well the best xbox game out now, and the best game in the Oddworld series.
User Rating: 8.6 | Oddworld Stranger's Wrath XBOX
I love this game. I was addicted to this game. I couldn't do anything else until I had finished this game. I think the Oddworld crew outdid themselves on every possible level. Let me say that the single problem I had with OSW is the game's length. This game oozes with production value, artistic flair and gameplay, but not much was put into it's longevity. "The only problem is it's length." Maybe Oddworld wanted a small, tight and compact game. If that was their design, then they succeeded beautifully. The Good: The graphics, the controls, the music and sound, the level designs... EVERYTHING. The graphics are perfect. I wouldn't change a single thing about them. The lighting uses both realtime as well as fake lighting, the combination is flawless. Bloom lighting is abound, textures and character models are all top notch. Towns look and feel like an actual towns would. They are all different and flow differently. This game looks killer sweet! The framerate only faltered once and that was the Saving Private Ryan-type level. You can imagine why it lagged a little. But it wasn't even close to a significant drop. The load times in this game are a revalation. The initial load of a whopping 3 seconds is a monster compared to any in game loading screen you will see. Some last less than a second... truely a sign of the times. The humor in the game is very tight. There's humor at nearly every turn but non of it is overused or slapstickish. Whether it's the chicken people or tadpole looking people. The way they speak and their responses to you are all clever. My favorite humor in the game was the obvious Joe Mamma jokes. I laughed out loud at several of them, and it takes a lot for that to happen. The CGs are truely on the same level as Team Ninja's. They are some of the best I have ever seen. They look nothing short of cinema quality. Everything from the fur on Stranger as well as the wood peelings on sales counter all look perfect. The sound is also top notch. The character scripts, chatter, ambient breeze and of course the trash-talking squirrel. I would always use the squirrel to pass the time. His voice is hilarious. The music is like a modern western style. Very engrossing and absorbing. Stranger's Clint Eastwood type voice is really polished, but I can see how some people wouldn't like it. I thought it was perfect for the game. Gameplay is on point. Platforming takes more of a backseat to the FPS aspect. 99% of OSW can be played in the FPS perspective if you'd like. Of course, while in that view you can't gallop or see around corners. The controls are very simple to learn but can take hours to perfect. The way you capture enemies can get repetative but it always works. The Bad: To finish the game will take the average gamer like myself around 10-12 hours. This brilliant and perfect game is only soured by it's length. The Ugly: The "twist" that comes roughly halfway through the game is predictable but cool. Then the whole need for money goes out the window. Kind of strange because it was a great way to upgrade yourself and equipment. Being an Oddworld game will hinder most people from playing OSW. I'm not a huge fan of the Oddworld style, but this game doesn't need anything more than an open mind and a couple of hours.
