Oddworld Stranger's Wrath

"The strangest, oddest, best game I've played in years!"

As somebody who is new to the Oddworld franchise, and has never played any of the other games, this review might be different from the others, coming from an outsider with no prior knowledge or experience about past Oddworld games or the lore which they contain. I would just like to say that this game surprised me a great deal, and although it was slow getting used to, I came out of the experience with a rare feeling. That kind of feeling I used to get when I was younger, experiencing The Legend Of Zelda or Resident Evil for the first time. I had a sense of satisfaction that I don't seem to get nowadays with games. I enjoyed myself very much and lost myself in the colorful, surreal and strange Universe that I found to be very unique and engrossing. Many aspects of this game wowed me, and overall it was quite a refreshing experience.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is about a bounty hunter named Stranger, roaming the lands of this Odd world searching for enough "moolah" to pay for his life saving surgery. In order to get enough money to pay for the operation, you have to go from town to town, taking bounties, searching for those bounties, and bringing them in for money. Simple, right? It will get more interesting, trust me.

One of the things that grabbed me right off the bat were the beautiful graphics. As I write this, it is currently the year 2009, and this game was released in 2005. The full motion video was sharp, crisp and had the look of a Pixar animated movie. The animation was flawless. It looked like actual real movements of real living things, moving about in their various ways, living life on this "Odd World", going about their daily lives and just looking amazing in every detail. The in game graphics are of almost the same quality. There were at times where it looked like an Xbox 360 title, the graphics are that good, with high resolution that looked fantastic even on my HDTV. So much detail and high production values, along with fluid animation, superb lighting and shadow effects and vibrant color made for an image that was very appealing to look at and easy on the eyes. It was just a pleasure to watch everything. The environments, the characters, the action was just a feast of all out eye candy, and I have been left very impressed with what they original Xbox was and still is capable of.

Sound is another area that shines in Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. The sound effects never feel out of place and are always crystal clear and aurally pleasing. From the sound of the live ammunition making wise cracks at you, or the growling of a Fuzzle ready to unleash rage on an unsuspecting outlaw, to the voices of all the characters in the game, the sound is definitely on par with the graphics and they compliment each other so well that it makes for a seamless, completely awesome spectacle of sight and sound. Another thing about the voices... There is so much spoken dialogue! Every Clakker or Grubb you meet has something different and unique to say. Stranger himself has context sensitive dialogue that can be spoken with the push of the X button. With so much to say by so many colorful creatures it makes me wonder how much time was spent in the studio just recording dialogue. Another plus is that every voice is unique and convincing, making it obvious that they put a lot of thought and effort into giving everybody their own personality. Even the Outlaws that you hunt down have many different things to say about the situation, if you get a chance to listen before you blow them up or capture them for a bounty. The only draw back is that some of the characters in the game, most notably the Clakkerz, can get really annoying with their rude mannerisms and foul mouths.

The music is very well done as well. Evey setting and every situation has it's own music that I feel perfectly matches the atmosphere and the mood. Ranging from energetic techno to slower, more ambient styles, I personally think the music is good enough to listen to on it's own, and during your adventure the music will be like the icing on the cake in totally immersing yourself in this universe. Never will a song feel out of place, nor will the music ever be distracting. All the songs have perfect timing and perfect reflection of the on screen action.

The gist of the game play in Stranger's Wrath comes in two forms: First person perspective and Third Person. In first person play, it operates almost exactly how you would expect a first person shooter to play. Lots of run and gun action, with a little bit of stealth thrown in if you so desire. Third person view is where you can see Stranger in all his glory, the ability to run faster, to climb ropes, jump across platforms and engage in intense hand to hand combat with enemies. Different situations call for different actions, and the need to switch between third and first person is so frequent and seamless that you will likely never get bored of either very fast. The pacing is fast, exciting and varied. If money is of little importance to you, you can run in guns blazing Rambo style, or if you want to go for more money + more challenge, capturing all your bounties alive is a great way to go too. The list of live ammunition will not disappoint, with about 15 types of different ammo at your disposal, the list of ways you can go about pursuing your prey is limited only by your imagination.

The health system is treated in a unique way in this game. Instead of collecting health boxes, you have to "shake off" damage with the press of a button. This in turn uses up your "Stamina", which decreases any time you restore health, engage in melee combat, or fall from a great height. While this may seem like it would make things too easy at first, it is actually quite a challenge to work with it. You cannot shake off damage while you are being shot at, you have to cease the fighting, run for cover, and heal yourself before jumping back into the fray. Most of the time you have to heal yourself in time before them outlaws find your hiding spot and surprise you! Stamina restores itself after time, but it's very slow and doing strenuous activity like sprinting will slow down stamina recovery even further, constantly keeping you on your toes. It's a pretty ingenious system, and I applaud the creators for their originality.

Another thing that strikes me as down right cool about the Odd world.. Is that it feels like a sort of Steampunk like setting. While a lot of the towns and areas have an old west feeling to them, it is intertwined with high technology and modern gadgets, like Laptop computers. These contrasts in historical eras, mixed with the anything-but-human intelligent species work together to create a fantasy of bizarre beauty and believability. I almost feel like this Odd world is another planet that actually exists somewhere out there in the Universe. Everything about it, from the cities to the landscape, to the wildlife and the sentient beings, feels like they're all really alive and breathing, and for a video game to accomplish that is a fantastic and groundbreaking achievement that all video game creators should strive for much more often.

Sadly, the biggest drawback to this otherwise top notch high caliber game is that there is virtually no replay value whatsoever. No online play, no secrets, no extras, no unlockables and no multiplayer. Nothing except to replay the game again, which would be fun, in trying to improve your speed of completion, soaking up more of the story, goofing around, and trying to capture more alive bounties. But that can only go on for so long before one would eventually get sick of it, and do everything there is to do in the game.

For that reason I will refrain from a perfect score of 10, but otherwise playing through this game for the first time was a memorable and highly enjoyable experience, and it has convinced me to go check out the other Oddworld games. Now I can join other fans in the hope for a new Oddworld game sometime in the future. I will be definitely be looking forward to playing more from this series and fall in love with a whole new franchise.

Buy or Rent? Highly recommend buying. An amazing action/adventure game that to me still holds up against current titles on the 360. So what are you waiting for? Go! Buy it!!!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/25/09

Game Release: Oddworld Stranger's Wrath (US, 01/25/05)