What's in a name?
You can learn a lot about a video game just from its name. A name can tell you if a game is a first person shooter, or a platformer; an anthropomorphic adventure, or a spaghetti western. You can find out if a game is something completely new and original or a sequel to an already established series. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is all of these things and more. And with a name like Oddworld, you can bet it's going to be like nothing you've ever seen.
From the very beginning you are immersed in an incredible new world. As Stranger, a mysterious bounty hunter trying to save up enough money for an undisclosed operation, you go to the local doctor. His exorbitant prices force you to sign up for bounties with the townsfolk. All of this sounds like a pretty straightforward western set up, but things aren't quite that normal. Stranger is a puma like creature armed with a crossbow, the doctor is a sinister looking squid, and the helpful townsfolk are weird chicken-people called Clakkerz. And that kind of sets the tone for the whole game. Take what you expect and turn it upside down.
This is by far one of the most creative games I have ever played. It's well written, with some very humorous moments. The "live ammunition" is fantastic. Stranger is armed only with a crossbow, his weapon never changes. He can, however, select various types of ammunition, each with a different property. Boombats explode. Stunks create a stink cloud that incapacitates enemies. Fuzzles are furry balls with teeth that viciously maul anyone who comes near them. Thudslugs are basically the same as a beanbag in a shotgun. Two types of ammo can be loaded in the crossbow at once, and they are fired using the two triggers on the controller. This makes for great flexibility and can be used to create some very effective attack combos. In order to find ammunition for it, he hunts down small animals that he stuns and then loads them into the crossbow. Let me tell you, there is nothing weirder than hunting down bad guys while your ammo sits and stares at you.
The gameplay in particular has some innovations that I really liked. One thing that I truly hate in a first-person shooter is jumping, especially platform jumping over a bottomless abyss where one slight misstep means instant death. The process is always the same. Look down at the ground where my feet should be, slowly scoot up to the edge, jump, miss the platform, die, repeat, finally get it right, then get shot off the platform, repeat, finally make it to the other side. It's ridiculous. Stranger's Wrath solves this problem beautifully by allowing you to switch from first person shooter to third person platformer with the click of a button. It's so incredibly simple, and so smoothly done, that you'll wonder why every other first person shooter hasn't been doing it all along.
The bounty system provides you with an interesting choice. Enemies can be taken in alive or dead. Live enemies are worth more "moolah," but they also take more effort to capture. This gives you an interesting option in a first person shooter and definitely changes the types of strategies you use. Rather than going in with guns blazing and killing everything in sight, it is usually better to plan out a route of attack, lure a few enemies out from the group, take them out, and slowly whittle their numbers down before moving on. Of course, if you're out numbered and surrounded you can throw the bounties to the wind and just fight your way out, but I did my best to take my enemies in alive whenever possible. The bosses can also be taken in alive or dead. I made it a point that every boss I brought in was brought in alive. I liked the challenge, and it appealed to my nice guy side.
Towards the end of the game there is a huge plot twist, and from that point on bounty hunting is finished. I was a little disappointed by this, as I really enjoyed the bounty hunting aspect. One of my favorite parts of any game is upgrading my equipment. I will spend a ridiculous amount of time leveling up my character and running around buying all the shiniest new toys. Once the bounty hunting portion is finished, you can no longer buy upgrades for Stranger. While I did like the plot twist, I didn't care too much for the simplifying of the gameplay.
My major complaint, however, is in the exploration of the world. Stranger's Wrath goes to great lengths to create a huge, intricate, and complex world, and then gives you no reason to explore it. When you get a new mission it usually involves asking around town to try to find the whereabouts of your target. While this could have added another level of involvement to the game, it doesn't. The first person I talked to would always give me the exact answer I was looking for. There are a ton of people in each town, but mostly they all tell you the same thing. This is something I would definitely like to see fleshed out more in the future.
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is a lot of fun. It's a great western themed title with a lot of well done new ideas and it defies easy classification. If only all games could live up to their names as well as this one. And this game, by any other name, would still be as sweet.
I’ve always loved video games. I don’t know why, but they’ve always fascinated me. When I was younger, if I visited someone who had an Atari, that was all I wanted to do. It was a glorious day when I finally got my very own Nintendo.
I like a wide variety of games. I’m great at action and rpg games. I tend to be too much of a perfectionist with first person shooters and stealth games. I’ll spend 20 minutes in a level, only to reset it the first time a guard sees me. Platformers aren’t really my thing, I think the technology has better things to offer than that now. And I don’t do sports games.
I love games with a good story. I’ll play for hours just trying to get to the next plot twist. In a perfect world, I’d be writing my own video games someday
