There's an unfortunate amount of games coming out in the first quarter of 2005 and believe me when I say that this complaint is something that I never thought I would find myself having to worry about. With some big name and highly anticipated shooters, stealth and sports games all being released all I can say is that if you don't pick up Oddworld : Strangers Wrath (from now on OSW), then you are seriously missing out on what will be one of the most memorable games of 2005.

Oddworld : Stranger's Wrath is the fourth game in the Oddworld series and instead of putting you back in the shoes of Abe or Munch a new character is introduced. You play the part of the mysterious 'Stranger,' a mixture of just about every hard-as-nails Western movie character ever made. With games set in the Wild West pretty few and far between, OSW succeeds in combining a lot of familiar gameplay elements and manages to create something fresh, that is at times truly innovative, and enjoyable from start to finish.

Stranger is a bounty hunter (some sort of big cat type human, his race is never mentioned or explained), but rather than some merciless gun for hire it seems the reason for his choice of profession is the need to put together $20,000 for life saving surgery. The story plays out via some truly great cutscenes and do a fantastic job of propelling the well-crafted plot and engaging the player. Once the plot twist about the surgery is introduced towards the start I was absolutely hooked, it's all very mysterious indeed'.

The controls in OSW are handled quite nicely with the ability to switch between third and person with the quick press of the R analog stick. Third person allows melee attacks with the L and R triggers and as well as allowing you to climb ropes. The third person viewpoint also allows Stranger to run on all fours at a much faster speed than normal. When in first person you can still deal a nice punch by clicking in the L analog stick and between missions you can visit the General Store and even upgrade with items such as brass knuckles for extra damage. My only complaint with the melee attacks is that in total (including both views) there are only three.

When in third person there are only the two attacks, a spin and headbutt. Some extra moves, such as a grab or kick, could have been easily implemented to add some variety, given the X and B buttons are unused in this view. When in first person you can let fly with a massive left hook, but the main benefit to the first person view is obviously to wield the awesome crossbow that serves as the main weapon.

Now if you've played Half Life 1 or 2 you probably think you know about crossbows in games, well guess again. This particular model doesn't use boring bolts as projectiles, in fact, it adds new meaning to the phrase 'live ammunition'! You see, ammo has to be hunted down in a literal sense, as it consists of the numerous small furry critters and bugs that scurry and buzz around the landscape! How many games have we played over the years where every weapon seems to be a pistol, a shotgun, some kind of machine gun etc etc yawn' Well thanks to the 'live ammo' system in OSW I not only enjoyed dealing out pain to all the baddies but couldn't help but laugh while appreciating the fantastic detail that goes into the little critters that you use as your ammunition.

There are nine different critters that can be used as ammo, each one unique in appearance and effect. From the 'Stunkz' that make the baddies start vomiting, the 'Bolamites' that wrap up your enemies in a nice sticky spider web, the 'Zapflies' that can be used to zap outlaws (or even to jumpstart electrical equipment) to the 'Boombats' that explode, the ammunition is just one incredible part that gives OSW its unique edge. There are more species to sling at your hapless foes, but part of the joy in playing OSW is finding them yourself. My personal favourite would have to be the 'Boombats' because when you have them strung on your crossbow, they appear to have this nervousness about them that they realise what their purpose in life is for and that it's about to shortly end! Later on the live ammo can also be upgraded and its touches such as this that help keep OSW entertaining from start to finish.

The outlaws that you have to take down can be captured dead or alive but naturally alive brings greater cash rewards and your initial $20,000 goal quicker to achieve. When you have a baddie retching from a 'Stunkz' attack or tied up from a 'Bolamite' they are easy pickings and can be captured by running up next to them and pressing 'X' to add them to your bounty. The tricky part is that the effects of your weapons will wear off, and dead baddies will decompose so you have to be quick. This means that you can miss out on the bounty and when numerous other outlaws are still around all taking shots at you, winning these battles, while still collecting bounties becomes a real challenge.

One of the few criticisms of the game is that some of these larger battles are extremely tricky as the outlaws all have regular weapons and it only takes around 5('ish) hits for your health to decline quicker than Christopher Skase. Running in gung-ho will see you defeated pretty quickly too, so it pays to attack, retreat, grab the bounty, retreat, heal and generally take a more stealthy approach where possible. What's cool is that there are no health packs and the Stranger can replenish health from his stamina (by quickly pressing 'Y'), but when these are both low, death is usually close as well.

The graphics in OSW are nothing short of breathtaking. The Stranger himself looks great, the live ammunition incredibly funny, the enemies that look like some type of freaky orc (complete with outrageous Dr Seuss style hats), and the locals are all chickens, literally! The levels all look fantastic and feature extremely detailed locations with loads of great touches and just when you might be getting tired of the desert locations the game takes a huge twist and sees you visiting lush jungles. It would take up too much space to list every nice touch that the developers have included in the levels as there's lots of flowers, those little puffy dandelions, bugs flying around and amazing lighting but you really need to see it all for yourself to appreciate it.

The audio in OSW does a solid job as well without throwing distracting music over the top of everything. The score has a western feel to it that totally suits the game and the sound effects for the 'live ammo' all sound great. There are also loads of environmental sound effects that help draw you into the levels and this coupled with the sheer amount of detail in the graphics creates a game world that, while kinda weird and alien, is also still recognisable. Everything looks lived in, worn and used. The only problem with the audio in OSW is that the Stranger himself speaks in your typical 'western tough guy' drawl and his voice sounds soft and muffled so a lot of what he says is hard to make out. Luckily the chicken locals, while they all pretty much sound the same, are easy to understand and the Bounty Store clerk will offer up tips as well so be sure to pay attention.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath features no co-operative mode of any kind, no multiplayer at all and isn't even Live Aware (which every game should be). So while the replay value might be quite low, the single player story is engrossing, the graphics some of the best we've seen yet on the Xbox and OSW is filled with so many great moments, details and features that any First Person Shooter fan should not overlook it.