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48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Game, February 14, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
**UPDATE** Sad news from Lorne Lanning and Oddworld Inhabitants, the creators of this spectacular series. Oddworld Inhabitants is closing its doors. After creating 4 games in what was supposed to be a huge series and with 2 games already in development for next gen systems, they are closing up. Chances are this will be the last game featuring the loveable creatures of Oddworld. But fear not, Lanning believes he might be able to crack into the TV or movie business in order to have his property protected. Keep an eye on them. They are so talented, their studio might be the next Pixar.
On to the review:
I'm very disappointed in the mistreatment this game has been getting from the professional online reviewers like IGN, Gamespot and Gamespy. When I was trying to figure out if this game was worth purchasing or not, I had to literally search the entire page at the Xbox branch of IGN just to find the review. Normally, reviews get top billing; not the case with this beautifully unique game.
A lot has been said about the "gimmick" of having live ammo. Given the series of Oddworld (Abe's Oddysee and Exodus, Munch's Oddysee), how someone could label the live ammo as a gimmick is beyond me. Oddworld is a world very different from our own. Stranger's Wrath just heightened this oddity by giving you creatures to fire instead of finding ammo for your tripple-barrelled, shoots rockets and has a flame-thrower attached, shotgun. And it fits in the universe perfectly. Now, if this was a Halo game (for example), yes having live ammo would be a gimmick. But, it fits in perfectly with the Oddworld mythos and provides a truly engaging experience.
Another thing that I feared after reading the sorely mistaken (IMO) professional reviews was that it was virtually impossible to capture the bosses alive. Being a bounty hunter, it is your mission to capture wanted villains either dead or alive. By capturing them alive you get two or more times the money than capturing them dead.
Now, if you were to read a lot of reviews from IGN etc, it would seem that you couldn't capture any of the bosses alive. While I have been playing games all of my life and am better than the average gamer in some respects, I would definitely not consider myself a master of the FPS genre. By any stretch. And yet I was able to capture every single boss alive. Now, there were a couple that made me very frustrated and it took me more than a handful of tries to do it, I was able to. The game definitely makes you work to get that full bounty but it's not impossible.
As far as the story goes, the developers once again created a uniquely different story involving Stranger and his past. I will not reveal any story spoilers, but not is all what it seems and there will come a point where the way you look at the game changes in an exciting way. And from that point on, the game ramps up the excitement to a wonderful climax.
Graphically, the game is beautiful. It makes me remember why I bought the Xbox. Not only are the lush environments beautifully rendered, but the framerate moves swiftly. Seeing Strange bound at a cheetah speed through these beautiful environments is striking. There is some pop-up, especially in Mango (sp?) Valley where bushes will pop up in the distance. But considering the speed and the graphics the game is pushing, it doesn't really bother me.
As far as controls go, this game is well designed. Switching between first person and third person is as easy as tapping the R3 button. This change works really well, giving you the best of both worlds, the percision of first person shooting, and the fluidity and speed of moving in third person. I have a couple complaints though. Moving up and down rope is a pain. The animation is kinda clunky and I don't see why you can't slide down rope, instead of hand over hand moving down it. Hey, if the Prince can slide down rope, why can't Stranger? But this is a minor quibble.
As far as the sound goes, again Oddworld Inhabitants (the developers) did an excellent job. Stranger's voice is a little silly to me, he talks in a slow drawl that seems to be a cross between Clint Eastwood and Forrest Gump. But the other voices are remarkable, especially considering that most (if not all) are done in house with the Lead voicing most characters in all of the Oddworld games.
My only real complaint is that the game isn't long enough. It's longer than Halo 2 (which is a bonus), and I don't know exactly how many hours I clocked in on it, but it felt like it was over too fast. I guess what disappointed me was that I was having so much fun exploring Oddworld again that no matter how long or short it was I would be sad to leave it. The world is just so interesting.
The level design is also very linear. In today's world of GTA openness, people might have a problem with that, which is why I bring it up. The levels have a set path. That's not to say the gameplay is linear. There are MANY different ways to tackle every situation. The joy of having live ammo is that you are presented with a myriad of ways to take down the opposition, creating gameplay that allows you to experiment. But if you're looking for a Deus Ex type of environment where there are multiple paths to get to the boss, you won't find it here.
What the game does best is refresh video games. From the opening CG cinema (which is Pixar quality) to all of the loveably strange and bizarre characters, this game oozes originality and charm. You can tell the developers truly care about the artform of video games. They love what they do and the game was a refreshing experience.
To sum it up, I can't say enough about this game. It is unique. It is beautiful. And it is fun. Even after the 5th time trying to take down a boss alive, I didn't throw down the controller in anger. It kept me wanting to play until I could take him down. If you are tired of the same old save Earth from "insert name of alien race here", or similar I would definitely recommend this game. It is hard, but it is easily one of the most enjoyable games I have played in ages. And the jolt of energy the games gives you about half way through the game is enough for me to recommend buying this game.
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best game I've played in YEARS!, February 3, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I read an article on wired.com/news about this game and couldn't wait to get a copy. Got the Prima guide with it, which has been worth the money so far (third day).
I bought a Gamecube and later a PS2 and only recently bought an Xbox (I don't like MS) and I hate to say that the graphics, at least in this game, are out-freaking-standing. Approaching photo-realistic. The scenery in O:SW is PHENOMENAL, great late-afternoon sunset lighting with beautiful little touches like bits of fluff from weeds providing counterpoint to the action and firepower. The graphics really pop.
The "live ammunition" takes some getting used to in much the same way that it took me a while to figure out how to play the PC version of Lemmings oh-so-many-years-ago. It's GREAT fun, very imaginative, and the mazes are terrific so far. The villians are as rotten as they ought to be and the Stranger is a brilliant idea. I'm really looking forward to getting through my day and firing up the Xbox to play some more, and I just don't play that many games (I'm an OLD fart). Or maybe I'm just picky -- it's not every day, or every YEAR, that I find a game that I like, and I **LIKE** this game!
The game feels really tight overall, they did a great job producing it. Good concept, great art direction, the gameplay is a lot of fun -- I love this game! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!! THIS ONE'S WORTH THE MONEY!!!!!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent for any Gamer, February 12, 2006
Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars
Oddworld has made some great games in the past and this one is no exception. It happens to be my favorite out of all of the series. If you have an X-Box this game is a must buy and I'm really hoping for a sequal.
For me to give a game five stars it needs to have a great story-line and this one has one. You're basically a bounty hunter that nobody knows about, The Stranger. You have always taken out outlaws just for the fun of it and never really cared about the pay. Now its different, you need the money for an operation that your life depends on. Now I know you may be saying to yourself that the story-line sounds a little cheesy and dull, but it really starts kicking in when you are playing the game and I dont want to give anything away.
The gameplay is where the game really flies. The game is basically a shooter because of the bounty type, but you can switch in and out of first person mode and third person mode during the gameplay which is great. The gun you get is the double barrel crossbow and your ammo, well, its live oddworld critters. The live ammo you can use consists of Stunkz(little skunks that distract the enemy), Bolamites(They wrap up the enemy with web), Chippunks(they are basically made for distracting an enemy), Zappflies(Made for catching other ammo), Fuzzles(shoot em on the ground and the first enemy to walk by will have the fuzzle eating the life out of them), Thudslugs(Powerfull shot), Boombats(explosive bombs), Stingbees(like a machine gun), Wasps(Made for sniping). The great thing about the double barreled crossbow is that you can have two different kinds of ammo in it and shoot both at the same time if you want. You can also upgrade your ammo and upgrade almost everythinfrom the size of your ammo bag to your speed to your stamina and even brass knuckles for fighting. When you are in third person mode you can punch, and you can revive your health by using up your stamina meter. You will get the normal things in a city of a bounty game like bounty store and amm store and other places. I always love checking out the bounties because they always have wierd creatures. Collecting bounties is also a bit different in oddworld. You can either kill the bounty or take him while he's alive. You bag bounties by sucking them up in your little special device on your arm. You can colect unlimited amounts of bounty this way and just throw your arm on the bounty desk and get lot of money.
The graphics in the game are amazing, I dont know if its because of the environments that really bring them out or if its just the graphics in general. The environments look amazing and even some places are breath taking, like the snow level or when you are in the factory at the end of the game and your friends are throwing in gigantic fireballs. The Stranger also looks amazing and he is one of my favorite game characters.
The sound is great and I love listening to the creatures walking around in the city. It has plenty of wierd cool sounds and I love how your ammo talks back to you. The controls are also excellent and are easy to get into.
Well this game is defenitley a five out of five for me and I recommend this game to everyone especially to those oddworld fans. This game is one of my favorite games and I will never sell it because everytime I look at the cover it gives me that feeling that I want to play it again.
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