Oddworld, while not a household name, is still a very much cherished and beloved fan-favorite series. First released on the original Playstation, Abe’s Oddysee and Exodus were fairly big hits. With the new generation of consoles on the horizon, fans had much anticipation of where the series would go next. Rather divisively, Munch’s Oddysee was released for the original Xbox. Making a huge leap from a 2-D side-scroller to a fully 3D platformer, developers had hoped that this direction would breathe new life into the series. Unfortunately, Munch’s Oddysee under performed. Criticisms included shoddy controls, unpolished feel, bland environments, and all-around rushed development cycle. Needless to say, Oddworld needed to take the series in a new direction. In the early 2000’s, Halo, Doom 3, Half-Life and Red Faction were taking the industry by storm ,leading to the FPS phenomenon of the era(this game was actually the first FPS I ever owned). Taking notes, Director Lorne Lanning witnessed this trend and thought, why not take it and make it …..odd?
Stranger’s Wrath takes place in a completely different region from the previous entries. Western Mudos is a frontier region where modern settlements and industrialization are still in its infancy. For the local inhabitants, life is becoming increasingly difficult as crime and corruption are rife. A bounty-hunter simply known as Stranger, comes along and offers to clean up their neighborhoods for a price.
Right from the get-go, it’s apparent that Stranger is a stark contrast to our previous protagonist. Abe (who doesn’t even appear in this game) relied on stealth, wits, and possession to deal with obstacles on his journey. Stranger take’s the direct approach, giving enemies a swift haymaker or headbutt to knock-em out cold. Armed with a double-barrel crossbow, Stranger has an assortment of ammunition types that are unconventional to say the least. Utilizing literally living ammo such as- Armored slugs for a shotgun blast, live bees for machine gun fire, and alien skunks to make foes puke their brains out.
Gameplay implements a harmonious blend of third-person-platforming and first-person-shooting. Odd choice for sure, pardon the pun, but it works smoothly and doesn’t take too much effort to get the hang off. Stranger moves around gracefully- running, jumping, swimming and climbing across gaps on a tightrope. Surely the most player friendly of any Oddworld title released thus far. There is something peculiar about the way he runs.
Capturing outlaws is the name of the game. Enemies are able to be captured dead or alive but alive enemies are worth more. To bounty an outlaw, you have to press a button and you suck them up into a capture-can (don’t ask where he got that). This mechanic is fine, but amidst the shootouts, it interrupts the pacing and can become a tad repetitive. I think that having this exclusively for the main bosses would have been a better design choice.
The look of this game is peak Oddworld. The Western Mudos region, as stated above, is a young civilization that is still under construction. Towns have a lovingly spaghetti-western feel to them. Creature designs in this game have their stamp of Oddworld creativity. Slack jaw yokel talking chickens, frog-like outlaw gangs, and walking salamander natives are welcomed weirdos to the oddworld lore. Locations help give this game a real sense of scope storyline wise. No spoilers, but don’t think you have this game figured out within the first few hours, you may be pleasantly surprised. Exploring the region is initially a joy, but sadly the actual scope, gameplay wise, is narrow and corridor-like. For the most part, you will be treading a straight line to advance.
Sadly, while well-received, due to extremely poor advertising, (thanks EA) sales were lackluster. The sales of this title are actually what made Oddworld Inhabitants cease operations. Thankfully, an HD port was released in 2011 and garnered praise and high sales. In a roundabout way, this game is what both killed and saved the series. How odd! Even still Stranger’s Wrath is a fresh and unique take on the FPS genre. While the mechanics might seem somewhat dated, it’s an interesting novelty item for anyone that’s a fan of the early 2000s game scene. Grab your bow, take on a bounty and earn some moolah.
Much odd-bliged,
Fil
Verdict: 8/10
https://opencritic.com/game/8891/oddworld-strangers-wrath-hd