Allow me to be the first with a review post, then
I pulled this review from the American OXM, which I got in the mail just yesterday.
When all of EA's marketing for Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath was pushed out to the public with the slogan "Oddworld just got Stranger"- in a literal, lowercase "s" sense- they wern't kidding. The latest in the now- four- strong series is nothing if not a complete departure from it's puzzle- solving, Gamespeak- ing kin. Stranger ditches the puzzle mentality of its Oddworld forebears and goes for the first- person- shooter throat with all - out - action. And for Oddworld's maiden voyage into shooter waters, it's an assured first stroke.
Yet, in typical Oddworld fashion- where nothing is "typical", Stranger isn't just an FPS. Instead, as you wander the steampunk western expanse of Oddworld's universe, you'll be able to swap in and out of third- person and first- person. Third- person is optimum for wandering through the various Clucker- filled towns, where you'll take on bounties for cash money and shop 'til you drop in the General Store. First- person is essential for combat, where you'll spend the bulk of your time, testing out your arsenal of "live ammo" and hunting down enemies for even more moolah.
In an Oddworld game with neither Gabbits nor Mudokons, you're left testing out the waters as the newcomer named Stranger- a character with not alot to say, but plenty of bounty- hunting skill. His goal of earning $20K the hard way to finance a myserious operation ensures that you'll be hightailing it to the Bounty Store to take on new missions whenever possible. Each of the near dozen bounties is set up like repeating fetch quests: Find your way out of town to fight through henchmen- packed areas and reach the bad- ass, big- money villian himself.
Each time you incapacitate or kill an enemy, you can then bag them Ghostbuster- style by hoovering them into a bounty canister- you'll get more paper for live captures than dead ones.
Once you enter the "end game" for each bounty, you'll go toe- to- toe with your most wanted man- trying to figure out their attack patterns and areas of weakness- while making the most money. If your trying to dodge homing missiles from the boss, attacks from his minions, and rounds of turret fire- you stop caring about the money. You just want to survive. And while most of the bosses offer up an old- school challenge, the range of difficulty between push- over and nearly impossible is punishingly wide for those not up for plenty of trial- and- error deaths.
Luckily, the bounty hunts come wrapped very nicely. The game's art, movies, and voice work is on par with what we've come to expect from the talent of Oddworld Inhabitants. Some of the earlier areas are a bit limited in interaction and design, but as you push deeper, Stranger becomes mesmerizing. Conyons and forests sparkle with life, giving you ample space to hide in the tall grass or to collect live ammo.
In fact, live ammo proves to be Stranger's most robust feature with several types of literally "live" ammunition to load on your crossbow. Each ammo creature is effective in different situations. Our favorites? Luring chumps with a Chippunk, wrapping them with a Bolamite, then capturing them for max cash. In fact, the game truely hits it's stride when you access all the ammo upgrades.
The evolution of the Oddworld series has happened in leaps and bounds and starts and fits, rather than as a slow progression, and Stranger is no different. Despite the game's impressive first- person controls, there are some rough spots, like when you suck up an enemy in mid- fight. If you're in first- person mode, you'll be abruptly kicked to third- person until you switch back. It's no big deal for the most part, but in the middle of a heated battle, a simple fudge- up can be lethal. But who said evolution was easy?
Yet despite a few missing links and annoyances, Stranger still emerges as a beautifully fun beast.
GRAPHICS: Whether you're watching the cinematics or the in- game stuff, bells and whistles and more make it drop- dead pretty.
IMMERSION: Facing down bounties involves plenty of trial and error, so you'll be dying a lot, but otherwise this is Oddworld through and through. Expect a few more series referances and gorgeous locales.
SOUND: The strength of Stranger's sound is it's voice work- simply amazing and totally hilarious, despite minimal music.
DESIGN: The "live ammo" feature is a wonderful base to work with, but the enviroments are often pretty bare bones as far as being interactive playgrounds.
PROS:
1.) Wonderful aesthetics, highly polished visuals, and funny, funny, funny humor.
2.) Live ammo and well- implemented FPS gameplay.
3.) Characters and storyline are as engaging as ever.
CONS:
1.) Gets off to a really slow start.
2.) Impatient gamers may get frusterated with the trial- and- error boss battles, but most will enjoy the challenge.
PERPLEXING:
1.) How is a guy supposed to come up with 20,000 bones in Oddworld? It's a world in deep, cheap- skate recession!
MISSED CONNECTION: Through Stranger shares the same world and mythology as Abe and Co., the later doesn't appear in the game. Or do they? Hmmmm....
TOTAL SCORE: 8.7 out of 10
yay! Stranger Wrath review! I personally don't trust that score, though, as they gave MO a 9 out of 10.
Stranger's Wrath review thread
Highest score now!!
