Topic: Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty

So it's out today and has anyone tried it yet? I'm curious if it's a good port or not since it took so long.

I too would like to how the Wii U version is since I've played the PS3 version through PS+.

Me too. I just watched Alex's interview with Lorne Lanning, and it really piqued my interest.

It's almost funny how on-the-nose it was for me — I felt like Alex in his Nintendo tee; I was the guy who was interested in Oddworld back in 1997, but only had Nintendo consoles. So New n' Tasty for the Wii U has always been on my radar, but the interview with Lorne (who covers everything from Miyamoto to Hannah Barbera cartoons) really gave me the notion that I should support this guy and his team. Seems like a really solid, well-intentioned effort.

I've tried it a bit now.

The artistic level of the game is very high.

There are some noticeable frame drops in the cut scenes, but I haven't seen any in the game itself. The game seems to be Gamepad only, for single player at least. The 30 fps shows, but it works ok for the cinematic art style they're using.

There seems to be no specific Wii U features, other than off-TV play. The menus can't be tapped on the Gamepad touchscreen, and the Gamepad screen is identical to the TV image.

Good port, but no extras, it seems.

Thanks much for the impressions, @jariw, it's appreciated. Sounds about like what was expected (Lorne actually mentioned some frame drops in the interview). Looking forward to reviews starting to roll in.

I sadly have found one problem. There is absolutely no audio coming from the gamepad during the cutscenes. This is sadly very disappointing since I cannot use my TV at the moment to play this. The audio during gameplay is fine, but it goes completely quiet during any cutscenes.

Can anyone confirm that this is not just a problem for me?

The game was promising to begin with, but I'm now on my third try to beat area 1.

First, the door to area 2 never opened. So wasted an good hour or two searching for a way opening it, and restarted.
Then, on my second game I found out there are hidden trapdoors scattered around (checking the map very closely), but I wasn't able to backtrack due to some guard always shooting me when taking a lift upwards back to the beginning of the game.
I got a bit frustrated, so on my third game, I used the internet for clues and got the helpful spoiler that chanting (holding ZR+ZL) not only opens up warpgates but also lets you control enemies. I don't know if I missed that info somewhere even though I paid attention to all instruction banners, however it made the game a lot easier. Unfortunately one of the Mudokons died without me noticing, and when I came across the stats list it was too late because the game saved already. I don't know if I can get back to it later to rescue that particular guy, but when I restarted the chapter from the chapter select menu everything was set to zero. Wasted another 2 hours.
Also, I came across the bug that even though playing on Normal, the game switched to Easy.

I'm already at the point waiting for an update. Or is it worth playing on Easy without caring about the Mudokons? I really want to know how the story goes on. Anyway, I got Shadow Puppeteer and Chariot on sale too. They seem to be a lot more polished and fun at the moment, especially in co-op, whereas Oddworld's multiplayer is just taking turns (I know it wasn't made for multiplayer and it's just a bonus). So it is shelved until an update.

Not to stray salt into an already open wound, but 30fps gameplay makes the fastpaced sections, especially when you have to roll under fast grinders with perfect timing, more difficult I guess. And slightly fuzzy 720p cutscenes when running on a native 1080p HD tv is a minor disappointment because the beautiful graphics don't deserve it. I bought a Full HD tv and a 1TB harddrive just for my Wii U, but this appears to be a game for people that haven't upgraded yet. Yes, I knew the devs wanted to keep the game under a certain file size, but little did I know that it would be that noticable.

@SKTTR: The game teaches you about chanting and controlling later on, but it really does help in the first level. Also, if you leave an area without saving all the Mudokons, they will die. No second chances. As for the easy mode bug you are talking about, I have not experienced such a thing, and I'm on chapter 4.

Are you experiencing any audio problems with your gamepad's audio at all?

On top of no audio during cutscenes, I've also discovered that I sometimes don't hear explosions during gameplay. Also, certain sounds (like Abe talking) can be almost inaudible in certain places even though there are no sounds that are drowning him out.

Can anyone shed any light on the sound problems???

@Damo @ThomasBW84 Any chance of an Oddworld review before the launch sale ends on the 25th? Thanks.

Are there are any gamepad exclusive (besides off TV play) features in Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty Wii U because I was hopping they would let you use the Wii U Pro Controller but sadly that's not the case?

@HeroOfCybertron: Nope, no exclusives. It's a striaght up port.

@Monkey_Balls: I'd give it an 8/10

It's a great game, and I hope they put updated versions of Abe's Exodus, Munch's Odyssey, and Stranger's Wrath on the Wii U or NX in the future. If you have never played it, or have the itch to play it again, I suggest you get it. It's a very unique platformer/puzzler.

But, it's not perfect. My gripes are:

1 - graphics could have been a bit better (possibly from the odd choice to squeeze it down to fit on the 8 GB system)
2 - audio problems on the gamepad (no audio at all for cutscenes)
3 - sometimes I find the joystick to be a little frustrating to control Abe in certain situations
4 - striaght up port, no Wii U exclusives except off-tv play.

@Monkey_Balls: Yes, it should be live 22nd or 23rd January

You mean Feb right?

It's very strange this review is taking so long to be posted. Was hoping too about review being done before the sale ends.