Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty revisits Abe’s first adventure, offering the same great experience overhauled to meet the standards that we’ve come to expect from a 21st century platformer. ODDWORLD: New 'n' Tasty! Is a “ground-up remake” of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, a cinematic 2.5D puzzle platformer originally released for.

Mystic aquarium facebook. Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty! – the Mudokons are backThe critically-acclaimed remake of PS One classic Abe’s Oddysee finally comes to Xbox One, and it’s just as tasty as ever.Whatever you think about Abe’s Odyssee there’s no denying that this is a masterfully accomplished remake.

Much like the remake of Resident Evil this manages to recreate everything that was great about the original PS One game and at the same time make as best use as possible of modern technology. It’s still a laudable achievement even if you don’t like the game, although we suspect there will be precious few who have to settle for a merely academic appreciation of its charms.We’ve already covered the story behind New ‘N’ Tasty’s creation in our interview with Oddworld co-founder Lorne Lanning. You can read the full transcript, although we warn you that it reveals the dark underbelly of the video games industry to be a thoroughly unpleasant place. But as appalling a picture as Lanning paints the fact that New ‘N’ Tasty is finally out – and is as good as it is – shows that happy endings are possible. AdvertisementThe first thing that struck us about New ‘N’ Tasty is that the intro is exactly the same as it was back in 1997, except that what at the time was state-of-the-art pre-rendered visuals is now all in real-time. For anyone who sat watching the cut scenes back then, and wondered when the whole game would look like that, well the future is now.The Oddworld franchise consists of four separate games, with an involved back story and various shared characters and creatures. Abe’s Odyssee was the first one though and so it keeps the plot very simple: you play as Abe, a slave at a meat processing factory who discovers his entire race is to be put on the menu.

Naturally he tries to escape, ideally while taking as many of his fellow mudokons with him as possible. Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty! – at last a remake that people actually wantThe original game was very much influenced by 16-bit classic Flashblack, and had a similar style of flick screen level design. In New ‘N’ Tasty though the game scrolls up and down to follow you around. The camera usually sticks to a side-on view but occasionally it becomes more mobile, either to show off the excellent new graphics or to give clues about secret areas or upcoming enemies.In terms of gameplay New ‘N’ Tasty is largely the same as the original, which may be something of a culture shock for some – as its style of largely non-violent, puzzle-orientated adventure has few parallels in modern mainstream games. This of course only adds to the allure, for those willing to give it a try, especially as the original’s harsh difficulty has been sanded down to something more appropriate for today’s audience.

AdvertisementThere’s still a lot of jumping over deadly pits and avoiding spinning meat cleavers but the game’s platform elements are based more on careful observation and precise positioning than they are Mario style reactions. Abe is completely defenceless by himself but he can tip-toe past inattentive enemies, either leaving them be or trying to lure them over a trap door. An effort that is made a little easier by an infinite supply of bottlecaps he can use as a distraction, a feature that wasn’t in the original.But Abe does have a weapon of sorts, in his ability to mind control certain enemies. Which usually ends up with them gunning down their fellow monsters or running them straight into a meat grinder. (The violence is pretty tame though and the game deserves no more than the 12 rating it’s been given.)As you can imagine all these different elements soon begin to blend together into more complex puzzles; which are themselves complicated further by the fact that you often have other mudokons following around behind you, waiting to be rescued. These can be told to stop or follow though, as the in-game communication system is expanded to allow you to command everybody nearby at once.

(And yes, you can still make farting noises at them instead – if that was your favourite bit from the PS One game.). AdvertisementBut the game’s not perfect, and indeed never was. Controlling Abe himself can often be frustrating, as he’s not particularly light on his feet. Even after considerable practice it can be very hard to get him to stop exactly where you want. There’s also a certain amount of trial and error to many of the puzzles, as you’d expect of any game with still one foot in the 20th century.Oh, and the claims of a co-op mode really aren’t what you think: it’s just an option to alternate goes between you and another player, one taking over when the other dies.But these are relatively minor complaints and besides it’s in terms of being a remake of Abe’s Oddysee that New ‘N’ Tasty deserves the most praise.

Updating a game that’s getting on for two decades old is no easy task, but this labour of love (by British developer Just Add Water, who also worked on the similarly good ) achieves its goals almost perfectly.This new Xbox One download is functionally identical to the PlayStation 4 (and we assume other) versions, although it is £3 cheaper for some reason. Older gamers will appreciate it the most but New ‘N’ Tasty has plenty to offer everyone, whether they’re intimately familiar with the original or simply attracted by the remake’s gorgeous visuals and unusual gameplay.We can only end by saying that we’re very glad that Lorne Lanning and Oddworld have finally returned to gaming, and that they’ve done so entirely on their own terms.

In Short: One of the best remakes ever, but also a puzzle platformer that defies its age to offer an enjoyable challenge to gamers both young and old.Pros: A near perfect update in terms of the visuals and the carefully updated gameplay – which maintains the charm of the original but smooths out the difficulty spikes.Cons: Abe’s controls are better than they used to be but still feel clunky and imprecise. Some puzzles are just too obscure, with too much trial and error.Score: 8/10Formats: Xbox One (reviewed), PlayStation 3, Wii U, PlayStation 4, PC, and PS VitaPrice: £17.99Publisher: Oddworld InhabitantsDeveloper: Just Add WaterRelease Date: 27th March 2015Age Rating: 12.

Almost twenty years after the release of the original Oddworld title Abe’s Oddysee (which debuted on the PlayStation in September 1997), the ground-up remake Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty lands on the PlayStation Vita – instantly challenging for the honour of becoming the handheld’s best platformer.You play as Abe, a Mudokon slave who spends his days working as a floor-waxer at Rupture Farms – ‘the biggest meat-processing plant in Oddworld’. One night whilst he is cleaning, Abe happens to overhear Rupture Farms’ owner Mullock the Glukkon discussing his latest meat-based product – Mudokon Pops! Startled by this revelation, Abe sets off to escape the factory whilst rescuing the rest of the Mudokon slaves before they become tasty snacks.You take control of Abe at the start of his escape, and the opening chapter in Rupture Farms helps you to get to grips with the core gameplay mechanics.

Keeping with the original, New ‘n’ Tasty is a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer that tests you with its precision-requiring jumps and obstacles that require impeccable timing.As you make your way through the first chapter you will notice that the game’s environment is used to display additional information exceptionally. There is no HUD in New ‘n’ Tasty – everything you need to know is provided to you by environmental objects. You will notice the side-scrolling displays that provide information on the game’s controls that form a tutorial of sorts, and the gigantic billboards in the game that – quite hauntingly – remind you of how many of the 299 trapped Mudokons you have rescued (or left to die).The environments in the game are stunning, and you can definitely tell that a lot of time and care was put into making the Vita version of New ‘n’ Tasty. There had to be some compromises made to port the game from the PlayStation 4 to the Vita, but even with these alterations the game is gorgeous. There were a few times when there were a lot of enemies on the screen that I noticed a drop in frame-rate, and a few times when objects in the game did not work as expected, but this did not ruin the overall experience for me.Speaking of the enemies, one thing that makes Abe unique to other platforming heroes is that he cannot directly harm the various creatures that can do him harm.

The one thing that he can do is chant. By holding down the left and right triggers on the PlayStation Vita you will perform a chant, allowing you to possess one of the enemy types that you will encounter during play. By taking control of the Sligs that patrol Rupture Farms and the surrounding areas you can use their machine guns to clear your path and can also unlock security gates within the Rupture Farm’s compound. Other enemies in the game cannot be possessed, and to outwit these you will need to solve puzzles and use environmental objects to make sure that you come out on top. Each enemy is unique and distinctly different, and they all have their own characteristics that can make for some hilarious, unscripted happenings throughout the game.I had great fun solving the game’s puzzles and using the various objects in the environments to overcome obstacles that the game threw my way. Using the Vita’s d-pad you can make Abe (or possessed Sligs) interact with other creatures. Interacting comes down to using a command system known as GameSpeak, having you mimic passwords that you hear in certain parts of the game in order to advance.

GameSpeak blends in with the other sounds that you hear throughout the game to make for great audio. Who doesn’t love the sound of farts, mystical chants, and whistles against an industrious backdrop?The Mudokons that you need to rescue are located throughout the game’s fifteen chapters, and they will require you to thoroughly search the environments in order to find them.

When I first escaped Rupture Farms and entered the Stockyards area of the game I thought I had rescued all the Mudokons in the opening chapter; I was soon proven wrong when the first billboard I came across told me that over forty of my chums had perished. How many Mudokons you rescue will affect the game’s ending, encouraging you to play through New ‘n’ Tasty multiple times just to see how the story plays out.Don’t worry if that sounds like too much of a chore, New ‘n’ Tasty is short but sweet. My first playthrough took me between six and seven hours from start to finish. Although that does seem like a short time, I had played the opening chapters previously on the PlayStation 4, so it may take newcomers to the game a little longer.

As I mentioned earlier I also, inadvertently, missed out on saving quite a few Mudokens – so you can probably add an hour or two onto the length of the game if you are taking your time to find and save all 299. There is even a trophy on offer for completing the game in under three hours whilst rescuing all of the Mudokens – that is definitely one for people who enjoy a challenge, with the game also featuring online leaderboards that allow you to compare details such as time taken to complete and how many Mudokens you have saved with others that have played the game.Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty is, in my opinion, the best Oddworld title on the PlayStation Vita – which can only be a good thing when the Oddworld games available include the excellent Stranger’s Wrath. I think that this is partly due to the time and attention the developers have put into optimising New ‘n’ Tasty for the Vita. One example of this is the controls, which have been tweaked for the handheld and work perfectly – allowing for precision which is crucial for both platforming and sneaking throughout the game. The gameplay is also exceptional, with New ‘n’ Tasty managing to encapsulate the feel of the original – Abe’s Oddysee – whilst managing to feel fresh at the same time.Now that I have finished the game, I have an urge to go back to it – which is unusual as I normally put games back on the shelf or remove them from my memory card when I complete them.

With New ‘n’ Tasty however, I want to go back; I want to try and beat the game quicker, see the other ending, and try and save all 299 Mudokons. That in itself is a testament to the work that Nephilim and Oddworld Inhabitants have put into perfecting the PS Vita version of Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, and why the game is one that I highly recommend you purchase – you won’t regret it! Jingle bubble shooter 2016.