This is a series of posts I'm going to do highlighting games form the Playstation consoles that time has forgotten about. These aren't the same thing as underrated gems, because most of them got a lot of attention in their day, but have seemingly been forgotten about over the years.
The Basic gameplay mechanics Of these two rendered 2D platformers on the PS1 are reminiscent of past 2D games like Prince of Persia, Blackthorne, and Flashback. However, adding to those in Oddworld is the gamespeak mechanic which allows you to give your Mudokon friends voice commands, and it adds a whole new puzzle element to the gameplay. The whole point of the Oddworld games is to traverse through tough 2D levels while saving your fellow Mudokons (little ugly green guys who look like Abe) from becoming the next big food item. They
The games were tough as nails, but also present an interesting world with charming characters, and humorous story elements. Luckily, the developers decided to go against convention, and give the player infinite lives which comes in handy, because you'll die a lot in these games.
The number of Abe's Mudokon friends you save also effects the ending you get in each game. The original (Abe's Oddysee) has a whole 99 Mudokons to save, but it's two-disk sequel (Abe's Exoddus) has a whopping 300 Mudokons to save.
These games got a good amount of attention in their day, and even sold well enough to become Greatest Hits.
The biggest mistake that the developers, Oddworld Inhabitants, made with the series was releasing the next two Oddworld sequels on the Xbox instead of the PS2. Munch's Oddysee was initially scheduled to be released on the PS2, but due to the difficulty of developing for the PS2 in the early days (with little support from Sony for developers), they instead moved Munch over to be an Xbox launch game due to the Xbox being an easier platform to develop for. At the time, Munch got a fair amount of attention, and I don't know the official numbers, but it probably did pretty well in sales due to the slim pickings of the early Xbox library(aside from Halo, and a few other games). The second Xbox Oddworld game, however, went completely unnoticed. Strangers Wrath hit in 2005 on the Xbox, and didn't do very well at all. The developers were planning a PS2 port of the game, but, from what I hear, again had trouble getting it to run on the PS2.
I'm not saying that making Oddworld games for the PS2 would have meant instant success, but the series definitely would have had the opportunity to sell better with the 100 million plus PS2 systems floating around out there. For some reason from the Xbox launch in 2001, to Stranger's Wrath in 2005, Xbox gamers seemed to have forgotten about Oddworld. At that time the Halo generation had taken over, and didn't seem to have a big interest in games like Stranger's Wrath. Most of the Halo generation had never even heard of Oddworld to begin with.
The lack of Oddworld on the PS2, and the bombing of Stranger's Wrath helped put Oddworld out of a lot of gamer's minds. Most PlayStation 1 gamers became PlayStation 2 gamers, and Oddworld would have had a bigger market on PlayStation consoles. Development issues aside, Oddworld Inhabitants would have been wise to port Munch, and Stranger's Wrath to the PS2, even if in a degraded form.
Either way, the Oddworld series on the PS1 is worth another look if maybe you played it back in the day, and have since forgotten about it, or are looking for quality Sideschrollers on the system. They are two of the best.
If you're interested int he Xbox Oddworld games, it appears that Stranger's Wrath is not compatible with the Xbox 360. Munch's Oddysee is though. Both are worth a look too.
Here is some footage of Abe's Oddysee in action uploaded by Youtube User chilloutgames:
NOTE: There were also hand held releases of the Oddworld games, but I can't vouch for them having never played them myself.
Oddworld Series
The Basic gameplay mechanics Of these two rendered 2D platformers on the PS1 are reminiscent of past 2D games like Prince of Persia, Blackthorne, and Flashback. However, adding to those in Oddworld is the gamespeak mechanic which allows you to give your Mudokon friends voice commands, and it adds a whole new puzzle element to the gameplay. The whole point of the Oddworld games is to traverse through tough 2D levels while saving your fellow Mudokons (little ugly green guys who look like Abe) from becoming the next big food item. They
The games were tough as nails, but also present an interesting world with charming characters, and humorous story elements. Luckily, the developers decided to go against convention, and give the player infinite lives which comes in handy, because you'll die a lot in these games.
The number of Abe's Mudokon friends you save also effects the ending you get in each game. The original (Abe's Oddysee) has a whole 99 Mudokons to save, but it's two-disk sequel (Abe's Exoddus) has a whopping 300 Mudokons to save.
These games got a good amount of attention in their day, and even sold well enough to become Greatest Hits.
The biggest mistake that the developers, Oddworld Inhabitants, made with the series was releasing the next two Oddworld sequels on the Xbox instead of the PS2. Munch's Oddysee was initially scheduled to be released on the PS2, but due to the difficulty of developing for the PS2 in the early days (with little support from Sony for developers), they instead moved Munch over to be an Xbox launch game due to the Xbox being an easier platform to develop for. At the time, Munch got a fair amount of attention, and I don't know the official numbers, but it probably did pretty well in sales due to the slim pickings of the early Xbox library(aside from Halo, and a few other games). The second Xbox Oddworld game, however, went completely unnoticed. Strangers Wrath hit in 2005 on the Xbox, and didn't do very well at all. The developers were planning a PS2 port of the game, but, from what I hear, again had trouble getting it to run on the PS2.
I'm not saying that making Oddworld games for the PS2 would have meant instant success, but the series definitely would have had the opportunity to sell better with the 100 million plus PS2 systems floating around out there. For some reason from the Xbox launch in 2001, to Stranger's Wrath in 2005, Xbox gamers seemed to have forgotten about Oddworld. At that time the Halo generation had taken over, and didn't seem to have a big interest in games like Stranger's Wrath. Most of the Halo generation had never even heard of Oddworld to begin with.
The lack of Oddworld on the PS2, and the bombing of Stranger's Wrath helped put Oddworld out of a lot of gamer's minds. Most PlayStation 1 gamers became PlayStation 2 gamers, and Oddworld would have had a bigger market on PlayStation consoles. Development issues aside, Oddworld Inhabitants would have been wise to port Munch, and Stranger's Wrath to the PS2, even if in a degraded form.
Either way, the Oddworld series on the PS1 is worth another look if maybe you played it back in the day, and have since forgotten about it, or are looking for quality Sideschrollers on the system. They are two of the best.
If you're interested int he Xbox Oddworld games, it appears that Stranger's Wrath is not compatible with the Xbox 360. Munch's Oddysee is though. Both are worth a look too.
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, and Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus are both now available on PSN as PSOne Classics, and the PC versions of each are also available Here on GoG.com, and Here on Steam.
Here is some footage of Abe's Oddysee in action uploaded by Youtube User chilloutgames:
NOTE: There were also hand held releases of the Oddworld games, but I can't vouch for them having never played them myself.
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