The Rayman series started back in 1995 with the 2D platform game, and since then the series have included Rayman 2 and 3, both in 3D. There is also the Raving Rabbids mini-series for the Wii, and even educational games like Rayman Brain Games. I consider myself as a Rayman Veteran, and the first Rayman might just be my favourite videogame all time. And yes, this might just make me a bit biased. I also really enjoyed Rayman 2, (especially being dragged through the lake by holding on to the snake’s scarf), but it just couldn’t compare to the first game. I would just like to point out here, that I think they actually did a really good job with Rayman 2, but in almost all cases where there is a follow-up (be it a game or a movie or whatever), it is as good as impossible to beat the original. And in Rayman Origins this is what I think Ubisoft managed to really understand, and accept, instead of fighting it.
Rayman Origins was at first meant to be a smaller game, a tribute to the first Rayman game, but also a game that would “fill-in-the-blanks” between Rayman 1 and 2. Fortunately, Ubisoft decided to make the game into a sequel instead, giving us a lot more Rayman to enjoy!
The Collector's Edition (Oooooh...)
Yes, I had to. So, what can I say about all this extra fancy stuff I got? Well, first I kind of have to point out what it included, which was:
Original Soundtrack CD
Art book
Fancy Cover
(and the game obviously…)
The best thing in this package was, for me, definitely the art book. The game drawings are really beautiful, and there are also funny stories, like how Globox became blue. Other than that, it’s cool to actually have the soundtrack, so we liked that. But unfortunately the fancy cover was mostly annoying. Yeah it looks a bit cool and stuff, but if you do not have the room to display it properly, it becomes pretty annoying. I thought I could just use it like a normal cover and keep the game inside, but the problem is that it is really easy to destroy while opening and closing it, so I don’t dare use it. Instead it now takes up twice as much place in my shelf. And it just annoys me.
The Game
First things first, the game really is as beautiful as everyone claims it is. Why doesn’t all game development companies do this?! Instead they just go “Hmm… should we use computer animation, which we wish we had the technology to do better, but we don’t, so we just make it as good as it can be, or should we instead use drawing, which we have the technology to make really spectacular looking? .. Well, drawings old news, let’s use computer animation instead! Yay!”… Oh yes, back to the review.
The gameplay is really a tribute to the original Rayman game, and yes it is a side-scrolling platformer game. The game is built up of different worlds, which consists of (I don’t know the correct term so lets call them…) places, and each place consists of levels. For each place you need to catch Lums (pronounced Looms), and free electoons. Later on you will need a specific number of electoons in order to reach new worlds. There are 5 electoons for each place, the first three you need to physically find throughout the levels (hint: they are often hidden, so listen for someone crying for help), the second two you get by obtaining large amounts of lums, and the last one you will get by finishing the course before a timer runs out. Which in order to do, you actually have to play the places again, giving you really good replay value!
The same as in the previous Rayman, you won’t get all of your skills at the beginning of the game, instead you have to free the sexy fairies, and then they will grant you skills such as boxing, running on walls and other cool things.
Multiplayer vs Singleplayer
In Rayman Origins you can choose whether or not you want to play with friends, in a solution that is about exactly the same as in Super Mario, meaning if you die you get bubblized. A point for Ubisoft here is that also the bad guys get bubblized, but of course they just die, whereas you can be freed by a friend. I had a really great time playing the game in multiplayer mode, and most of the game I actually played with friends, so I highly recommend it. Just don’t play it with annoying people who laughs hysterically after punching you into a monster, simply because they can then take the coin instead of you. It is ofc totally okay if you do it to others. So how is it playing singleplayer? It is just as fun, but also a lot harder! Because if you die in multiplayer mode, you just get bubblized, and then your friend frees you, so you can try again. But when you play alone, you just simply die, and has to start the game over again. And some of the later levels are really difficult, something which is not the best if you have a temper when you play (ehem…). Luckily I managed to destroy the evidence before youtube gained a “Angry chick plays Rayman” video.My Overall Opinion
I would definitely recommend this game to almost anyone (which I think I just might already have done). It is really enjoyable, whether or not you get mesmerized by the graphics, just stop playing in order to listen to that weird chorus again, or laughing hysterically at how you punched a friend into a monster, or yet again when you get so angry it is a wonder the TV survived. I might be biased, but seriously, Rayman rocks!
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