Odder & Stranger

It's been more than three years since Xbox® last visited Oddworld for the puzzle-oriented adventure Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, the dark and funny tale that was one of the system's first adventure hits. A lot of Fuzzles have rolled under the bridge since then, and the return to Oddworld couldn't be more different and unique. You play Stranger, a bestial bounty hunter of few words wandering a spaghetti western landscape of chicken people, big baccy-chewin' amphibians, and other oddities—thinkRed Dead Revolver as dreamed by Lewis Carroll. Gameplay is a well-executed mix of third-person and first-person shooter that doesn't skimp on the puzzles and never fails to make you use your brain as well as your trigger finger. In short, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath™ is a radical departure for the series, but is still steeped in the unique Oddworld style. And man alive, does it work.

We all have a face that we hide away forever.

Welcome, Stranger
The Stranger is as big a mystery to the player as he is to the people that depend on him to corral some of Oddworld's most dangerous banditos. Who he is, where he's from, and how he came to be a bounty hunter is revealed over the course of the game's huge storyline, and getting there is a pleasure. The graphics are everything you'd expect for an Oddworld game at this point in the Xbox life cycle: The environments are pathologically detailed and alive. The inhabitants of each dusty town Stranger wanders through are all fully equipped to converse with our soft-spoken hero, like the Clakkerz (chicken people) you encounter at the start. Every town includes a Bounty Store where Stranger can take new bounties (missions), while the General Store sells upgrades, ammo, and other equipment. Stranger "bounties" villains and bosses with some kind of freaky vacuum cleaner (at least, I think that's what it is), earning money toward some kind of operation—which is another element of the mystery that feeds into some unexpected developments later on.

Part FPS, part 3rd person action, all Oddworld.

Odd Mix
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is a brilliant blend of platformer and FPS, a mix that's very hard to pull off but here has been handled spectacularly well. You can't play the game as purely one or the other, but you do need to master both views to beat most end bosseseach of which has to be defeated in a unique way. It's a style of gaming all its own, not just a matter of switching back and forth. These two types of games, platform and shooter, have been merged. End bosses require platformer style tricks and strategies that often must be pulled off in first-person, while the 3rd-person view is often crucial for spotting enemies or puzzle elements. Loading your weapon, on the other hand, is reminiscent of collecting coins or jewels in a typical platformer. Of course, in the typical platformer, the jewels or coins don't try to run away.

Switch flies (and other live ammo) on the fly.

Live Rounds
The Stranger's Wrath innovation that's getting the most game press ink is the addition of live ammo. While most of his foes use various forms of outlandish and modern weapons, Stranger packs a crossbow that can hold two different kinds of living (literally) ammunition. You can switch ammo on the fly, and often need to in order to get the most out of it. Zappflies are your most basic form of projectile, and deal a stunning impact that wears down the enemy. The Bolamite is a critical ammo type that you don't want to waste, since it wraps your enemy up in webbing, letting you bounty him quickly. Chippunks are wise-cracking rodents that make with the one liners as they rest in the slot of the crossbow. When fired, enemies can't resist the urge to come over and squish them, which means they're the perfect way to cut bad guys off from the crowd one at a time so you can fight them individually. Fuzzles, featured in Munch's Oddysee, latch onto an enemy and make him run around like an idiot so you can either deal with him later (or just wait for them to take enough damage to fall).

The latest visit to Oddworld is stunning, hilarious, challenging, and utterly original—even as it pays homage to everything fromRed Dead Revolver to Halo® 2 to that game with the prince in it that got really extreme and filled with electric guitar. Whether it's your first time here or you've been waiting three long years to head back, Stranger's Wrath is a smart choice for your gaming dollar.

By Danny Chihdo