Well, I'm not trying to be rude, here, but that's a matter of sheer opinion, which you're entitled to, but the rest of us who think Abe's Exoddus is actually a great game are also entitled to ours.
I get your points, but I can't stop wondering whether you're falling victim to nostalgia and/or "sequel hate for hate's sake". It's cool to diss sequels, we all know that, to be *that guy who played the game when it was worth it, before all these mindless mediocre sequels started coming out", and if this was a game series like that, I would be on your side, but the fact is that most people, myself included, think Abe's Exoddus did bring something to the table, even if it was just more of the same. In many ways, well, it is, but what's wrong with that, as it's being more of arguably one of the best puzzle platformers ever made?
Sure, Abe 2 has a lot more puzzles and situations relying on reflexes than Abe's Oddysee, but it's essentially a continuation of a superb game, that did add a few things, such as more carefully animated backgrounds, more detailed 3D models, the ability to GameSpeak to enemies, when possessing one of them, the fact Mudokons now have different moods and emotional states, just to name a few improvements people tend to dismiss altogether just because Exoddus is a "dreaded sequel".
I would have understood your complaint if you were talking about, let's say, the Silent Hill series, that started out with three stellar titles, then had a great spin-off that should have never been branded a Silent Hill game, since it makes "die-hard" SH fans disregard it altogether, when the fact is that it is actually a great game in its own right, then just went all the way downhill. But complaining about a superb, excellent game like Abe's Exoddus, by saying one should stick with the first one, when both of them are amazing titles, is taking your opinion to a level that borders... well, borders something bad, let's just say it like this, in order for me to keep things civil.
I say, if you can, buy both, but if you can't, buy either one of them, they're both great. Abe's Exoddus does have a few graphical and gameplay improvements over its predecessor, unlike what the OP was saying, albeit small ones at that, and it offers a slightly more polished experience, in my opinion, but they're both essentially the same game, and if you can only afford one of them, you won't do any wrong by picking either one over the other.
[EDIT] I don't know how I let this one pass: a MAJOR improvement Exoddus brought over Oddysee was the inclusion of the much asked for Quick Saves, giving you the power to basically create your own checkpoint whenever you wanted, and making the early Oddworld titles' try-and-error formula less of a chore. It's also true that Exoddus lacks Elum (a pet/sidekick/mount of sorts that Abe can ride in Odysee, for those not in the know), but I, for one, didn't miss him all that much.
Post edited July 07, 2013 by groze