But unlike Halo 2's more limited system, though, you're still given the ability to carry all eight of your weapon types in reserve, and swap them out at any time with a flick of the D-pad.
No sir, the premise here is more to create a layer of strategy that largely consists of luring unsuspecting enemies (Chip Punks) then swiftly walloping or immobilising them (Thud Slug, Skunk Bomb, Boom Bats, Bolamite), shooting them (Zap Fly, Sting Bee), or setting a jaw-snapping trap (Fuzzles). As part of the game's off the wall appeal these creatures just happen to be the right size to mount side by side on the Stranger's crossbow and form the core of the game's combat dynamic.Īcting rather like the now-familiar Halo 2 dual-wielding dynamic you can fire two 'weapons', although not necessarily at the same time. The behatted gravel voiced Stranger doesn't like guns for reasons not fully explained, but is quite happy to nail whoever gets in his way with his crossbow and a fine selection of whatever creatures he can lay his hands on. Here's the deal: you basically play a lonesome bounty hunter, going from town to town hunting down all the wanted ne'er do wells for 'moolah'.
Most next-gen games will struggle to look as richly detailed and alive as this.īut I digress. With the Xbox capable of churning out games that look this good it makes a total mockery of Microsoft's decision to abandon its console just four years into its lifespan. With a world of smack talking redneck chickens to fight, capture and protect, there's almost too much to admire in the aesthetics. Whether the grizzled lizard man Stranger is prowling through harsh desert scrubland, jumping and swimming through rancid sewers, smashing up unwary farms or stalking the more lush green environments it's an exquisite graphic whore's picture postcard paradise. Take the art direction and technology: it's probably the Xbox's tour de force with a truly outstandingly picturesque engine that allows Oddworld's imagination to run riot and populate its immensely detailed worlds with the kind of character and attention to detail that we'd have been gasping at in rendered video form not that long ago. Or is it?Īt first glance Stranger's Wrath has true flashes of standout genius running through it.
No strangers to subverting saturated and tired genres with their own brand of quirky humour and fondness for farting, burbling simpleton mutants as lead characters, Oddworld Inhabitants' well overdue return to the scene after three years in the wilderness is every bit as warped and unique as you could hope.
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