Regardless, the fun moments still outpace the bad and make getting through the more difficult (and sometimes cheap) sections of the game worthwhile. Those looking for some NES hard moments will definitely find them here…but I’m willing to bet that this won’t be everybody. There’s also some difficulty spikes here and there, with some of the bosses being hilariously overpowered (Xplsoives McGee, for instance, can take you out within seconds during the last leg of the confrontation with his rocket launcher unless you IMMEDIATELY dart under a platform for cover after a cutscene triggers). Having to “hunt” down live ammo is a creative touch, and while I certainly enjoyed it, it can be frustrating to run out of a certain critter and not be able to find any scampering along the ground (fortunately…there are supply boxes and extra cash laying around for those willing to seek them out) and be stuck with the Zap-fly (standard ammo that is infinite). The shooting sections are a bit slower in comparison to other FPS games, not only due to design but the fact that enemies (and bosses) can take forever to dispatch. The pacing can be considered to be relatively slow for anyone expecting this to be like Doom or Call of Duty. While it may seem like I’m worshipping the game at this point, I’m still aware that there a few problems in the game design (as well as a few in the graphical department in this HD version). The locales are pleasing to look at, evens decade later Think a Pixar animation…but much darker and much grittier (there’s also plenty of low-brow humor sprinkled throughout in the dialogue…it got quite a few chuckles out of me). Stranger, the amphibian-like outlaws and the walking chickens in overalls populating the towns all act and behave like humans in the same way Abe and the money hungry Glukkons did in the series’ previous entries.
What always wowed me about the Oddworld series is that, while the cast of characters are pretty…well, ODD, in design (this being no exception)…there is still a high suspension of disbelief. With this HD version, however, I did notice a few texture problems here and there. The environments are beautiful, with a high attention to detail seen around nearly every corner. That said, the gameplay turns over to an action/adventure romp taking place in forests, villages, and eventually leading up to a massive factory where the final confrontation takes place (again…no way in hell I am going to spoil this).Īesthetically speaking, it’s pretty easy to forget that Stranger’s Wrath originally came out a decade ago. Although I typically don’t play games for story, this one is probably one of the most memorable twists from my childhood gaming experiences and I wouldn’t want to ruin it for anyone who didn’t play this game during its original release. There is a major plot twist at the conclusion of this portion (about 4-5 hours into the game), and I refuse to spoil it. These outlaws may look goofy, but some are a force to be reckoned with The boss encounters are consistently clever and require you to really use the terrain to your advantage and recognize patterns in order to wear their stamina down enough to bag them alive (awarding you with much more money after returning to town and, in the end, making your life easier by being able to afford all the health and ammo boosts). You can be stealthy and rack up a lot of cash in capturing live enemies (which can also be used on more ammo and some incredibly helpful upgrades at each town’s store), or you can play the game like it’s Doom or Serious Sam. This said, there’s a lot of creativity to how you can approach missions.
You can take downed enemies dead or alive (with them being worth more alive when turned in to the hub’s bounty store at the end of a mission), and this goes for the boss characters as well. You hunt down various critters for ammo to take out minor enemies as well as the bosses, and these range from “Chippunks” who can serve as a diversion to reel in enemies from afar to “Boombats” who, when launched, can latch onto enemies and explode to cause some serious damage.
He relies solely on a crossbow that utilizes “live” ammunition, and this is where this first half really becomes distinct. Unlike most FPS protagonists, Stranger isn’t equipped with a multitude of over-the-top guns and rocket launchers. Stranger moves from town to town, taking on several big bounties with each in order to get the cash he needs for this mysterious procedure. The first portion of the journey is set in a Western environment, where players assume the role of Stranger…a bounty hunter who is saving up for a $20,000 surgery he “needs to survive”.