Oddworld grows up and becomes even odder.
Stranger's Wrath is about creature of an unknown origin collecting bounties to pay for a life saving operation. This story is highly original and creative, giving the new character an actual purpose for the story. It also makes the Stranger a much likable, flawed character who you know isn't as invulnerable as he appears to be. The story is highly interesting and compelling and makes a break from the typical clichés that infest games of this nature.
The most striking thing about the game is how differently it plays to its predecessors. It's no longer a case of solving a difficult puzzles and saving Mudokons. This time round it's played as an action adventure with a heavy emphasis on action. You no longer need to cower from the enemy and you're more than capable of taking them on. However, very quickly you learn that you can't rush straight into battle and expect to win because of the sheer overwhelming numbers of the enemies and their attack power. You have to play it clever; sneaky and it, surprisingly, offers many tactics to defeat the enemy. You have two options given to you during combat. Do you A) stun them to take the bounty alive and collect more Moolah (game currency) or B) kill them because they're difficult to defeat and capture? Rounding up bounties is a simple case of stunning or killing them and then holding onto X while you suck them up. Simple, quick, effective and doesn't spoil the flow of the game. One of the most important additions is the option to play the game in a first and third person perspective. The former transforming the entire game into a First Person shooter and, remarkably, feels right. You only have two weapons in the game. You have your trusty mitts, and your versatile crossbow. However, the variety of "ammo" you collect for your crossbow easily makes up for the lack of weapons. Yet the unique features of your crossbow are brilliant. Rather than collect ammo from boxes and falling into the trap of predictably, you must hunt for your ammo, which are living animals, which come with their own distinct appearances and personality traits. There's a wasp type creature, for example, that turns your crossbow into a fully fledge, but a little crude, sniper rifle. Hunting ammo is immense fun and never gets old or tiring. It's always funny watching a furry little animal get fired by your crossbow. It may be a bit sick but you can't help but laugh at it. The graphics are absolutely divine to look at. The Oddworld is masterfully executed and is beautiful to look at. The in game engine does a brilliant job of making each environment interesting to look at, but the CGI cut scenes steal the show and are just as brilliant and as flashy as Square Enix's Final Fantasy. The Stranger is a superb, cool looking character. However, the only real blemish is the lack of variety of enemies and the many towns' inhabitants. But that's the only blemish I found and it won't detract your enjoyment.
The sound in Stranger's Wrath is a bit of a mixed reaction. On the one hand, the music fits the mood well but on the other hand the voice acting is strangely muffled and incoherent. You may miss some vital information because the voice is played at such a low quality. Once again, Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning does a great job of voicing the many different creatures you'll encounter, including the protagonist. But despite the low muffled voice work, you do get the jist of what is going on and is quite good in general terms.
The game's lifespan is perhaps in the region of 15-20 hours and offers a fairly good challenge. Though isn't much to unlock and there's very little reason to go back to it once you've completed it.
Oddworld Stranger's Wrath is a big departure for an Oddworld title, and for that it makes a truly remarkable game. It's easily the best Oddworld title because of the accessibility, gorgeous visuals and interesting lead character. If you're a big fan of Oddworld then you'll love this game. If you never liked an Oddworld game, you should try this one out because it's in a different canon to it's predecessors and is really enjoyable. It's also unique enough to distinguish itself from other action adventure games without being too complex, weird or downright frustrating. It blends the first person and third person perspective brilliantly. You need to try this game out because it's so unique and different. Buy it.