High:

• Innovative gameplay that uses the Wii controls very well.
• Many memorable moments
• Broad audience appeal
  

Low:

• No 480p support.
• Some mini-games are flawed and may cause unnecessary frustration.
• Short single player mode.
  

After a generally unimpressive run of games recently in the Rayman series, Ubisoft has finally given it new life. How did they do this? Well take evil bunnies, plunger shooting, cow tossing, and a whole concoction of various other outrageous things and they had themselves a very amusing title.

Rayman: Raving Rabbids starts off with Rayman and a few oddly proportioned frogs having a scenic picnic. All is well until the sound of rumbling is heard in the distance and a group of innocent looking bunnies pop up from holes in the ground. It is discovered, though, that the bunnies are in fact not as innocent as they look. With the help of a giant robot rabbit, the group of bunnies whisk Rayman and his frog friends away to some underground bunny haven. Sound mildly confusing?

At face value one might be perturbed by the off-the-wall storyline and as you progress into the game, not much else will arise that will deepen the plot. However, after a run through of a few of the mini-games, one will see that this game relies heavily on gameplay. This game is essentially a big collection of mini-games, but don't let that deter you from picking it up and playing it. The 70 mini-games are put together so well that you'll find yourself having a grand time.

This is not to say that the game isn't without flaws. Some of the mini-games will bring a big smile to your face (disco-dancing, shooting carrot juice at bunnies, to name just a couple) but others may frustrate you a bit. For example, there is a game in which you must put the Wiimote speaker up to your ear to hear some important cues as to where to move your character. However, the developers seemed to have tried to do too much with the speaker. It seemed as though too many sounds were trying to be pushed through the small speaker at once and many of the noises became somewhat garbled together. This can prove to be somewhat frustrating, but doesn't leave the game unplayable.

Multiplayer is a fun experience, but could have been organized and compiled a bit better. Also, for those of you who want to jump into the multiplayer experience right of the bat are in for a disappointment. The multiplayer mini-games are only playable after they are unlocked within the single player mode. With that said and done though, you'll be off having some great multiplayer times!

The visuals in this game look a bit better than a PS2 game, but don't seem to push the hardware to its highest potential. Again, this game doesn't depend a lot on the graphics or story much so the lack of extremely stunning visuals shouldn't really hinder your experience. Ubisoft did do us a favor (though in this day it's pretty much expected) by designing the game to run at a smooth 30 frames-per-second and in 16:9 widescreen mode. However, unfortunately for those of you with component cables, Ubisoft sadly left out progressive scan support, which is a huge disappointment considering the greater majority of Wii games do support it.

The sound is a mixed bag for me. Many of the sound effects are very original and do well in developing awesome character (like the bunnies' yells). I couldn't help but noticing, however, that the soundtrack was full of either old pop songs or classical songs that were probably under the free-use category. While this won't affect most people, it initially came across to me as somewhat of a lazy move. This doesn't mean that I didn't find myself getting down with the high-toned remake of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" during the disco-dancing mini-games.

Though this game will have something for almost everyone, it doesn't mean that this game will be worth the full price for all people. The people who this game would appeal to the most are ones who want something to play with friends who love weird and off-the-wall humor and those who enjoy coming back to try and best their own personal high-scores. However, this game is not for those who are fervent on playing long, epic, and story-driven games.

With that said, I highly suggest everyone that own a Wii give this game at least a rent. You should have no trouble finishing the main game within the rental period and it is sure to give you some laughs and possibly keep you very entertained.

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Reviewed By:Matt Reviewed On: Thu, 04 January 2007 17:51:48 Read:

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