Stranger HD gets its first review

 Oddworld  No Responses »
Nov 302011
 
Eurogamer have just published their review of Stranger’s Wrath HD. The review (which is based on the PlayStation 3 version of the game) is overwhelmingly positive, praising Just Add Water’s work on the HD remastering as well as the core gameplay and plot.
So yes, Just Add Water’s done us all a real favour here, recovering the best Oddworld game ever made for a generation that either missed it the first time around or is just too lazy to get the original Xbox out of the attic.
The final score awarded is a solid 9/10. The review also confirms that the price of Stranger HD when it is released on the PlayStation Network will be £9.99/€11.99/$14.99.

Oddworld t-shirts available to pre-order

 Oddworld  No Responses »
Nov 282011
 
In early September Oddworld Inhabitants announced that they would be teaming up with Insert Coin to produce t-shirts inspired by Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath. Insert Coin have now made the two t-shirts (New Yolk City and Sekto Springs) available to pre-order on their website. They are available in 6 sizes (ranging from S to 3XL), and cost £25. International shipping is available.

Munch costume for LittleBigPlanet

 Oddworld  No Responses »
Nov 282011
 
In a post on their official Facebook page, LittleBigPlanet have announced a Sackboy costume based on Munch. The costume will be available to download from November 30th 2011, and is priced at £1.59 / €1.99 / US $1.99 / AUS $ 3.45 / NZD $3.90. This is the second Oddworld-themed Sackboy costume, with a skin based on Stranger released on November 9th.

Stranger PS3 dynamic theme coming soon

 Oddworld  No Responses »
Nov 212011
 
In a post on the Oddworld.com website, Oddworld Inhabitants have announced that the Stranger’s Wrath dynamic PlayStation 3 theme (first hinted at in September) will be available to purchase from PlayStation Network soon. The theme will be available for American/SCEA users on November 22nd (tomorrow), and European/SCEE users on November 30th. A video of the theme in action is viewable on the official Oddworld Inhabitants YouTube channel.

Development complete on Stranger’s Wrath HD

 Just Add Water, Oddworld  No Responses »
Nov 172011
 
Developer Just Add Water have today announced that development is complete on the HD remake for Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath. The complete changelog, posted on JAW’s website, is as follows:
Characters
  • All 84 character models have been updated with increased polygon counts and higher resolution textures.
    • This includes all three variations of Live Ammo: Those in the environment, those on the Crossbow and those in the General Store.
  • Wolvark Sloghandlers now release Slogs instead of Slegs.
  • Professor Dimble now has glasses and an academic tome.
  • Jo’ Mamma has a deeper voice.
  • Environments
  • All environments have been given higher resolution textures.
  • Most vegetation has been updated with increased polygon counts and/or higher resolution textures.
  • A lot of environment is now reflected in water where it didn’t before.
  • Pipes and barrels rounded.
  • Added Blisterz Booty’s broken crud gun to the floor by his bola’d body, as it is in the opening CG Cinematic.
  • Sekto’s Office has been changed to more closely resemble than seen in the CG Cinematic.
Audio
  • All game audio (voice, sound effects and music) have been upgraded to 16-bit 44KHz from 8-bit 11KHz or less!
  • Support for 5.1, Dolby Digital and DTS.
  • New female voices have been recorded for two characters.
Display
  • Everything now runs at 720p, 60 FPS, widescreen.
  • All UI menus have been updated with a new design based on original unused concepts.
  • Textures added to stamina and bounty bars.
  • Save game GUIs replaced with standard PlayStation 3 interface.
  • New posters now occupy the inventory menu when no bounty is accepted.
  • MLAA – Full screen PS3 only anti-aliasing
Difficulty
  • All armour upgrades now actually increase Stranger’s health.
  • Added difficulty levels to the game: Easy, Medium and Hard.
  • In easy mode:
    • Stranger has twice the health.
    • Enemies have half the health and stamina.
    • Enemies’ stamina recovers half as fast.
  • In hard mode:
    • Stranger has a third less health.
    • Enemies take a bit more to kill
Unlockables
  • 37 trophies: 23 bronze, 8 silver, 5 gold, 1 platinum o 18 of these are brand new, not in the PC port.
  • Unlockable concept art and movie extras for completing each region of the game.
Several of the changes are directly related to the PlayStation 3, and could possibly change on other platforms. The release date has not yet been confirmed, but will be announced soon.

Stranger’s Wrath HD gets rated

 Oddworld  No Responses »
Nov 112011
 
Game developer Just Add Water have confirmed in a tweet that Stranger’s Wrath HD has been rated by American and European ratings boards. The ESRB have given Stranger a rating of Teen, while PEGI have rated the game as suitable for ages 12 and up. The ESRB rating describes the game as containing “Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence”, and lists PlayStation 3 and PS Vita as platforms. The lack of an Xbox 360 rating suggests that the game may not appear on Xbox Live after all. the PEGI website has not yet been updated with the remake’s rating, but lists the original Xbox game as containing “Non realistic looking violence towards fantasy characters – Mild bad language”.

Munch nominated as Character Design of the Decade, loses

 Oddworld  No Responses »
Nov 042011
 
The National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers Corp. (aka NAViGaTR) revealed on the 3rd November the results of its first Best of the Decade award, an award celebrating the video games of 2001-2009. After a long series of elimination rounds and nominations, the final awards were determined by a combination of superdelagates and public vote. Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee, released in 2001, made it to the final nomination for the Character Design of the Decade award, but ultimately lost to Shadow of the Colossus (which won the title with 70% of the superdelagate vote). This is not the first time Colossus has beaten out an Oddworld title for a NAViGaTR award: the 5th annual awards (held in 2005) had Team ICO best Stranger’s Wrath, once again for the Character Design award.

LittleBigPlanet Stranger costume out next week

 Oddworld  No Responses »
Nov 042011
 
Oddworld Inhabitants are set to release a Stranger costume for LittleBigPlanet 2, presumably to promote the upcoming HD remake of Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath. In a post on the Oddworld.com website, it was revealed that players would be able to dress their Sackboy up in full bounty hunter gear; several pictures showcasing the costume were also posted. The LittleBigPlanet website details the upcoming content, describing the costume as a combination of:
  • Stranger Hair
  • Stranger Crossbow
  • Stranger Hat
  • Stranger Pants and boots
  • Stranger Beard and Nose
  • Stranger Skin
  • Stranger Poncho
The price of the costume was also revealed, with prices listed as £1.59 / €1.99 / US $1.99 / AUS $ 3.45 / NZD $3.90 depending on region. The Stranger Sackboy costume will be available for purchase from the 9th November 2011.

Fan Art November 2011 now available

 Oddworld  No Responses »
Nov 032011
 
November takes a very definite Slig theme as this month’s editorial pick of fan art is posted over on the Oddworld Inhabitants website, with 13 new images for you to admire. The beginnings of the previously-mentioned Oddworld tattoos collection has appeared, with 2 body art images included in amongst the other art.