Oddworld Stranger's Wrath

"Still the Oddworld flavor, just with a dash of Old West"

A lot of you may or may not remember a special Discovery Channel did on game development, where the "Oddworld's Mysterious Stranger" project was one of the showcases. A gruff and tumble Clint Eastwood-esque main character who happens to have the physical characteristics of a jungle cat/gorilla? Sure, why not. This is oddworld afterall. And from the get-go I could tell that this was going to be a definite Oddworld experience.

Gameplay: 9/10 - The controls respond extremely well for a game mixing two different genre types as different as third-person platforming and first-person shooting. On top of that, switching between the two modes is effortless. 'hunting' for your ammunition is a nice added twist. It takes some getting used to, you go in expecting a pure FPS experience and that's simple not the case. It's a short learning curve, but once you're over that relatively small hump the controls are a breeze. Couple that with a smart save system and you probably have some of the best controls for an action platformer hybrid so far this year.

Story: 8/10 - The story in this game, while not entirely taking itself TOO seriously still carries some decidedly serious and mature undertones. The dialogue is appropriate given certain circumstances and it excels at "giving you just enough to keep you going" You're not given too much story, or too little for that manner and it manages to keep itself extremely well-paced throughout. Although the story does seem to sputter slightly in places after the climax of the game it's nothing really major that would detract from the overall experience

Graphics: 8/10 - Simply gorgeous, every backdrop feels organic and laden with a certain authenticity to it. Along with being highly interactive, each area is peppered with colorful characters and enemies. Reflections, light and particle effects are all handled very well. Even the dust kicking up from Stranger's heels as he walks or runs is a treat. My only real complaint are the shadows, which looked a little too jagged for my liking and seemed almost out of place, but with so much going on you only really notice that sort of thing unless you were looking for it. The smaller nit-picky complaint is that you can't really free roam these areas to fully appreciate them. Not saying it would have necessarily benefited from a GTA type mission system, different strokes for different folks.

Sound: 10/10 - The music is appropriate, and catchy. Swelling up with tension during key moments and really accentuates the drama in the story. The voices are well done, considering the 'species' that each comes from. Dialogue is fitting, adding the right mix of 'Old West' Colloquialisms with the bizarre terminology of Oddworld. Some could even say that the mix of the two is somewhat endearing. Stranger's voice is gruff, probably a little too gruff and heavy for some but I find that it accentuates his often dry sense of humor. a really good job.

Replayability: N/A - I left this score blank because I'm close to the end now, not having beaten it just yet, 13 hours or so into it. So far I'm really wishing for a level select system after you clear certain stages so you can replay your favorite segments all over again. Given the fact that the levels can be tackled multiple ways gives it a very open ended feel. I have a feeling I will be replaying this multiple times

Final Thoughts: - If you're a fan of the series this will be a welcome addition to the collection, An excellent addition if even you're just a casual gamer looking for good action meshed together with a decent story. If you're not sure or are just curious, I'll give the same advice I give concerning all games: Give it a rent first to test the waters, if you like what you see, dive on in.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/27/05