High Definition remakes, re-releases, and revamps seem to be all the rage at the moment, nearly every month we get the chance to grab hold of some last-generation gameplay and have it rammed into the current-generation by means of some anthology collection. Some titles can be a little ropey, like Tekken Tag Tournament HD, and others can be a fantastic revival of a forgotten gem, like The Sly Trilogy, none however can show as much love for the original content as Just Add Water’s HD revamp of GT Interactive’s Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath.

Originally released back on the original Xbox in 2005, Stranger’s Wrath was set as the third part of the Oddworld quintology that started with Abe’s Oddysee on the PS1. It was a very ambitious title, blending elements of strategy, stealth, firstperson shooting and third person platforming, luckily enough it all blended wonderfully well together and created a fantastic game that stuck in the memories of all who played. What makes it even better is that now six years later Stranger’s Wrath HD still brings all that original fun straight back into our homes. JAW have gone in and essentially left the core fun of the series alone instead of trying to tweak it into something that contains features from the new generation, but what they have done has made a brilliant difference.

Although Stranger’s Wrath was technically rather impressive for the Xbox, featuring huge open areas, seamless transition between segments and short loading screens, its visuals didn’t quite age so gracefully as its gameplay. Everything looked muddy and characters were rather plain, despite being creatively interesting, visuals is where JAW really pulled out all the stops and created a brilliant world to surround this timeless classic with. Putting the two games side by side you’ll be surprised at just how impossibly beautiful the HD re-invention is, now the murky browns of the woods and hills are lush greens with sun shining through the trees and lens flare to just seal the deal. Towns now look lively and vibrant, the big open spaces are jaw droppingly beautiful too, you’ll spend a while just exploring these environments instead of steamrolling ahead through the rather lengthy story. Visually though, nothing looks as superb as the character models. Be it the small details like Blowmites or Zappflies, or the larger ones like Stranger himself, JAW have outdone themselves. Being in first-person mode the bow that takes up the bottom right of the screen looks beautiful, and easily stands up against the weapon textures of modern FPS titles, swinging out into third-person view shows you a lavish model of Stranger looking better than any character model you’ll have seen in a PSN title, let alone a HD revamp!

If the visual changes weren’t enough, JAW have gone upgraded the audio too. They’ve re-recorded two of the female voice roles, meaning that they’ll sound crisp and clear, and they’ve upgraded the existing audio to high quality 5.1 too. All the cutscenes seem to have been upscaled too and cleaned up nicely as they are sharp and smooth and generally a pleasure to watch. It does however seem that the gameplay videos from the fortune teller seem to have been left untouched, but it’s nice to see a homage of sorts to its origins on the xbox, and it really makes you realise how colossal the difference is.

The game however isn’t perfect, it still seems to contain some little issues that you can expect from an original Xbox title, some texture clipping can occur and sometimes enemies don’t notice you when they should, or indeed seem to know where you are when they haven’t seen you. Sometimes you’ll also encounter segments of audio that’ll repeat itself, or play twice creating some hollow echo. Overall though they are just slight foibles that can be fixed rather easily with an update or so here and there. Stranger’s Wrath was also supposed to have 3D support and PS Move compatibility, but it doesn’t. At least it doesn’t yet, JAW stated that these features would come in future updates and they can only add to the level of quality on offer already.

The world that GT Interactive created back in 2005 has never been better realised than now, every section of the game is just a work of pure brilliance, and Just Add Water have made that magic irresistible once again. If you loved the original Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, or indeed if you never even got the chance to play it, then this is an essential purchase!

Final Score: 4/5

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