Release Date	Publisher	Developer	Anticipation	Players	Price
2005	EA Games	Oddworld Inhabitants		1	$99.95

One of the interior locations.

One of the biggest disappointments early in the Playstation 2's life was the announcement that Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee would not appear on the system, and that only the XBox was powerful enough to run the game. Obviously Microsoft have a pretty big bank account. Oddworld Inhabitants have obviously had a bit of a change of heart with Electronic Arts picking up the rights to publish the next title in the series, which is still some way off with a rather vague early 2005 release planned. With the three previous games, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PC, PSOne), Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus (PC, PSOne) and Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee (XBox) selling in excess of five million units this game will come with some moderate expectations from gamers.

Attacking the enemies.

Players step into the role of the Stranger, a rough and tumble bounty hunter who tracks down outlaws for moolah. Why does he need the cash, well to fund a medical operation to fix an undisclosed ailment of his apparently. During his travels Stranger will encounter a wide range of characters, both friend and foe. Oddworld Stranger can be played from the first or third person perspective. The game uses a special weapons system that gives a whole new meaning to “live” ammo. The first weapon you will discover, after your fists, is a crossbow which allows you to use "live" ammo. No, I don't mean live as in live bullets, but live as in insects and animals. (I can hear the animal rights crowd huffing already!). Firing a chipmunk will divert the attention of enemies due to teh chattering noise, a was will act as a rapid stinger fire and skunks are stink bombs. You get the idea.

Nice explosions.

Using an all-new graphics engine Oddworld Stranger certainly looks different to past titles and not too dissimilar to UbiSoft's stunning Rayman titles on Dreamcast and Playstation 2. The levels have a look of the old wild west, and interesting setting indeed - although this isn't exactly earth.

This game really is quite a departure from past Oddworld games. Gone is the platform styled gameplay and in comes a more action styled element, and more menacing enemies. There really is very little information available other then what I have put in this preview so just sit back and enjoy the three released screenshots. Expect more news soon.