Then there are exotics, like those Bolamite Spiders that snare enemies in sticky knots, or Chippunks who lure foes into ambushes with foul-mouthed babbling. There are standards, like the Zappfly, which offers an electrically-charged knockback that is earned through a lengthy recharge. The narrative is relatively linear, but each encounter could play out a dozen different ways as Stranger's weird arsenal slowly evolves, and you get a sense for when to heal, when to run, and when to move in close for a good pummelling.Ä®xperimentation is encouraged, particularly when it comes to toying with different load-outs for your dual-wield crossbow. In the first part of Stranger's Wrath, when you're picking your way from one beautifully-rendered deadbeat town to the next, talking to idiotic chicken folk and fulfilling bounties by taking down a selection of luminously warped outlaws, you're also learning to cope with a world that's dizzyingly rich in options. It's a confident handling of complex ideas, in other words, and it all comes together to create a hero who really sets the pace for the game he inhabits. Elsewhere, the shift from third-person platforming to first-person combat is performed with a single click of the stick, and even stealth is incorporated with little fuss via a simple radar prompt that tells you when you're hidden and when you've been spotted. Whether it's easing into a run that suddenly becomes a chuntering four-legged gallop, tangling bandits up in Bolamite webbing or capturing a downed criminal by vacuuming them into a Bounty Can - with that endlessly satisfying pop - Stranger's Wrath takes standard traversal and combat ideas and finds ways to make them feel fresh again.Äevices like resources and health are transformed into ingenious systems that are fun to use, as living (and often fairly vocal) animals and insects stand in for your ammo, and Halo's famous shield system becomes a recharging stamina bar you can then tactically exchange for HP. When it comes to mechanics, Stranger's there to ensure that everything you do in his world feels fantastic. That's the power of constructing a game around a character, and it's not limited to the narrative alone. And although it toys with standard beats like betrayal and redemption, the redemption is delivered with real moral force for once, while the betrayal arrives from an angle you'd never have suspected. It has both a theme and a message - it's a game that's unashamedly about something. He is the plot, really, and while it's unfair to spoil any of the astonishing surprises that lurk in wait for newcomers, it's safe to say that this is an uncommonly rich adventure, revealing subtext and emotion as elegantly and effortlessly as it unleashes its brutal twists and its devastating reversals. Without Stranger, there would be no plot. Then you set off on an adventure in which you learn a lot more about who he is and what he wants. Instead, you're given the chance to truly inhabit a protagonist who turns out to have some genuinely intriguing motivations and conflicts knocking around within him. So while Stranger is a taciturn bounty hunter exploring a landscape that - despite the tusks, talons, and general slack-jawed weirdness - is a recognisable spin on the Old West, he's there to do far more than just link together the typical series of action scenes that pass for plotting in most story-driven games. It's frightening to think that this was the Oddworld team's first FPS. Best of all, it shows you the kind of things that video games can do when their narratives are powered by characters rather than set-pieces. It's an example of what happens when a clever developer explores the cracks between genres and when established franchises are allowed to drift into bizarre new territory. Half a decade later, this is still a sharp and fiercely inventive shooter that lets you loose in an unusually convincing fantasy world. It's a lovely restoration, understated yet effective, and it emphasises the fact that, back in 2005, Oddworld Inhabitants did a beautiful job on Stranger's Wrath too. It's boosted the frame-rate to 60 frames per second, and it's even found the time to throw in new difficulty settings. It's rebuilt the character models, upgraded the audio and readied the textures for the scrutiny that comes with a 720p resolution. Just Add Water has done a beautiful job on Stranger's Wrath. Editor's note: This HD remaster of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath for PS3 doesn't have a confirmed release date yet, but it's due to be released very soon on PlayStation Network.
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