Metareview: Rayman Raving Rabbids
The Wii launch window is teeming with minigame madness. Between Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, the upcoming WarioWare: Smooth Moves, and the devil bunnies in Rayman Raving Rabbids, what's a gamer to do? Time to check out the reviews. So far, Rayman and the legions of rabbids haven't seen a lot of review time, but what's out there seems solid. Looking for twisted humor, cow tossing, and freaky bunnies? Rayman's got it.
Deeko - 85%: A lot of people are spoiled because of the next-gen graphics seen on the Xbox 360 and the PS3, but the fact of the matter is the graphics in Rayman are very good and serve to prove that this little system has more power than you'd think. The game's overall presentation is wonderfully colorful, superbly animated and highly detailed, running at a very fluid 30 frames per second. Those who feel jaded because the graphics aren't on par with a next-gen console need to get over themselves, because the game is visually quite impressive and that's no small feat. Musically, the soundtrack is all over the place in terms of presentation, with some very strange Rabbid renditions of classic rock tunes, coupled with a handful of interesting musical pieces created for the game. It's eclectic, most certainly, but works quite well. The voices are more like odd sound bytes, which is very traditional Rayman and that is a very good thing. The Rabbid voiceovers are particularly amusing and only add to their overall charm and allure.
IGN - 83%: Purists, traditionalists, conventional snobs - none of these people will be happy to read it, but Ubisoft's Rayman Ravving Rabbids completely ditches the franchise's trademark platformer background. Let's be clear to avoid any confusion: there is no platforming to be found in this Wii-exclusive title, which arrives from the undeniably talented Beyond Good & Evil team, led by Rayman creator Michel Ancel. In place of those run-and-jump levels are mini-games designed around the Wii remote. There is a central storyline that sews the minis together, but make no mistake: this project is Ubisoft's deeper, prettier WarioWare. It may not follow the classic Rayman template, but Rabbids is nevertheless a welcomed addition to Wii's launch lineup for it is a fun and oftentimes hilarious game and an ideal choice for the old-school and new-school alike ... The majority of minis in the title are fun whether you're playing by yourself or with friends, although there are the occasional duds. The biggest drawback is that many of the minis are not designed for simultaneous play; instead you go in sequence. But even with that being true the experience is still engaging and addictive and the title's sense of humor is in a league of its own. It is almost unfair to label this effort a Rayman game because the real stars of the project are the bunnies, whose blank faces and inevitable agonized screams will make you laugh over and over again.
