New Review Posted: Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

Daniel Weissenberger · 03-23-2005, 02:50 AM

Brad Gallaway's review of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath kicks off our 'all sequel/spin-off' theme week here at gamecritics.com, and here's what he has to say about it:

"Oddworld Inhabitants—the developers, not the game characters)—are pretty interesting people. Their projects have an extremely high artistic quotient and consistently contain themes and messages regarding conservation, consumerism, and other things actually relevant to society. It can also be said that their style of gameplay is most often something that cannot be easily categorized, though this might be a bit of a double-edged sword. Not really being a fan, I often found myself in the strange position of admiring their work for various reasons, yet not actually relishing the experiences each provided as a whole. This has now changed. I can honestly say that their latest effort, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is a product which incorporates all the qualities that I respect, while at the same time serving up the type of solid, well-constructed gameplay that I could really sink my teeth into."

He goes on to discuss just why the game is so wonderful here.

Mike Doolittle · 03-23-2005, 03:42 AM

Geez. Brad, that was one of the finest reviews I've read in a long time and easily your best in recent memory. You raised the bar for yourself, which is good for us, maybe bad for you, but I'm impressed that you pulled it off at all given the consistency quality of your writing as it is.

I've been thinking about picking up the game, and you really articulated its strengths and weakness with superb clarity. I'll definitely have to check it out.

Hypatia93 · 03-23-2005, 08:44 AM

Brad,

Brilliant! I still believe we think simularly.

One question (and here goes that dumb score thing again), if you loved the game so very much, and even said you were hard-pressed to find a flaw, why did you give it an 8.0?

FYI: Lorne Lanning is simply a gorgeous man! I'm just troubled, truly troubled, that he cut those beautiful locks of hair. (Yet still he remains stunning.)

Brad Gallaway · 03-23-2005, 10:23 AM

Hey guys.

Wow, thanks for the compliments... it's nice to wake up with the morning to something like that. it's very much appreciated. = )

and Hyp- yeah, i was thinking the same thing... i gotta go back and check my original draft. i might have put the wrong score on it when i sent it in for submission. i'll check on it and give you an update.

technomancy · 03-23-2005, 05:58 PM

I'm getting Myst 3 when I follow this link...

Brad Gallaway · 03-26-2005, 04:12 AM

Hey Hyp...

just to follow up on your comments, there was slight screw-up with the version of the review that was published (it was an earlier draft than i intended to send in), but in both cases, the score was 8. i went back over my notes, and i was reminded of a few things that made me knock off the extra .5 i probably would have given it otherwise.

... gotta leave something for the 2nd op to talk about, eh?

; )

Hypatia93 · 03-28-2005, 01:14 PM

Brad,

Thanks for the follow-up, but it was really no big deal (to me). I was simply curious, especially after GTA: San Andreas popped your cherry and all..