Imagine a western were Clint Eastwood is an alien with a crossbow. That's Stranger's Wrath.
User Rating: 9.4 | Oddworld Stranger's Wrath XBOX
I admit, I was cynical at first. I didn't think this game would be that great. For that matter, I was never much of an Oddworld fan. After playing Stranger's Wrath, that all changed. The environments are gorgeous, the controls are good,and it has the most innovative ammo system I've ever seen. I can say without doubt, this is one of the best games I ever played. Let us begin with the environment. The scenery is some of the best I've seen in a game. For the most part, it all looks like it would be right at home in a John Wayne film. From deserts to towns, it all looks authentic, (except for a small few later in the game.). Another good aspect of the game is the music. It helps to give a wild west feel to the game, and sounds a bit like a Sergio Leone movie. The voice acting, however, could have used some work. The duck like townsfolk, The Clackers, all sound the same, as do the villains. The only remarkable voice is that of Stranger, who has a Clint Eastwood like voice. Stranger's Wrath has an excellent story as well. You are a bounty hunter who needs a mysterious operation. This may seem like a tacked on thing to keep you bounty hunting at first, but eventually it leads up to a pretty nice twist in the plot. Stranger himself is a well made character and keeps you playing the game. The whole game has a great sense of humour too. If you're like me, you'll laugh through most of the game, which I've found is pretty rare anymore. Another one of Stranger's great qualities is the combat system. The hand to hand is nothing special, I admit. Just a spinning move and a headbutt, but that's not really the main focus anyway. The game's gunplay really makes it stand out. Your stereotypical weapons are here, as well as some pretty innovative ones. They all work their way into your game plan, so you're never relying on only one weapon. It plays well as a first person shooter, and fairly good as a stealth game. The whole bounty system works well, such as it is. You get double the money for live bounties, which gives a strategic feel to the game. Finally, let's look at the ammo system. Hunting your ammo was an ingenious move and plays well into the game. Each bullet type/animal is unique and can be used in conjunction with the others very well. There are no particularly overpowered weapons and all of them are pretty balanced. I thought it was really enjoyable to have a different bullet for every job, instead of just mowing people down, reloading, and mowing more people down. The ammo system gives the game an unique and entirely enjoyable way to take on your enemies. So all in all, this is a game very different from the rest, but it's a good kind of different. I enjoyed it all the way through, and it seems very fair to me for this game to get a 9.4. If your looking for a great FPS or an all around good game in general, saddle up and get Oddworld Stranger's Wrath.
