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[Harry94]

Average Game Rating = 8.5

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Story:
Gameplay:
Controls:
Graphics:
Sound (Gameplay):
Sound (Music):
Wow Factor:
Replay Value:
Multiplayer Experience:
Rent or Buy this Game?
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Harry94
OLIVERMC97

[Xander45]

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD, when it first came out was an Xbox exclusive that passed me (and I'd assume a fair few others) by. Luckily we al get the chance to try it again in this repolished HD version for PSN!

Story

You are Stranger (whether that's your actual name or just the classic western Howdy Stranger deal, leaning towards the latter) a badass bountyhunter taking down outlaws in a world of chicken men and two legged dogs. Armed with a unique double barrelled crossbow that fires various animals at your targets you travel across the world earning moolah to pay for an urgent operation. What is the operation? Well play the game and find out!

Gameplay

Onto the fun stuff, in Stranger's Wrath you'll be almost constantly switching between third and first person. First person for shooting, third person for platforming. You can do the platforming in first person but the third person view has the added advantage of you lowering your crossbow and being able to run on all fours for added speed which is crucial for some areas.

Shooting works well, with several different types of ammo you've got plenty of choice on how to take your foe down. You can lure them over to you using a chipmunk and then fire a skunk at them to make them throw up, or just blast them to bits with bees.

But be careful, your main aim is to capture the outlaws and you do get more moolah for taking them alive. Each enemy (and Stranger) has a set amount of health and stamina, stamina regens but health does not. Use certain weapons and you'll reduce their stamina, once they've lost all their stamina they'll be dazed for a short while during which time you can pick them for the bounty. Dazing normal enemies is simple enough, but to get the bosses alive is a much more tactical affair.

Stranger's health and stamina is displayed in the top right of the screen and you don't regain health just by standing around but one press of the triangle button and you'll shake yourself healthy as long as you've got the stamina for it. Using cover to regain stamina and health becomes pretty vital in the latter stages but you can get upgrades to help you out by spending your moolah at the various General Stores.

Controls

It's your standard adventure game fare here, nothing too taxing. After the short opening tutorial you'll know all you need to know and most of the controls are the same from a plethora of games so you should know most of them before you even get told!

Graphics

They did a great job with this one, just take a look at some of the comparison screens and you'll see this isn't just a lick of paint and an upscaling job but a labour of love.

New Stranger's Wrath HD character comparison screens | The Gaming Liberty.com

I think it looks fantastic, from the old west style areas to the lush forest's and water. Each critter you use for ammo has a unique and great look to them, the chipmunks big eyes border on Puss in Boots cute, I personally feel this is the best looking HD remake I've seen so far.

Sound

I'll be honest with you there's not a lot of music from this game that I find that memorable save for a couple of dramatic pieces. Voiceacting is good but seems to have only been done by about 3 people (which is actually quite funny when you see the female chickens sounding exactly like the male ones) basically any creature of a certain species sounds exactly like every other, but don't let that put you off as in a weird way it actually works. They spout out some great lines and really help draw you into the Oddworld.

Stranger himself has a very gruff methodical voice, very Eastwood-esque which is surely what they were going for and it works for him.

The noises during gunfights are as you'd expect, lot's of high quality booms and bangs going on but it's your own ammo that has the best sounds. Personally I kept the Chipmunk on my crossbow as often as I could, he comes out with some really random stuff.

Wow Factor

I went into this with little to no expectations, I'd never played it before or knew anyone who had but it had Oddworld in the title and that was good enough for me. Thank goodness I did get it, it's a really good game that's fun, funny and looks great (that's also be a great way to describe what I'd like in a woman).

This did wow me, and it'll wow any fans of Adventure games too if you give it the chance.

Replay Value

There is a bit of replay value, a couple of trophies for secret items are yours to find if you so please and you can always try to capture any bosses you ended up killing first time round. But I'd say other than that there isn't a whole lot of replay value.

Rent Or Buy This Game?

I don't know if you can rent it but I'd say buy it even if you could. Honestly for a HD remake of this quality they deserve a few extra quid for it. A lot of people should take note of the work they did on this, because this is how a HD remake should be done.

Rating: 8/10

[BIG B0SS]

I only just started this version, but I played through the original and thought it was a fantastic game. The stranger character is one of my favorites. The story was, Odd, which it should be.

[sykodog]

10/10 just because i used to play this years ago, oddworld games are timeless classics

[motherboop]

An easy 9/10 - missed out the first time around, and loving now!

[Asher1985]

As a massive Oddworld fan, automatic 10/10! As a gamer...

Story - In the western lands of Oddworld, you play as Stranger, a mysterious bounty hunter who travels from town to town capturing bounties in order to earn enough moolah (money) to pay for a mysterious life-saving operation.
When Stranger learns of the ultimate bounty being offered by the nefarious Sekto, he finds himself on a journey that will not only save his life, but the lives of others as well.
This story is surprising and full of twists. 9/10

Gameplay - The game is a mixture of third-person platforming and first-person action.
In third-person view, you run, jump and sprint around your surroundings. Whilst in first-person, you utilise your double-barelled crossbow to take down enemies.
What is unique about your crossbow is that it uses live ammunition. As in alive ammunition. Yes, the ammo consists of little creatures that you have to hunt and capture in order to use! The ammo is based on normal weapons. For example, Thudslugs are like a shotgun, Stingbees are like a machine gun, Boombats are like grenades. There are also defensive weapons, like the Skunkz, which incapacitates your enemies with it's smell, so you can bounty them whilst they vomit! The creatures and the names are almost cartoonish, which helps to make this game very fun and enjoyable.
There are eight different types of ammo. Knowing which to use and when to use them make a very interesting learning curve.
Although it may seem a slight bit repetitive at times, this is still a very fun game to play. 9/10

Graphics - One thing to remember is this game was originally released in 2005. Obviously we have come a long way since then in graphical power. Regardless, this game looks stunning. Just Add Water have done a fantastic job with upgrading this game to HD. The locations, the characters and the detail on the ammo types look great. 9/10

Controls - Relatively straight forward. Each button has a single function. The only slight differences are between first- and third-person view. When in first-person, and are your triggers for the crossbow, whilst in third-person they are melee attacks. Easy to use. 9/10

Design - A beautifully crafted world, with a weird and wide array of different creatures, from Fuzzles to Clakkerz. I haven't encounted any issues with the design of the game (no glitches or bugs). 9/10

Music - A good score, haunting at times and intense at others. 8/10

Sound Effects - Varied. From gun blasts to explosions. But the joy in the sound comes from the ammo types. The Chippunks actually seem to talk at times, whilst the growls of the Fuzzles actually had me scared thinking there was something behind me!
Voice work is good, although I think it is all done by one or two people! 9/10

Multiplayer - No multiplayer! n/a

Replay Value - Such a fun game, so I have no problem going back to play it again. A second playthrough is likely for those that are going for the platinum, but don't let 100% completion stop you from enjoying this game more than once. 9/10

Overall Experience - Amazing. A fun game, with weird and wonderful characters, great gameplay and a fantastic story. 'Charming' is very much a word that comes to mind. Despite feeling repetitive one or two times, this is still a must buy and an absolute bargain at £9.99. 9/10

Total: 8.8/10