I have never seen a single game that was worth buying a gaming system for until
now.  If you do not own a Playstation (then why are you reading this) then go
buy one right now and get a copy of ODDWORLD.

Graphics:  

Simply stunning.  From the opening splash screen to the 5 minute opening movie
to the SEEMLESS (and I DO mean seemless) 2D to 3D transitional cutscenes - this
game is breathtaking.  You will be watching a cutscene and the next thing you
know your character is in that scene waiting for your input.  It's JUST THAT
GOOD!

The animation is smooth and flawless.  Each of Abe's moves is made of dozens of
individual cells.  The SNEAK move is hilarious - especially when you are
following a SLIG (enemy guard) and you tiptoe behind him.

The backgrounds are stunning.  You will want to stare at them for hours (or at
least a few minutes).  Sometimes (especially on the outdoor levels) you feel
that you are playing on a photographed background.


Sound:

If the graphics weren't good enough, the sound is amazing.  Crisp dolby surround
(if ya got it), excellent sound effects, great music, and some of the best use
of SPEECH ever in a video game make this game a pure blast to play.

Abe has 3 spoken words and 5 sound effects which you MUST use to solve many
puzzles and rescue your co-workers.  You start off each converstation with
"HELLO" to get someone's attention.  Then you can say "FOLLOW ME" and they will
mimic your moves and direction until you can lead them to a portal.  If you wait
too long they will resume their work and you will have to say HELLO again.  If
danger lurks on the next screen then tell them to "WAIT".  They will stop and go
back to work while you remove the obstacle and come back for them.

Other sounds are GROWL, HIGH WHISLTE, LOW WHISTLE, FART, and LAUGH.
Sometimes you must engage in conversations which consist of repeating a pattern
of sounds (a'la SIMON).  You can also use sounds to distract guards.  I
personally love to hide in the shadows and say HELLO to distract a guard and
lead him to a bomb, etc.  FARTING at the SLOGS (guard dogs) in the stockyard is
also a great way to get their attention and have them chase you.  Just make sure
you have a way to kill them before they catch you.

CHANTING is your final vocal ability.   Chanting turns circling birds into a
magic escape portal for your co-workers but BEST OF ALL - chanting can posses
enemy guards.   Some screens have ANTI-Chant Robots.  If you chant on these
screens you will get zapped.  You won't die but you won't be able to chant long
enough to possess anyone.  You can still open portals on these screens.

While possessing a guard you have all new vocal abilities such as "HERE BOY" to
call a SLOG,  "GET 'EM" to attack.    "LOOK OUT" which makes all Muldoken's hit
the deck so you don't kill them and some amusing sound effects.


Gameplay:

Control is excellent and mastering the moves takes very little time.  I had 4
different people playing this game during my first 10 hours session and all of
them mastered the moves halfway through the first level.  Online instructions
appear on almost every screen in the form or a scrolling marquee in the factory
and later on outside as magical fireflies that form words when you chant - very
ORIGINAL!

Be warned - sometimes following ALL the instructions given to you may result in
the untimely death of a co-worker.  Remember - MOST instructions are given to
you at least one screen before you need to follow them.

Oddworld's BEST feature is UNLIMITED (that's right - UNLIMITED) LIVES.  Die as
often as you like (and don't worry - you will die plenty).  And what could be
better than INFINITE LIVES.  How about auto-saving checkpoints  every 3-5
screens.  So when you do die you won't be repeating too much of the game.  Want
more?  Okay.  If you go back to a previous checkpoint (and there is considerable
backtracking in this game) each time you activate the checkpoint saver it will
update your progress.  Of course this could be a bad thing to say if you just
killed some employees.  So SAVE YOUR GAME OFTEN.

There is a 2-player options which lets you and a friend (or friends) play co-op
to save the day.  This mode simply consists of switching control of ABE between
both controllers after each death.  If one player is better than the other(s)
then this can get kinda one-side real quick.  

The puzzles are moderately challenging.  Knowing WHAT to do is the first puzzle.
Finding what you need to do it (ie. rocks, bombs, possessing a SLIG) and doing
it are even harder.  The advanced puzzles are mostly hidden in SECRET areas
which are very well hidden.  You can easily play the game and never find a
secret and not even know it until you start wondering where all those missing
Muldokens are hiding.

All puzzles require a bit of thinking and a LOT of them require some very nimble
finger action on the controller.  There is a lot of running and jumping and
hanging and dropping.  If you've ever played Prince of Persia or Flashback then
you know the style of this game.


Abe has no weapons so this is mainly a game of running and figuring out how to
get the enemy to kill themselves (or each other).  You can possess the SLIG and
have him do your dirty work for you.    He can mow down other SLIG with his
machine gun.  He can pistol-whip workers but that would be mean.  He cannot
change elevations so his usefullness is limited to whatever floor you possess
him on.  When you are done with him you can either have him kill himself by
walking into a fatal obstacle or simply CHANT once more to explode the SLIG -
anybody see the old movie SCANNERS - YECH?!?!


Replayability:

Unless you are a gaming god or read a hint book you will need to play this game
at LEAST twice.  Just following the online instructions will screw you up (in a
fun way) enough to where you will need to restart just to save the first 28
employees.  Of course this is Game #1 of a 5-part series so don't replay it for
too long.  There are four more adventures coming soon!


SUMMARY:

This is THE GAME of 1997.  I was 40+ hours into FF7 when I got this and now I no
longer even have a desire to continue that game (although I will - don't worry).
Oddworld is simply the most beautiful and consuming game I have ever played.
Time stands still when you play this.  My first session lasted 11 hours and I
didn't even notice.  After a few hours sleep I was back for another 6 hour
session - small break then 4 more hours.

I'm not sure how far I am into this game.  The game is linear with several
braching points (aka sub-missions).  If I had to guess I'd say I was halfway
done so we are looking at a minium of 40 hours of gameplay.

This isn't a game to rush though.  Enjoy the scenery, talk to everyone you meet,
and try to save ALL 99 of your fellow workers.  And most of all - HAVE FUN!

- Mark Smith