Review: Rayman Origins (Ubisoft, Xbox 360)
Good old fashioned ‘armless fun
The 2D platforming genre has seen a huge resurgence over the last couple of years … Nintendo have breathed new life into their Donkey Kong and Kirby franchises while indie games like Limbo and Braid have added something new and interesting to the genre. Here, Ubisoft have returned Rayman to his sidescrolling days; something we haven’t seen since his début in 1995. Since the majority of Rayman games for our current generation of consoles have been collections of thinly veiled minigames, in the form of the disappointing ‘Rabbids’ titles, this game is a welcome and refreshing change.
Those expecting the story to live up to its title are going to be disappointed. Though retaining the title ‘Origins’ the developers have dropped the original storyline and now the game makes little or no effort to actually set the scene or explain what’s going on. That being said however, the story behind Rayman Origins isn’t going to tax you. Right from the start it’s clear that the game is more about humour and enjoyment then telling a great tale. The opening cut scene shows Rayman along with his friends, lazily sleeping the day away. Their inexplicably loud snoring begins to bother someone in the Land of the Livid Dead which ultimately leads to an army of monsters invading Rayman’s world. From here it’s pretty straight forward – Rayman and friends are bound on a quest to reclaim the land for themselves; saving magical beings such as the Nymphs and Electoons from imprisonment along the way. It’s a zany story that never pushes things too far over the top, and it’s this kind of zany humour that Rayman Origins possesses all the way through and which makes it such fun to play.
What Rayman Origins lacks in story however, it makes up for in every other department. Aesthetically speaking Rayman Origins is stunning. Watching Rayman in motion is like watching a high budget anime. Where on a 3D game textures can glitch and clash, everything in Rayman looks seamless and perfect. The hand-drawn environments are rich and detailed with a fantastic level of depth and all character animation is superb, with never a line out of place.
This artistic direction is maintained within the sound design as well. The music for each environment is upbeat, whimsical, and always fits perfectly, and the same can certainly be said for the sound effects. Nothing in Rayman is out of place or jarring, it all functions well together. What’s even more impressive about Raymans artistic style is almost all of it carries the same undertone of humour, whether it’s the music playing during a fast level, or the way an enemy swells into a bubble when attacked, it’s almost impossible not to play the game with a huge smile and it’s something that makes the game appeal to both kids and adults alike.
Rayman Origins is easy to pick up but trickier to master, with a decent difficulty curve to build you up to the higher challenges. The game appears a pretty standard platformer upon first impressions: jumping between ledges and bouncing onto enemies but it slowly starts to increase the pace as you begin to wall jump, slide, and swing your way to the end of each well designed level. There’s also the occasional part where you take to the sky, shooting opponents down, which helps to keep things interesting. All that said, however, hardcore gamers are not going to struggle with the first couple of levels, probably breezing through the first half of the game in almost no time at all. In the second half and on some of the bonus levels, Rayman Origins does begin to pick up the pace. The height of challenge in some parts can ramp up quite a lot, leading to quite a few deaths and retries. Due to how often the game checkpoints though, it never feel like you’re losing any progress and it’s rarely too frustrating. In the bonus levels especially you’ll find it a case of trial and error. This can sometimes boil down to a matter of precise timing, which might infuriate some gamers, but it always feels satisfying to overcome the hurdles of each level. Those not content with merely completing the level can also go back to complete time-trials to really hone their abilities.
Where Rayman Origins really shines is the multiplayer. It’s obvious that Rayman was designed from the start with co-op play in mind and the game itself supports up to 4 players. In the multiplayer mode there’s a good balance of co-operative and competitive play that keeps the game both fun and inoffensive. While you’re all working together to collect as many ‘Lums’ as possible throughout the levels there is still a rank given at the end. This makes it both fun to challenge each other, whilst still co-operating to hit the higher scores.
Overall Rayman Origins is a truly impressive game that carries the same level of aesthetic design seen in many recent indie games, with crisp gorgeous visuals and flawless animation. Ubisoft clearly knew the direction they were taking this game right from the beginning and have been able to focus on maintaining an admirable level of polish. While the platform gaming genre might not be every gamers idea of fun, and the silly humour might not be as charming to all, most won’t regret the time they spend with the game. It’s almost certainly a title that you’ll replay to kill a couple of hours, whether alone or with friends, and its definitely a title that parents could pick up to enjoy with their kids. Rayman Origins is amongst the best platformers we’ve had in recent years, appealing to gamers and non-gamers alike.
Shaun Kellett (@shaunkellett)
8/10
Available now on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii for approximately £20 at most game retailers. Coming soon to Nintendo DS and PSVita.
