o/` Stranger in the Niiiiight... Chippunks He's Packin'
Written: May 08 '05 (Updated Aug 17 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: Fun weapons, bounty-hunting, good boss fights, graphics
Cons: Feels rinse & repeat if played all through, little NPC interaction & voice variation
The Bottom Line: Different feel for a first person shooter. If you're in the mood for something with fun, western flavor, and is easy to pick up and play, then check it out.
wsmunch's Full Review: Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath for Xbox
* * * STORY * * *
You're known as The Stranger and you're a bounty hunter for profession. You hunt down bad guys (thieves, brutes, poachers, etc.) to get money to pay for a mysterious operation that you need. The doctor who can do it is charging you 20,000 moolah and it's up to you to work hard and collect enough to pay. A lot of these baddies know that you're coming to get them for a price and don't take kindly to getting taken back to prison. An interesting twist occurs when you're presented with a bounty for the 20,000 moolah you need for the capture of a great Steef, though you realize that it's easier said than done. The cutscenes in the game uncover more of the story as the game progresses, and starts to really pick up and get interesting halfway through. Towards the end of the game, The Stranger finds that his mission to get moolah for the operation takes a backseat to newfound heroism.
* * * GAMEPLAY * * *
One of the aspects that makes Stranger's Wrath stand out is the combination of, and seamless transition between, first and third-person shooter modes. The game can be played in it's entirety in only one of the modes if the player so chooses, though it's best success comes from switching between the two when needed. The third person view allows for faster movement and navigation through the maps, greater visibility range, easier performance of technical jumping, and more effective melee (especially against groups of enemies). The first-person mode lets you use your crossbow to deal with enemies effectively with your arsenal at hand, though you can't run as fast as you do when you're in third person mode. Switching views is as easy as you can press the right thumbstick. What really makes the switching great is the way that the views will always coincide with the camera, meaning that you will always be looking at what you see, and not what The Stranger sees. Nothing would have been more miserable than panning the camera around in third person mode to peek at what is around the next corner and then switching to first person to attack an enemy but find out that your character was facing some opposite direction and is now getting shot in the back. The camera follows very well while doing the least of blocking your view with map edges or structures if you happen to be close to such objects. Nothing would have made me madder than switching views and having the inside of a wall blocking my view, so it was a relief that this was a very rare occurrence.
Combat
The game is mostly your typical shooter, though it's unique arsenal and methods of enemy disposal give it that extra twist and keeps it from being a plain game with Odd graphics. The Stranger is a bounty hunter that doesn't like guns or bullets, so that's why he uses a crossbow and "live ammo" instead. Many of the live ammo, or "creatures" that are used have their own equivalence to traditional shooter ammo types, but it seems more fun to use stingbees and thudslugs instead of a machinegun and shotgun. Basically, the crossbow can load a creature type in the right and left slots, so you can pick your own combination of ammo to work with and fire them with the right and left triggers. You actually get to see the little creatures sitting on the crossbow before they get launched towards your target, and they'll make noises while you're running around too. You have unlimited use of zapflies, which aren't terribly lethal but can be charged up to knock down enemies or attack a boss's stamina. Most players would be using the zapflies to collect more ammo out in the wild. Each creature type has a particular hive they crawl (or fly) around and it's up to you to be able to spot them while you're out of town. You use the zapflies to knock the creatures out then you pick them up and refill your ammo stash. The creature types that you are going to use will depend on your style of play. You're a bounty hunter, so you get rewarded for capturing enemies dead or alive. You get paid better when they're captured alive, though it's a little tricker since they'll still try to fight you if able. Live captures will give you a small stamina boost so you can recharge your health faster if you've been taking hits. The weapons I used the most were chippunks and bolamites. The chippunk is a sassy-mouthed rodent which you fire to an area, and it'll taunt an enemy in range and lure him over to that spot. They're great for dwindling down a large cluster of enemies by pulling them one at a time. The bolamite is an arachnid which will wrap up and incapacitate the enemy that you hit with it. Be sure to capture them quick, since they will be able to break free if you leave them alone for too long. When enemies are wrapped up, KO'd, or incapacitated (or dead), you can run up and then capture them with your capture device. Live enemies take a bit longer to capture than dead ones, so you'll be a bit more vulnerable if you're under fire from his buddies. Stunkz are great for handling a larger group of enemies, since they let off their smell in an area effect and cause enemies in range to puke uncontrollably so you can capture or kill them as you please (until the odor dissipates!). People who like to plan attacks, or maybe just like chaos, will use fuzzles quite often. They remind me of furbys.. but vicious with sharp teeth and growls. Firing fuzzles on the ground will lay them as a trap that will latch on to and start biting any enemy that gets near. Enough fuzzles on an enemy will kill it, though one fuzzle on 6 enemies each will have them running around in frenzied circles and buy you time to capture them. You'll also pick up wasps which are used like a sniper bullet when you're zooming in with binoculars. Later in the game you get upgraded with more powerful versions of the creatures that will either do more damage or be able to lure/incapacitate a larger group of enemies. Smart creature use will save you on lots of ammo since some enemies are immune to certain effects (armored foes can't be wrapped up by a bolamite unless he's knocked out, and enemies with gas masks won't be affected by stunkz), though no enemy is immune to your physical attacks. If one of your ammo chambers is reloading, you'll throw a punch if you're trying to fire, though melee is best done in the third person perspective. Left trigger will do a spin attack and right trigger will headbutt. Enough attacks on an enemy will knock him down and keep him down when there are 3 yellow stars above his head. Red stars is the damage done, so if you like more money, bashing enemies to death won't get you the moolah. The spin-attack is effective at breaking up large groups and knocking out the little guys fast.
Bosses end up being a little tricker if you're the player that would rather capture him alive than dead. Levels will give you tall grass to hide and sneak in and let you maneuver a bit to deal with enemies, but boss fights are done on their turf. They all have set patterns that can be figgured out, though using high damaging weapons (like rocket-launcher'esque boombats) will kill them faster than you can bring down their stamina. Some people have complained about how hard it is to capture certain bosses, but I tell you that each one can be captured (though some were a bit harder than others). Just be sure you're using only thudslugs and zapflies (when they're charged up), since those two weapons aren't high damage but will drop stamina faster. What is great about Stranger's Wrath is if you fail a boss a few times, the game will pop up hint to help you defeat your foe. It won't necessarily tell you how to do it without killing him, but it'll guide you in the right direction to get past him.
The AI is what I expected; persistent without being suicidal. They'll tend to duck for cover appropriately and try to spread out a bit if there are a few of them coming to attack you. Most of the enemies have their own attack methods and are actually pretty alert if you're in their line of sight. Your HUD (heads up display) will not only show hostiles on the map, but will also show the direction that they're looking in so you can know what to expect. They don't really have any "tactics" per se, and you can lose them by putting distance in between, or by hiding in tall grass. There is a variety of different enemies and they mix it up so you're not fighting the same things each time. Later in the game, you'll end up fighting larger groups of them so you should expect to learn how to handle 8+ enemies effectively.
I particularly like the damage system in the game. You have a health meter that you recharge yourself by "shaking off" damage done to you. Doing so will use up your stamina bar, but that will recharge on it's own. This is pretty cool since you can use it anytime (even in the middle of battle!) and you're not forced to look for any health packs to heal you up. It's a neat feature, but don't think it makes the game any easier since later levels will contain enemies that do greater damage to you. No fear, since all this moolah you're collecting can be used to purchase upgrades when you're in town. There are upgrades to your stamina bar and recharge speed that you can buy. You can buy better armor, better knuckles (for those who love to swing and knock someone out), weapon speed upgrades, and even restock on ammo. Restocking on ammo can get pretty expensive, so you'll have minimal drain on your expenses if you collect your ammo out in the wild.
Non-Combat
Aside from purchasing upgrades and ammo from the general store, the only other place that you'll frequent will be the bounty shop. That's where you get your bounty missions and initial directions on where to go. The town, for the most part, isn't very interactive. The residents will talk to you with some varied replies (including directions on where to go in case you forget), but don't really offer much more than the few sound clips and making the town not feel empty. There are a couple of towns that you'll progress through linearly, though you can pick the order of your bounties if you have more than one choice. You can't really get too lost if you don't know where to go, because the game will pretty much corral you to where you need to go. Getting back from bounty missions is a piece of cake since there is always a tunnel or path that either leads directly to the town or the main path that you initially came from. I liked that I didn't have to backtrack all the way which I came even though it simplifies the game some. The easy trek back and inactivity of the town makes the game pretty much: pick bounty, complete mission, run back, get moolah, buy upgrades, rinse & repeat. Halfway through the game I stopped playing continuously and started playing a mission a day and doing other stuff in between. It starts to feel like it's droning on and loses some of it's lustre if you try to play through all at once.
* * * GRAPHICS * * *
I haven't played much of other Oddworld games, but the artwork and design keep you feeling immersed in the same Oddworld world. The setting of the game has a wild west feel to it with scenery to match. The towns look sunbeaten and well-lived while the roads remain dusty in the (near) continual, early-dusk timeframe of the game. Foliage does vary some, though it's kept to mostly dry-weather plants and trees. There are some marshy and wet areas in the game (moreso later on); the water effects are crisp and soothing. Most of the NPCs are either chickens or Oddworld inhabitants (I don't remember what they're called) and mostly look the same with the exception of their wardrobe. Wardrobe, weaponry, structures, and vehicles (where appropriate) are all wild west-y. The entire world feels lived-in. The focusing effect with the binoculars is top notch. It felt real how the vision with the binoculars is distorted briefly (also while looking around to different depths of distance) before coming into clear focus, while the edges of your vision are slightly less focused. The color pallate is rich without looking cartoony, and it actually goes for that realism look (without trying to hard to look totally real). The framerates were always good and the cutscenes were a joy to watch. Coupled with the bounty collection going on, the look of the game really drives the atmosphere and thrusts you into a rugged part of Oddworld. In a word: gorgeous.
* * * SOUND * * *
I totally dig the sound of the creatures when they're on the crossbow. Fuzzles growl, bees hum, and the chippunks squeak out phrases. They're moreso in the background so you can miss hearing them if you're not paying attention, though they all have their unique sound when being fired. The ambient noises in the game are great, and sound well in a 5-point surround sound system. Just like the graphics, the sound keeps that gritty western feel with the creaks and rustles around in the towns and canyons. The weapon effects are proper to their type, and nothing feels weak or underpowered. You might want to turn the bass down some since explosions give a pretty big boom and can give headaches to others in the next room if you're playing for awhile. I'm on the fence about the voice of The Stranger though. It reminds me of a cross bewteen Clint Eastwood and that guy from Sling Blade. He sounds like a cool guy that's taken a few too many knocks to the head, or something. The inhabitants of Oddworld (not the chickens.. can't remember their name) sound like they were voiced by comedian Bobcat Goldthwait. The voices and phrases from the chickens are decidedly (and appropriately!) hick. It's a shame that there isn't much variety in the voices for all the NPCs. I love the music that plays through the game. I especially love the decidedly western "twangs" and "low rumbles" that you'll hear here and there, especially upon completion of defeating/capturing a boss. I guess that if you're not into that wild west type of feel, you won't like it as much as if you do.
* * * SUMMARY * * *
Overall the game is clean and nicely done. Controls respond well and are easy to use, while the play of the game is easy to learn. You can save any time you want! Even though it's a little more linear to my liking, the complexity and variety of the levels kept me hooked while the graphics and sound kept me immersed & entertained, and the story kept me engaged. I liked how some of the bosses were surprisingly difficult and took me a time or three to defeat, since I appreciate when a game will throw a challenge at me. There isn't much for technical jumping (and it's not bad enough to p!ss you off either) nor is there is much for puzzles in the game either. Switching between first and third person could have been a disaster, but it's handled perfectly. The live-ammo dignifies this game and give it that unique feel only the creators of Oddworld can do. After finishing it, I felt satisfied that I did mostly live-captures while still having to have times that I had to shoot to kill, or times where I was able to sneak around like an assassin. I would say my only real complaints would be how the game is mostly linear and the low interactivity of terrain and NPCs. I wish they let the player adjust the look sensitivity so you could turn around faster, too. I'm not sure if lack of multiplayer is negative or not. The game doesn't take too long to beat, but I think it definitely has some great replay value. There aren't many titles out there with that dusty, western feel to it, but Stranger's Wrath looks and plays great, and is definitely at the top of the list.
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