The TPS Report - Games, Beats 'n' Blogs

Review of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath On Xbox
Posted by Diggler - 19/1/2005 14:37

Meet Stranger. He's Boba Fett, Master Chief and the Tazmanian Devil all rolled into one

I admit I've had scarce experience with the Oddworld series before this. I think I played the first one briefly on the original Playstation, and gave the last game a quick bash in demo form many years back, but it all stops there. I have little clue who Abe is, and Munch's Oddysee sounds more like the kind of trips I take to the fridge in the middle of the night than any sort of game. An Oddworld expert, I'm not.

With that in mind, it matters fuck all - the third and latest Oddworld title is 100% playable for both seasoned vets and newcomers alike. It's set in the same universe, and much like the recent GoldenEye leeches an audience off fans of the franchise by "borrowing" the name, but really that's about all it has in common with its predecessors as far as I can tell. Not only has the genre undergone some changes, but you play a brand new character in a brand new adventure too.

That character is the "Stranger" of the title in fact - something of a brooding bounty hunter type. As the Stranger it's your job to traverse the weird and wonderful Oddworld universe, capturing wanted criminals, bashing the fook out of their cronies, and making some major cash along the way. This cash can then be used to purchase upgrades and items as you progress. Sounds pretty standard in theory, but once you see this thing in motion for the first time it becomes clear that it's anything but average. For one thing, it's essentially two games for the price of one.

Halo Meets Prince of Persia

Stranger regularly returns to town to drop off bounties and take new jobs

By that, I mean it seamlessly melds two genres together absolutely seamlessly. On the one hand you're hopping around platforms in third person, with the odd bit of rope climbing and beat 'em up action, but at the click of a button you can whip out your heavily enhanced twin barrel crossbow at any time and switch to insta-first person mode for a more hardcore FPS approach.

The constant switching between third and first person mode is no mere gimmick either - each one plays completely differently to the other and thus each provides its own unique usefulness at specific points. Neither has been suitably beefed up over its counterpart either - both elements are equally as impressive as each other, and could happily stand up against their peers in either field.

The twin-barrelled crossbow also adds its own originality to the proceedings; not only does it allow you to switch in different ammo types into each chamber, essentially giving you dual-wielding via the two top trigger buttons - but the sheer originality of these ammo types is also unlike anything you've ever seen.

Remember that Cat Shotgun From Postal 2...?

First person mode handles great, not requiring any wanky lock-on bollocks

Quite simply, the Stranger doesn't like bullets. Instead he prefers a more "organic" form of ammunition...living, breathing critters. Literally. It's all completely barmy and takes some getting used to, but in actual fact works quite well. For the traditional spray 'n' prey machine gun style you can load up wasps for instance, but the real fun comes in the more exaggerated and bizarre types. Check out the Chippunks; tiny creatures that once fired at the ground will start yelling out insults, causing nearby enemies to run over in an attempt to stamp them to death - great for causing distractions and dividing up enemy numbers. Or how about the spider-like Bolamites - a single shot of which wraps up an enemy target in silky smooth web spunk, ripe for the capture (and subsequent reward).

There's a ton of different types, and each one is that little bit more outrageous and entertaining than the last. In practice though, you sadly find yourself sticking to your 2 or 3 favourites once the novelty wears off, but if nothing else it deserves marks for originality.

Nothing But Love

Environments are positively lush. No wonder the PS2 port was canned

An aspect that deserves far greater love however, are the aesthetics. This is one pretty fucking game, I tell ya - at times it often resembles Pixar quality CGI. Stranger is gorgeously modelled and beautifully animated, sure, but the environments he's then let lose into are even sexier. Levels are immaculately detailed, massive in size, and filled to the brim with fantastic effects. Bright lights blur and dissolve in the most succulent manner, and background scenery appears distant and out of focus...in an incredibly cool way. Rumours speak of this using a modified version of the Halo 2 engine, but for me this is by far the superior looking game.

The sound is also rich and enveloping. Voices are well-acted and purposely lo-fi, adding to the old time western feel of the visuals, and Stranger himself sounds particularly sweet. Believe me when I tell you, this is one technically sound game.

You can buy items from, talk to and even beat up the various townsfolk

I could go on really, chatting about the surprisingly rich plot, the ease and pure flat-out fun of the gameplay, and the challenging yet never unfair game length. But I won't. Instead I'll merely rave about Stranger himself...he who is one of the most memorable characters of recent times. He's a bad arse, a wise arse, a hard mother fucker, and looks ferociously sick too. Once you master the art of literally charging head first into bad guys and knocking them out, you'll be in love.

Getting a peek into his weird and wonderful world and thus playing through Stranger's Wrath is a crazy, bizarre experience, one that mesmerises as much as it entertains. As a result? It really is something you shouldn't miss out on.

(Pictures courtesy of EA Games)