The Glukkons of Oddworld do their best to make money by using the Mudokons to do all the work. Abe is a Mudokon trying to tip the balance and his buddy Munch is the last surviving Gabbit, an aquatic species wiped out by the Glukkons. Abe and Munch, usable at any time, are doing their best to free Break Wind Hill from ever-present Glukkon oppression.

The usual yin and yang of tag-team games is here — each character has different skills and you'll need them both to solve all the puzzles. Abe has several skills, like a bad-guy-distracting chant, speed and the ability to carry objects but Munch can swim, for example. The levels themselves are really the puzzles. Each needs to be navigated so you can get your character from point A to B without getting beat down. That means a lot of time spent figuring out which levers do what, which bad guys will see you if you go here, which teleporter will put you there and lots and lots of trial and error. This is the formula of all Oddworld games, and it's not much different here. The real difference is in the personality of the Munch's Oddysee. That is, there's isn't much of one. If you've never played an Oddworld game, this would be a poor start because without prior experience with what can be a wonderfully charming, underdog perspective the main characters come from, you'll be hard pressed to care why you're walking these goofy-looking, easily-dispatched characters from one convoluted level to another. The ambience of the previous games isn't to be found here. It seems to be assumed, lying just under the surface but never showing itself. The result is one tedious task after another with the occasional fart or burp sound thrown in.

Ironically, one of the best parts of the game is also the most violent. You'll have a few chances to control giant robots and blast the Glukkons to bits. It's hard to say whether this is as entertaining as it seemed or if it's just fun compared to roaming around the other levels. Either way, those moments are few and far between and seem at odds with Oddworld's theme.

In the interest of full disclosure, there were a few other violent episodes in Munch's Oddysee, but they weren't in-game – they occurred every time I threw a tantrum because of Abe's horrible jumping habits. The timing of this one action, and Abe's movement, was downright infuriating and it made the platform and jumping parts of the game more annoying than they had any right to be. Getting used to it only helped a little.

Another contrast between this GBA game and its console cousins is its appearance. The characters are mostly gray and red and the levels are mostly flat and featureless, save for the few pieces of the world with which you'll be interacting. Simplicity is nice, but frustrating levels mixed with dull visuals is a bad combination.

When it comes right down to it there's only so many levers to be pulled and areas to be backtracked, no matter how charming the story, characters or environment. Munch's Oddysee features mostly the former and not nearly enough of the latter, making for a game that is more tiresome than it is challenging and fun. If you're dying for a non-violent puzzle game or have a kiddie (not too young, these puzzles aren't that easy) on the gift list who could use an introduction to Abe and Munch, this is fine. Just don't expect to be blown away – even on Break Wind Hill.