Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus

This is the second game in the Oddworld series, and is my favourite. You play as Abe, the same guy from the first game. You have to try and save the Mudoken (that’s the race you are. They’re like people, but really thin and blue/green) Ancestor’s bones from the evil guys, who mine it for the main ingredient on their beer, soulstorm brew. The evil guys are the Glukkons. Anyway, the Glukkons are using Mudokens to mine these bones, and you have to save all, and I mean ALL the Mudokens to stop the mining. You traverse through a huge expanse of mines, while trying not to die. You have no weapons, but can possess enemies with weapons.

The gameplay is very innovative, and makes you think constantly. The “no weapons” thing makes the game insanely hard, but its also what makes it fun. You can, however, possess enemies by chanting. Only problem is that they usually run away, but some can’t, giving you an opportunity to wreak some havoc, or open a door, etc. Oddworld really takes a step away from the platforming games, where you can kill almost everything, and makes you use strategy and cunning to win. Another cool thing is that some Mudokens won’t follow you right away, while others have disabilities. For example, a lot of the later stages have blind Mudokens, which you have to tell to stop or go, in order to keep them from being crushed/ground up/eaten/shot/electrified/fall off a cliff. The alternative is killing all the Mudokens.

The graphics in this game are average. There aren’t any breaks or empty spots, and everything looks okay, but its nothing special. And everything is way too grey. The walls, the ground, a lot of the enemies, even Abe is a greyish blue. I know its supposed to be underground, but its a little ridiculous.

The sound in Oddworld is great, and can sometimes be hilarious. Abe has a lot of vocal commands, which help him get Mudokens to follow him. He can apologize, slap, tell people to follow, and many other things. But, best of all is the fact that he can fart. It’s random, unnecessary, and hilarious. The fart also makes other Mudokens back away, so I guess it can be helpful. There isn’t much music, though, and when there is, it isn’t interesting and/or repeats a lot. The sound effects are very good, can be easily understood, and fit in with what is happening

Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus is over 20 hours long, seeing as it has two discs, is very hard, and requires EVERY Mudoken to be rescued or killed.

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Note: All graphics and sound ratings will take into account the fact that it’s for PlayStation.

Crash Bandicoot was one of the first games I ever played, the first game I ever beat, and probably is the cause for my high expectations in video games. Crash Bandicoot is about, you guessed it, a bandicoot. But, this bandicoot can kick some serious tail, seeing as he was mutated by Cortex in the first game. This is his second game on the Playstation, and his best one so far. The story is as follows: Crash is lured from his forest home, to a secret portal hub controlled by his nemesis, Doctor Cortex. He tells Crash he must retrieve the crystals from each level in order to save the world! Crash, for some unknown reason (probably the fact that he is retarded or something) accepts. You then embark on a journey through many worlds, and uncounted dangers. Crash will have to use his whole arsenal to survive. His “arsenal” is spinning, jumping, sliding, and doing belly flops.

The gameplay in Crash is great. It isn’t too complicated, and there aren’t too many things on the screen to clutter it up. The game is about average length, but you will almost certainly have to go back to levels and collect the magical gems in order to unlock the secret ending. The game is also fairly difficult, but not Nintendo hard, so as to not discourage players. The game had many bosses, and each one appears in classic fashion. These bosses increase in difficulty, but always stay fun and different.

This is also the first appearance of my favourite bad guy ever, Tiny the Tiger. Look him up, he’s cool. You are aided by Aku-Aku, the spirit of a witch doctor…which…turned into a mask somehow. He is the only way you don’t die in one hit. Unless you fall off a cliff…or into water…or are blown up by nitroglycerin. There are a lot of things that kill you, okay?