Oddworld Stranger's Wrath is odd like a blind man's socks. Grounded in a fictional universe so wilfully bizarre it makes God's version look positively logical (Chris Moyles?) and based around the most spectacularly ridiculous storyline we've encountered outside the clammy realms of mid-budget pornography, this is deeply weird stuff. Or at least it is for the first couple of hours, and then something really unexpected happens...

Before we get onto that, a series of brief history lessons for the benefit of those Xbox students at the back who haven't been doing their homework. Tsk tsk. Lesson one: Xbox and Oddworld go way, way back. Like, waaaaaaay back to the birth of our beautiful machine, parent title Munch's Oddysee being arguably the most prominent title to have accompanied the launch of Xbox.

Lesson two: Munch's Oddysee was released amid a flurry of insane hype and dictionary-checking, only to reveal itself to be a mild disappointment on the "thought-that-coaster-was-a-biscuit" scale. Lesson three: developer Oddworld Inhabitants has spent the intervening years promising us that better was to come from their cast of colourful characters, and that next time around they'd find the perfect home for their imperfect creations.

All of which brings us back to the present day and the furious opening two hours of Stranger's Wrath. It begins in explosive style, courtesy of a cutscene so staggeringly beautiful it'll cause Pixar animators to take their own lives. And then the story kicks off, one of the rare videogame plotlines that dares to be about more than just murdered brothers and botched genetic experiments. Crikey.

It centres on Stranger, a gravel-throated bounty hunter of uncertain origin who roams the wild western plains of Oddworld in the manner of a young Clint Eastwood (had a young Clint Eastwood occasionally scampered around on all fours). Stranger's primary goal is to capture, dead or alive, the criminals troubling the uppermost reaches of the local sheriff's Most Wanted chart. Bring the crooks in alive and you'll earn the money and respect of the local townsfolk; bring them in dead and you'll just earn the money. Only not so much of it.

The similarities between Stranger and Clint end abruptly when the time comes for our hero to draw his weapon. No standard issue six-shooter for this Man With No (Sensible) Name. Instead, a custom-built insect-flinger capable of firing harmful wildlife in the direction of your enemy. The only slight drawback to this wonderfully powerful firearm is that you're forced to catch your own ammo, so you'll need to take a serious interest in the local wildlife buzzing about your person at all times.

Herein lies Stranger's Wrath's most potent gameplay gimmick: the type of ammo you use has a profound impact on the flavour of your playing experience. Use the Thud Slug, for example, a powerful, short-range weapon, and you've got a no-frills action blast; switch to the Chippunks, use them to distract your enemy, and suddenly you're in the middle of the most surreal stealth game ever. The genius here is that Stranger's Wrath is equally comfortable as both shoot 'em up and sneak 'em up.

Just as impressive is the seamless blend of first- and third-person action. You can switch perspectives at any stage, which becomes increasingly useful the more the shooty bits become integrated with the jumpy bits. So it is that Stranger's Wrath sees the FPS meeting the third-person platform title to the sound of wedding bells and happy laughter.

Unfortunately, our story doesn't end there. Indeed, it's at this point in our tale that the last thing you were expecting to happen finally happens - Stranger's Wrath becomes a little (whisper it) boring. Having started out so energetically, the honeymoon ends with the abruptness of a fart, the gameplay then sinking into a mire of predictability. The fat rolls and tracksuit bottoms aren't far behind.

The grim realisation thus dawns that Stranger's Wrath's core gameplay isn't nearly as inventive as the many gimmicks that circle it. Sure, it remains an enjoyable experience even during its many fallow periods, but the pedigree of the Oddworld brand and the standard of the artwork throughout lead you to anticipate an innovation orgy that never quite materialises. Eventually, it just runs out of ideas.

A typical hour of play runs something like this: head out to a new town; locate the Bounty Office; select your next victim from the menu provided; fight through 20 or so minutes of lightly taxing platforming and scrapping; confront your victim via a full-on boss battle; win; return to the Bounty Office; select your next victim from the menu provided; repeat until the credits roll.

At the root of Stranger's Wrath's problem is an identity crisis: in places it seems unable to decide whether it wants to be a truly free-roaming action- adventure title or a more traditional story-driven affair. To begin with it attempts to convince you that you can go anywhere and do anything, and then it changes its mind, pulls you back in line and forces you to get on with it. This is especially true during the actual missions themselves, the vast majority of which take place in linear, tunnel-like environments.

This in itself is no reason to discount the game. A blind leap into the future of games it may it not be, but it still makes for a cosy ride through its recent past. It's worth playing if for no other reason than to experience it purely on a visual level. The western setting has been brilliantly realised, from the hand- painted signs to the dandelion seeds blowing on the breeze, while the characters are memorable enough to deserve their own suburb in your brain, just across the cortex from Buzz Lightyear and Mr Incredible.

Indeed, those of you who stick with Stranger's Wrath in spite of its surprise-light gameplay will come to appreciate its many hidden charms. Like its parent title, what Stranger's Wrath lacks in terms of genre-defining innovations it almost makes up for in deft touches and neat technical tricks. Find yourself unable to remember where it is you're supposed to be going next, for example, and your character will turn and tell you himself, provided you don't touch the controls for a couple of seconds. This, we like.

Nevertheless, we'd be lying if we didn't admit that we were expecting a little more from Stranger's Wrath. As an audio-visual experience, it's almost unparalleled in terms of Xbox action-adventures, while only forgotten classic Beyond Good & Evil can claim to have matched its artistic flair and imposing atmosphere. The fact remains, however, that beneath its cowboy hat and shit- kicker boots, Stranger's Wrath is just another game. And that, for a developer that prides itself on its fierce imagination and commitment to envelope-pushing, is a damning final verdict indeed.

You owe it to your Xbox to give this a spin, just don't be too surprised when journey through the wild west turns out to be a little tamer than you at first expected. Strange, but unfortunately true.

1. Unique and fabulously realised western setting succeeds in breathing cowboy-scented atmosphere into every inch of Stranger's Wrath.
2. Great story and lovely character design. You'll want to play on just to find out what happens to our facially disadvantaged hero.
3. Compensates for the fact that you only have one weapon by making it the moost amazing firearm in the history of the world.
4. Neat mix of first and third person action. Incredibly, the control interface manages to be pin-sharp throughout.
5. Unfortunately, once the clatter of its furious opening has died down, the pace of Stranger's Wrath slackens considerably.

A compelling, deeply likeable adventure; it had the potential to be so much more. Always good; only occasionally great.