Manufacturer Description
In a world run by ruthless meat barons your entire race is about to become pie filling...Unless you can escape RuptureFarms and make it through the most inexplicably challenging gameplay in the known universe. Sound Odd? Welcome to Oddworld. A new kind of game and a brave new world of interaction. Communicate with real characters. Possess and blow away your enemies. Solve wicked situations. ODDWORLD: ABE'S ODDYSEE takes every game genre you've ever seen and blends them into a smorgasbord of pure gaming delight. So trust in Odd and you'll never be hungry again!

Features:

• Side-scrolling platform game
• Guide Abe past hazards to escape from certain death
• Brain-teasing puzzles and lightning-fast traps
• Use Game Talk to convince your fellow Mudokons to follow you to safety
• For 1 player

Storyline:

Selected by the fickle finger of fate, Abe, floor-waxer first class for RuptureFarms, was catapulted into a life of adventure when he overheard plans by his boss, Molluck the Glukkon™, to turn Abe and his fellow Mudokons into Tasty Treats as part of a last-ditch effort to rescue Molluck's failing meat-packing empire.

During his escape from RuptureFarms, Abe received a vision from the mysterious Big Face, showing Abe that he must not only rescue his fellow Mudokons, but also protect all of Oddworld's creatures from the predatory Magog Cartel.

After completing arduous Temple trials, and journeying across a wasteland with his friend Elum, Abe was granted the awesome power of the Shrykull. Returning to RuptureFarms, Abe destroyed the foul slaughterhouse, rescued his buddies, and brought down some righteous lightning on top of Molluck's pointy head.

The graphics in Abe's Oddyssee convey a unique personality, which is often lacking in platform action games. Still, a few pretty game environments will not distract you from the devious puzzles scattered throughout the game. Fortunately, you never run out of lives in Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee . Instead, Abe rematerializes immediately after you "die" and the game continues from the last checkpoint you reached. This approach encourages exploration, which you'll want to do anyway since this is one of the most beautiful 2-D games we've seen. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:
Gorgeous graphics and cut-scenes
Challenging puzzles
Entertaining story

Cons:
Many puzzles require perfect timing, which can be difficult to master

TIPS:

Observe enemy behavior, and use it against them. Every foe has a flaw: Sligs are trigger-happy. Scrabs hate each other more than they hate you. Paramites are cautious alone, but murderous in packs.

Don't let Mudokons die unless you're going for the bad ending ... and if you're going for the bad ending, kill as many as possible.

Just because something didn't work the first time, doesn't mean it won't work the second time ... but if something doesn't work after four or five tries, then you're using your head to drive nails. Try thinking sideways.

Possess anything and everything that you can, and use them like matches. Knock out chant suppressors with grenades, then possess guys who thought they were safe.

Look behind things for secret areas. Sometimes you need to roll through dark zones, or crouch down behind stuff, to find the secrets.

Never pass up a chance to save a fellow Mudokon. You never know when they'll return the favor.

Keep an eye on status indicators, and never leave an area without clearing it of Mudokons first.

Chant when you see fireflies.

When confronted by multiple doors inside Scrabania and Paramonia, start with the nearest ones; they're generally easier than the ones you have to climb to reach.

Never pass a rock sack without getting rocks. This is especially true when dealing with Elum.