amount of hazards (enemies, spiked mines, etc.) that could hinder your success.  On the first mission (which took about six minutes to complete on the first try – two minutes on the second), you play as the Mudokon that started it all: Abe.  Abe is a funny-looking, alien-type creature that has been enslaved by an evil corporation.  Long story short, they want to make juice (literally) out of Abe and the rest of the Mudokons, so it isn't that hard to figure out what your mission is: to prevent such a terrible thing from happening.

Abe possesses the power to possess.  What that means is that he can use his mind to gain support from fellow Mudokons and possess the minds of weak enemies.  This results in some hilarious situations.  You could take control of a gun-toting foe, have him kill his friends, and then guide him into a spiked mine!  Instant enemy destruction!  You may also have to take control of an enemy to complete a puzzle.  This aspect is much more involved in the Xbox version.

When playing Jedi mind tricks on the Mudokons, they'll follow you around like Pikmin.  With the Mukokons at your side you can solve unique puzzles and attack enemies as a moderately powerful army.  Mudokons have other uses, but those two are the most potent.

When Pikmin die, you lose them forever.  When Mudokons die, you can resurrect them by paying the toll at a resurrection chamber.  Resurrection chambers are pretty easy to find (especially in areas with a high enemy concentration), and the toll is never difficult to pay since you have an infinite amount currency called Spooce.  Spooce isn't exactly a currency, but this shrub-like thing grows and can be re-sprouted to give Abe as much as he needs.  Ten Spooce are required for resurrections.

After completing the first mission, the game automatically switches over to Munch.  Now you finally get to see what Oddworld Inhabitants's new character is like.  Shaped like a deformed fish, Munch is an excellent swimmer.  Without any feet to carry him on land, walking is not an option.  You can hop, but that's about it, which is why the game has watery areas in every Munch mission.

One reason to leave the safety of water is to take control of the Fuzzles.  Fuzzles are round, fuzzy creatures that Munch has the power to control.  Their fuzzy exterior is merely to deceive their prey; when angered, they can open their big, sharp tooth-filled mouths and take a bite out of the enemy.  They're much more effective in combat than Mudokons, except for one flaw: only three can be controlled simultaneously.  When additional Fuzzles are acquired, they simply make the previous ones bigger.  That's not a bad thing, considering how much stronger the Fuzzles become, but Game Boy Advance is not that weak of a system.  Surely they could have let the player control four, five or maybe even six Fuzzles without any technical difficulties.  Maybe having more Fuzzles would have hindered the gameplay in some way, but it seems unlikely.

It might seem at times as if Munch's Oddysee is a walking contradiction; for every up there is a down.  That's true to some extent, but if you add up the pros and the cons, the pros win out.  Munch wasn't the most spectacular game to begin with.  It too had its high points, as well as its low points.  Considering that, nearly all of the high points have been carried over.  If you've never played Munch's Oddysee before, this might be the best place to start.  The fact that it's a 2D game alone makes the transition smoother, since the controls are relatively simple.  Anyone with any prior game experience will be able to play it.  Plus, this version is shorter and requires a lot less thinking.  Not that I don't welcome a game that makes me think, but my brain is still sore from solving ICO's tricky puzzles.  Having not played the Xbox version of Munch's Oddysee in more than a year, it was great to be able to immediately start playing without having to think much or re-learn anything.  It has made me want to go back and finish the Xbox version, something I never took the time to do. 

Gameplay: 7.2
The army-commanding, puzzle-solving gameplay of Munch's Oddysee is not as rewarding (or as addictive) as the severely under-appreciated Pikmin.  However, aside from the army commanding, Munch's Oddysee has very little in common with Pikmin.  It's not an innovative game, but it is definitely an expansion of the series.

Graphics: 5
Pretty bland.  Abe and Munch don't look too bad, but the backgrounds are hard to see at times, and that's with a Game Boy Advance SP!  There's something terribly wrong about that.  Beyond that, you'd be hard pressed to find impressive graphic detail or any nice special effects.

Sound: 5
No relation to the original game whatsoever.  You've got a couple of jingles that may or may not ring a bell, but the music is a total disaster.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
As you progress, so will the game's difficulty.  It's nothing a gamer can't handle though.  If you want a real challenge, try the Xbox version.

Concept: 6
Aside from some expected gameplay perspective changes, Munch's Oddysee is hardly an innovative game.  What you saw on Xbox is what you get here, only scaled down for Game Boy Advance.  In other words, do you see real-time lighting on the GBA?  How about 3D platformers?  Don't expect to see anything you haven't seen on the GBA before in Munch's Oddysee.

Overall: 6.9
Much of Munch's goodness has been taken and converted to fit the Game Boy Advance.  Going from a somewhat lengthy game (on Xbox) to this version, which is a lot shorter, seems like a bad move on the outside.  But if you've played Munch's Oddysee before, chances are you've walked away at least once because of its frustration-packed gameplay.  It's fun, but there's only so much a person can take.  So for that reason it's hard to criticize a game that makes the experience more tolerable by making it easier.

As anyone who has played the Oddworld games knows, Munch's Oddysee is not for everyone.  Just because you loved Abe's Oddysee does not mean you'll love this game.  If you've played the Xbox version and would like to enjoy it on the small screen, here's your chance.