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Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD complete, release date coming soon
Developer Just Add Water has finished work on the PS3 HD update of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath ... now it just needs to figure out a release date. The company says a release date should be announced "soon," and passed along a list of updates it made from the original 2005 Xbox title. The list is pretty extensive, but some highlights include: updates to all 84 character models (including the live ammo), general environmental upgrades like reflective water, enhanced audio, and everything runs at 720P at 60FPS in widescreen. For those willing to wait for a portable version of the update, Just Add Water announced in June that Stranger's Wrath and Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee would mosey on over to the PlayStation Vita, complete with cross-platform cloud save functionality.
Just Add Water working on four Oddworld games for this year
After news surfaced last summer that Gravity Crash developer Just Add Water is working on multiple Oddworld projects, we wondered just what the UK-based dev had up its sleeves. And while we already heard about remakes of Stranger's Wrath headed for PlayStation 3 and Abe's Oddyseey for unknown platforms, a post on the company's official site meant to solicit new talent also revealed that said talent "would be working on various Oddworld Inhabitants-based projects, with four to be released THIS year [their emphasis]." Given that we know of two other Oddworld titles getting remakes -- notably the first and the last of the series -- it stands to reason that Abe's Exoddus and Munch's Oddysee are also getting the HD treatment. Just Add Water is staying mum for now, though, instead choosing to tantalize us with vague blog posts. That said, don't go getting your hopes up for that long awaited new entry in the Oddworld series -- last we heard, it was "on hold." And hey, if you're a programmer or artist in the UK with a penchant for working with strange creatures, Just Add Water's hiring!
Oddboxx coming to more online stores
Series fans were thrilled by last year's Steam release of The Oddboxx, a four-game Oddworld collection, but many were left in the cold. "I don't live anywhere near a Steam store, how am I supposed to get a copy?" has been the common refrain. But worry no more, because as of March 7 the game will be available at D2D, Stardock, Amazon, GamersGate locations across the globe. Surely, you'll have at least one of those nearby? As a bonus, those who venture to one of those stores will find Oddboxxes littered with 50%-off stickers; the game will be half-off its $25 asking price between March 7-14.
Abe's Exoddus completed without benefit of sight
We've seen incredible feats with feet, but a blind man completing Abe's Exoddus just by sound is pretty inspirational. Terry Garrett, a 23-year-old mechanical engineering student from Colorado Springs, can play the game based only on what he hears -- so, on that note, the sound design team should also take a bow. Oddworld.com has a detailed interview with Garrett, who explains how playing Abe's Exoddus by sound is even possible, describing the set number of footsteps Abe has on screen, the trial and error process of finding game elements that don't have audio cues and all the sound design decisions that assist his gameplay. Check out the video after the break where Garrett explains what he sees while playing through his mind's eye.
The Oddboxx to launch in the '2010 Holiday Season' on Steam
As promised, Oddworld Inhabitants reports it will successfully launch The Oddboxx before the end of 2010. A collection of the studio's previous Oddworld games, The Oddboxx includes Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus, as well as Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath -- the latter two games' first appearance on the PC platform. Launching on Steam during "the 2010 Holiday Season," gamers will be able to download each title individually or in a complete bundle. Expect "a few new additions and enhancements" to the games, which Oddworld Inhabitants says will be announced "in the run-up to its release date."
Lorne Lanning laments 'The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot' that never was
Game Informer has posted its recent print interview with Oddworld Inhabitants founder Lorne Lanning, a (five-years-later) followup to the magazine's April 2005 announcement of The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot, OWI's would-be effort to delve further into the "more hardcore" elements of the Oddworld ... world. After finding the situation with EA (which published OWI's Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath on Xbox in 2005) "unworkable," Lanning recounted, OWI turned to Majesco to fund and publish the Fangus project, another Xbox game built on Stranger's core framework. But only a month after the game's announcement, "the shenanigans started" and OWI shut down its development studio. "Sometimes developers get fired by publishers and sometimes developers fire publishers," Lanning said coyly, "and that's probably all I should say about it." Publisher "incompetence" aside, Fangus did sound like an odd pitch: A "close to the Earth" dog-man herdsman turned "pit fighting" slave -- to the Russian-like cat mafia -- who escapes his years-long imprisonment a hardened killer dead set on vengeance and the liberation of his people ("the timeless mythical battle between cats and dogs," in other words). Also, Fangus has terminal rabies and "would control a flock of ravenous sheep-like creatures to take down enemies and solve puzzles," according to GI's description. "We wanted it to be really hardcore," Lanning concluded.
File size restriction currently keeping Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath from XBLA
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath was an Xbox exclusive. Why, then, is the remake exclusive to PlayStation 3? Developer Just Add Water says that it isn't -- theoretically. "Whilst I can't go into complete detail on this," a news post on the company's website states, "I can tell you that we are NOT PS3 Exclusive. As far as we are concerned we are a multi-platform company, supporting the big 3, PC/PS3 & 360." The specific reason why Stranger's Wrath isn't on 360 yet is a surprising one, one we haven't heard for a while: XBLA size restrictions. "On XBLA there is a 2 GigaByte size limit we have to adhere to," the developer said. "Currently the title weighs in at 2.1GB and that is without any updates, so either we have to pull a miracle out of the bag with some type of amazing compression system, or ask Microsoft to increase their 2GB limit, however this limit is apparently hardware led, so please let us try and make a miracle happen." Don't worry, Oddworld fans. Microsoft increasing the XBLA size limit is less a "miracle" and more "inevitable."
Stranger's Wrath HD the first of six Oddworld projects from Just Add Water
The Oddworld franchise is making a comeback, starting with a remastered version of Stranger's Wrath created by a small team at Just Add Water. The developer's ambition encompasses six Oddworld projects in total -- that's an Oddworld Quintology plus one. "Well for one I'm a HUGE fan, and always have been, all the way back to 1997," said Stewart Gilray, managing director of Just Add Water. "Other members of the team are also fans, and as a company we all care deeply about the project, and will only sign off on it ourselves, when we are happy with it in every aspect." Talking to Joystiq via email, Gilray explained that his company's collaboration with Oddworld Inhabitants started when he was introduced to series creator Lorne Lanning, during the 2009 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Hello. Follow me. Isn't that how all these deals happen?
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath remake coming to PS3 in 2011
Are you ready, Steef? Just Add Water is working on a high-definition remake of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. The Gravity Crash developer announced the project earlier today, highlighting it as the first in a "long and fruitful relationship" with the original game's developer, Oddworld Inhabitants. "Having a chance to update the great title and release it on PS3 is just a brilliant opportunity, not least for us, but for the fans too," added Just Add Water MD Stewart Gilray. Set for release on PlayStation Network during Easter next year, the PS3 remake of Stranger's Wrath will offer enhanced 720p visuals, more detailed character models, remastered dialogue, PlayStation Move support and "additional bonus material." When it launched on Xbox in January 2005, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath was notable for being, well, a really bizarre first-person shooter. It placed the franchise's environmental missive inside a wild and weird Western aesthetic, and replaced ammunition with ravenous fuzzballs. An EA-developed port for PlayStation 2 never made it to stores.
Oddworld games permanently marked down to $5.99 on GoG
In the market for some classic puzzle-platformer action? Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus have both been permanently marked down to $5.99 on the DRM-free digital distribution service, GoG.com. Frankly, we can't think of a better way to wind down the summer than by saving a bunch of Mudokons (and saving some cash). Follow us!
New Oddworld games in the works at Just Add Water
The long-dormant Oddworld franchise is ready to make its return. Just Add Water, developer of Gravity Crash, has been working with Oddworld Inhabitants on "multiple projects, across multiple platforms ... starring all of your favorite Oddworld characters." Just Add Water Managing Director Stewart Gilray has also revealed that franchise creator Lorne Lanning is involved in the new projects. While further details aren't yet available, a few more teases will be revealed on the PS Nation podcast tonight. To keep abreast of any breaking revelations, you can also follow AbeMudokon on Twitter.
New Oddworld on hold, old Oddworlds coming to Steam this year
A couple of years ago, Maxis co-founder Jeff Braun decided it was a good time to start teasing us with the prospect of a new installment in the Oddworld franchise. We've been desperately nurturing that little glimmer of hope since his announcement -- but we might have to extinguish our excitement for the time being. The series' creator, Lorne Lanning, recently told G4TV that the next Oddworld game has been put "on the shelf." "There's a lot of shakeup going on [in the gaming industry]," Lanning explained, "and in that turmoil, we didn't really want to put the Oddworld brand out there in the middle of it." Looks like our Oddworld desires will have to be sated by the Oddbox collection, which will bring the series' four console outings to Steam later this year -- or by purchasing the first two games on Steam together, right now, for $9.99.
European PSN releases for April 15
This week's European PSN update caters to a wide variety of interests. Fan of humorous adventure games? Check out the first episode of Sam & Max - The Devil's Playhouse. Looking to revisit an timeless classic? You should pick up Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. Wanna know what this Kick-Ass business is all about? You can grab the entire comic series on the PSP's Digital Comics Reader. Can't get enough of Britney Spear's impossibly catchy "Toxic?" Guess what -- it's on Karaoke Revolution now. You're welcome! Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and Exoddus hopping to PSN this Thursday
It's been a while since we were legitimately excited by an addition to the PSOne Classics storefront -- however, now we're waiting on bated breath for the PSN re-release of two timeless titles: Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus. The pair of PlayStation platformers will say "hey-lo" to the PlayStation Store this Thursday, where they'll be sold for $9.99 a piece. We know we should be counting our blessings, but we're hoping the addition of these impossibly Odd titles is just a precursor to more PS1 platformers getting ported to the PSN. In simpler, less alliterative terms, we're gonna need someone to bring Heart of Darkness into the family of PSOne Classics. We're gonna need someone to do that immediately.
Oddworld games coming to PSN, former console-exclusive entries coming to PC
It's been a full four years since we last controlled any of Oddworld's strange inhabitants, with the most recent entry in the series dropping on Xbox. We'll get another chance soon, however, as an interview with Bitmob earlier this week with series creator Lorne Lanning announced the inking of a deal with Sony to release "the original Abe games" on PSN "very soon" -- something an ESRB rating at least partially hinted at early last month.Furthermore, the entire series is getting packaged for digital re-release as The Oddbox (including Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath, previously console-exclusive games), available digitally "sometime this Winter." When pressed on a new game in the series though, Lanning kept mum, saying "We hope to have an announcement soon, but I've been saying that for a while now so I'll just shut up and hope for the best." Looks like we'll be mirroring Lanning's actions for now, unfortunately.[Via Big Download]
Steam discounts Oddworld, GoG puts Interplay action titles on sale
Steam will be powering some weekend sales to Oddword this weekend, while GoG drops the price on some classic Interplay action titles. Steam has Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus and Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssee for $2.50 apiece, or buy both for $3.75 -- that's less than a gallon of milk (unless it's from Costco, but don't get s-m-r-t).Over at GoG.com, Interplay's action titles like Earthworm Jim (1,2,3D), both MDKs, Shattered Steel and Messiah are on sale for 25 percent off. Considering all those titles are only $6, that makes each of them $4.50. Just make sure to put in the code "ACTION" at checkout to receive the discount. Happy classic gaming![Via Big Download]Source -- Steam weekend dealSource -- GoG weekend sale
Born for Wii: Stranger's Wrath
After the dreary all-night study benders, frantic cramming, and endless writing that coalesce to produce the torturous period that is college finals, gamers around the country find time to kick back, relax, and play through the dreaded backlog that resulted from the flood of titles released during the holiday season. After playing through the wonderful Mirror's Edge, I set my sights on an older title I'd had sitting around for several months (thanks to the Xbox 360's spotty backwards compatibility). That game was Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath.Released towards the end of the Xbox's life cycle in 2005, Stranger's Wrath was also the last game created by Oddworld Inhabitants before the studio shifted focus to creating cinematic movies. And it's a shame, because Stranger's Wrath succeeds at everything it attempts. It's fun, inventive, and as full of life as every other Oddworld creation. Follow along with Stranger (in both first and third person!) as he tracks down bounties in the Odd version of the Old West in this week's Born for Wii. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-39955% Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
Oddworld elects ex-Brash CCO as new prez
Far from the dangers of Brash Entertainment, the battered publisher's former chief creative officer, Larry Shapiro, has found work serving Oddworld Inhabitants. As the studio's new president -- Sherry McKenna will remain CEO -- Shapiro has tasked himself with pushing Oddworld into "new frontiers," reports Variety. "We intend to break the model of where games are today in a unique and entertaining way," he told the site. What we think he means: Oddworld will be getting into episodic gaming a few "years" from now.At the very least, the Citizen Siege project has finally be cleared from the queue ... and shoveled into a shallow grave. [Update: Actually, Citizen Siege is "still in development," McKenna tells GamesIndustry.biz; just not with Vanguard.] We'd just as soon settle for the old Oddworld games with a lil' spit-shine applied, thank you very much. As for his former post at Brash, Shapiro had this to say: "I wanted to make Brash the Miramax or HBO of video games, but sales marketing and finance wanted it to be Majesco." Oh, BURN!
Lorne Lanning confirms he's on the new Oddworld
Recently confirmed by the head of Maxis and now effectively double-confirmed, the new Oddworld game will have involvement from the series' original creator. Previously thought to have left the World of Odd for aspirations in CG movie making, Lanning and his studio, Oddworld Inhabitants, are returning to the universe of their namesake with the next-gen Oddworld. While that game will still be under wraps for some time, it's good to know that the original creators are involved, even if they do have their hands full.
Another Oddworld title confirmed by creator
Co-founder of Inhabitants and one of the creators of the Oddworld universe, Lorne Lanning, has confirmed a new Oddworld title to be in development, but remains tight-lipped on any sort of details. the boss of Maxis, Jeff Braun, let this news slip last week in a speech, so it's nice to get a solid confirmation at last. There's not much else to say, really. There's a new game in development with graphics apparently comparable to an animated movie, the two guys are working together on it, but anything else is a complete mystery. We'll keep looking for more info, but until then, discuss what sort of collaboration could result from these two. Sim-Oddworld, perhaps?
