Oddworld Stranger's Wrath

"A deep, fun, and original gameplay experience..."

Oddworld has always been a successful franchise. Now Oddworld Inhabitants have created another Oddworld game to add to that collection. And it is definitely a winner. But like most games it isn't perfect.

Story: 8/10

On the surface, you are nothing but a bounty hunter. Rough edged, that sort of thing. He doesn't have much of a name, folk just refer to him as Stranger. At the beginning you just bag bounties to make moolah. Thats Oddworld talk for money. The Stranger seems to need this money for some sort of operation. And he'll get it by any means necessary. This seems like a shallow story-line but when you get further into the game it gets much better. Trust me.

Graphics: 10/10

It takes some dang good graphics to amaze me. This game sure does get that job done. The cut-scenes are absolutely beautiful. Even though these creatures don't exist they look very realistic in the cut-scenes and show plenty of expression. In-game graphics are spectacular as well. The environments at the beginning of the game are mostly desert. But the environment still looks incredible and is very fun to explore. When you go into first-person mode clear images of the ammo you are using appear. The ammo are well rendered just like everything else. There also seems to never be any slow down. If your a graphic gamer, Stranger's Wrath won't disappoint.

Gameplay: 10/10

As stated before you are a bounty hunter and must bring in bounties. To do this you must "suck up" the bodies of dead or stunned outlaws. Thats all there is to it. The controls are all well done and make sense. Press R3 to go between first-person to third-person mode. In third-person mode you can perform melee attacks and run much faster. In first-person mode you can use your live ammo on a double "barreled" crossbow. To shoot the left side of your crossbow pull the left trigger, and the right trigger for the other. Use this ammo to bring in your bounty in dead or alive. All of your ammo is basically insects. But they get the job done. You make more moolah for bringing them in alive, but dead is more satisfying. It's your choice to bring them in dead or alive.

Audio: 8/10

There are some good points and some bad points to this audio. The well done audio is satisfying to hear. Music is dramatic when under fire. and quite when you are being stealthy. So when the music kicks up you know you've been spotted. A really nice touch is how the live ammo sounds. The ammo will make noises, grunts, and even talk to you or each other. Which can be very humorous. However most of town folk have near the exact same voice which I found to be a little disappointing. Also outlaws and even their bosses mostly sound exactly the same. While this isn't that big of a deal, it is a drag though.

Replayability: 7/10

Most of the replayability comes from playing through again to catch all your bounties in a different way, dead or alive. Other than that there isn't much reason to make you want to play this again. After a while though, you'll come back to this game eventually.

This is a truly remarkable game and should not be missed. The ammo system mixed with the melee attacks makes for an original game-play system that has never been done before. This game is very fun as well. If your looking for a stealthy, action filled game that has more quality in time than quantity, than this is your game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/05