Oddworld Stranger's Wrath

"Never thought I would be shooting with flies."

Think back to the days when it was the 1990s. A time where mainly games with no beta just came out, while others were tested carefully and turned out great. I.e. Zelda. Though, there was one game that wasn't really packed with attention…its called Oddworld. An exceptional game that, really made puzzle games look like they had nothing in common whatsoever. Oddworld was about jumping around with Abe, and trying to use different strategies…almost every Oddworld was the puzzle-type, though Oddworld Stranger's Wrath wasn't…

In the game you play an unknown “stranger” that doesn't know his origin. You seem like a bounty hunter that is out for “moolah” (the type of money in Oddworld). Stranger is getting moolah to get a surgery to stay alive, however the price seems a little too high from Stranger's expectations when he sees the amount: $20,000. Stranger is shocked, and then the point goes on where, you call a guy…let's not go into spoilers for the plot, but it really seems EA wants to tamper with the plot too much, which is a good thing, because it'll leave you in total awe, saying, “Oh my gosh, I didn't see that coming!”

You travel through western levels in the beginning, but as the game gets closer to the end, it seems that the western style totally is forgotten, and a fairy tale has taken place. I felt as if I was playing Red Dead Revolver, and then I felt as if I was Kingdom Hearts. Really, EA really put the whole bounty ‘em up, to a magical shooting electricity world. I got too mixed up, and a little disappointed, due to the fact that I love western games.

I guess you can say that whole “puzzle-type” is gone in the garbage. EA ditched the idea and went for a shooter/adventure. In the game, you are able to switch from 3rd Person-View to 1st Person-View, with the click of a button. Honestly, this has changed gaming and its qualities; I felt as if I was playing split games by switching back and forth. The cool thing is that there are no health-packs…just yourself. You press ‘Y' and you regain health. Now, you may think that this game is really easy with that option; when an enemy shoots/hits you…it does a lot!

Now, the graphics are just simply the best with amazingly detailed environments, which are just so beautiful, it makes it seem that you are in a beautiful valley. The graphics have really good models such as a mountain; it does an exquisite job putting realism into graphics-wise. Now, I may be incorrect, but from rumors, they have told that the PS2 version was cancelled because the graphics weren't going to be able to be processed right on the PS2…which I feel sorry for, but now I actually feel good for having an Xbox!

Okay, the one thing that dragged down the game was the terrible voice acting. Stranger's voice sounded like a pigeon: cocka-doodle-doo! I really felt as if EA could've gotten some professional voice-acting, though the main town race: “Cluckerz”; their voice's were actually kind of hilarious, screaming curse-words at you. You'd hit them and then they'd croak. So there was just really bad voice-acting.

I'll tell you once: there is barely any replay value. There is nothing to unlock, nothing to go back for, and nothing to really have fun again. There is a cheat to have a level select, which makes it a little more entertaining, but what fun are you going to have again? I wish Ea had put different things to unlock. It really would've made the game really good.

What do I say? Rent or buy? Well, looking back at the graphics and gameplay…it really makes me say buy. Though, if you're a diehard fan of the Odddworld puzzle games, I say rent it before criticizing it. It's a whole new step in the Oddworld series, and I hope you enjoy the game as much as I did.

Positives
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* Unbelievable Graphics
* EA tampers with the plot; new interesting storyline.
* New exciting gameplay for player's to enjoy.
* Funny moments
* A lot of crude humor.
* Creative ideas go into the game.

Negatives
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* Terrible voice acting
* No replay value
* No unlockables
* No going back to your favorite levels; unless you use the cheat.
* Doing a new sense of gameplay may turn loyal fans of the Oddworld games off.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/05