Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
Developer(s)	Oddworld Inhabitants TechInform Ltd (PC port) Just Add Water (added Steam Achievements[1][2])
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)	Lorne Lanning (director)
Series	Oddworld series
Platform(s)	Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Windows, Playstation 3, Playstation Vita
Release date(s)	Xbox NA November 14, 2001 PAL March 14, 2002 Game Boy Advance NA September 24, 2003 PAL October 10, 2003 PC (Steam) WW December 20, 2010 Playstation 3 WW TBA Playstation Vita WW TBA
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: T ELSPA: 11+ USK: 12+
Media/distribution	DVD, Digital Download

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is the third game made by Oddworld Inhabitants. Originally announced as a title in development for PlayStation 2, it was instead released exclusively as one of the launch titles for Microsoft Xbox. It is the second chapter of the Oddworld pentalogy, following Abe's Oddysee and its sequel Abe's Exoddus. While an "Oddboxx" containing all four games was originally intended for a holiday season 2009 release on Steam, the third and fourth games in the series were not released until December 20th, 2010 on Steam, over two years after the first two.

Plot

Taking place after the events of Abe's Exoddus, the story begins with a froglike Gabbit named Munch, searching for others of his kind. Munch continually uses a form of echolocation to call for fellow Gabbits, reminiscing about friendlier times before many of his friends were commercially fished to near-extinction in large nets. Unfortunately, owing to the delicacy of Gabbit eggs, known as "Gabbiar" (a parody of caviar) and the suitability of Gabbit lungs to replace those of the chain-smoking, dominant-species Glukkons, he is the last of his kind. While looking on a lonely shore, he is caught by an animal trap (having mistaken its sonar sounds for his kind's own echolocation) and taken by two Vykkers, named Humphrey and Irwin, to their massive hovering base of operations, Vykkers Labs.

There, Humphrey implants a sparking sonar device in Munch's head, though Irwin is more interested in the value of the Gabbit's lungs. Humphrey then explains to Irwin his "flawless" plan to use Munch as a slave to gather trapped animals for them, allowing them more time for research and saving more Moolah as well. The plan backfires: when the two Vykkers leave, Munch discovers he can use the electrical properties of his new implant to free the furry-but-vicious lab specimens called Fuzzles, and enlist them into attacking the Vykkers and their cohorts. With his new army of Fuzzles, Munch manages to escape the dreaded facility.

Meanwhile, the Almighty Raisin tells the Mudokon hero Abe of Munch's plight, and commands him to find and rescue the Gabbit. The two manage to find each other just as Munch is escaping Vykkers Labs. After they destroy two Sloghuts (areas where Mudokons are forced to tend and feed Slog guard dogs) and help natives fend off Slig attacks, they find their way back to the Almighty Raisin. He tells them to go back to Vykkers Labs (particularly appalling for Munch) to save their respective species. The last can of Gabbit eggs is being auctioned in a few days as the last delicacy of its kind, and there are large stockpiles of Mudokon eggs in the fortress, intended to be used to hatch slaves.

Through making a lowly, poor, dull-minded Glukkon named Lulu rich (filthy rich) by bankrupting several other Glukkons (A meep rancher and a chump who was trying to turn a windmill into a micro brewery) and several Industrial companies (Magog Motors, Splinterz and Flub Fuels) through possesing the Glukkons and forcing them to donate their Moolah to Lulu's Fund (this was the only way Lulu would rise to the status of "Glockstar"), they infiltrate Vykker's Labs, and eventually save the Mudokon eggs. What happens next depends on the actions of the player...

Endings

There are two different endings to this game: the "Good Ending" and the "Bad Ending". This is determined by how much Quarma Abe and Munch have by the end of the Loading Dock level; if they have +50% Good Quarma they can proceed to two extra levels towards the Good Ending, if not the game ends there.

• In the Good Ending, Abe manages to possess Lulu and then used him to win the can of Gabbiar in the auction, leaving Lulu bankrupt, after bidding his entire fortune of 3 million Moolah on it. Soon after Irwin and Humphrey return to the laboratory, finding a stack of explosives ready to blow. The ensuing explosion kills them both and causes heavy damage to the Vykkers Lab's hull and thus the entire floating facility plummets to the ground, revealing behind it a new moon with a Gabbit's foot engraved on its surface. The crash makes Vykkers Labs cease to exist.^[3]
• In the Bad Ending, Abe & Munch are attacked by Fuzzles for not saving them from the Vykkers who did experiments or tortured them and made the fuzzles suffer. 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.^[4]

Special Quarma

Angelic Quarma is a variation of good Quarma which shows a bonus newspaper after the ending movie saying how the economy has collapsed from the destruction of Vykkers Labs and Lulu being convicted for it (requires saving almost everything in the game and not allowing anyone to die.)

It is possible to earn Black Quarma, which will give the player another newspaper telling them that Abe and Munch are done for; the Glukkon queen gets new lungs, the last can of Gabbiar gets eaten and the Mudokon eggs have hatched. But to get this requires the player to kill every single Mudokon, Fuzzle and Egg Crate in the game (except the ones required to pass a level).

Gameplay

Abe and Munch fighting alongside their fellow Mudokon friends.

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

Abe's chant possession ability was also changed. In Munch's Oddysee it appears as a small ball of energy which the player controls. In order to possess an enemy, you need spooceshrubs, which are green and ball-shaped. They can also be used for opening some locked doors. Other new features include Abe's ability to pick up objects and people, and different vending machine power-ups, such as Expresso, which increases speed for a limited time.

The most significant new feature is the ability to switch 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. In the Munch's Oddysee booklet, it warns that Abe can only possess Industrialists, but in gameplay, you can possess all the same creatures as you could in Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, and for the first time, you can possess Slogs, though the options for controlling non-Industrialists are very limited. There isn't a proper use for possessing non-Industrial creatures apart from using them to fight each other; however, the possessed creatures are usually the ones killed.

Reception

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee received average reviews from Critics. 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.". IGN gave the game a 7.5 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."

Game Boy Advance version

Boxart for the 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's a 2D Platformer and the third Oddworld game made for a handheld console.

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 will be released on the PlayStation Network and include enhanced 720p visuals, more detailed character models, re-mastered dialogue, bonus material. ^[5] Just Add Water later confirmed that both Oddworld Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath would be released on the Playstation Vita. ^[6]

References

1. ^ http://twitter.com/jawltd/status/16995686910267392
2. ^ http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=19683723&postcount=159
3. ^ Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee "Good Ending" FMV movie.
4. ^ Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee "[1]" FMV movie.
5. ^ http://palgn.com.au/playstation-3/18810/oddworld-munchs-oddysee-hd-remake-on-the-way-hand-of-odd-revived/
6. ^ http://psp.ign.com/articles/117/1173244p1.html

External links

• Official Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee website
• Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee at MobyGames
• Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee at GameFAQs
• Pre-Munch's Oddysee videos
• Official website of Michael Bross - The music composer/sound designer for Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee