I reviewed the original Rabbid game last year and I thought
it was one of the better launch titles for the Wii. Sure it wasn’t a blinder, but it was a fun
game and had a good multiplayer mode.
So a year later, what have Ubisoft done to improve the
franchise?
Well firstly it’s no longer a multiplatform title. As the Wii version was the only one that was
fun to play (due to the Wii controls), it seems only natural that they have
dropped support for the PS and Xbox (but not the DS).
Last time round Rayman was trying to rescue some frogs from
the clutches of the Rabbids, this time however things are closer to home
(for us, not Rayman).
The Rabbids have raided Paul McCartney’s garage and nicked all of his Yellow
Submarines and are now invading the Earth.
Having first setup base in a shopping centre they next take on 5
different world zones (USA, Europe, Asia, South America, Tropics).
All of the mini games in each zone are generally both graphically and structurally
themed around the different parts of the world.
The European zone is centered in France and as such, has mini games based
on food and fine dining.
The mini games consist of 8 game play styles: shaking, precision, dexterity, balance, drag
’n’ drop, rhythm, memory and combined).
It’s odd, although there is more of a story this time around;
it actually feels more of a multiplayer game than the original game did. I think the actual premise of the Rabbids as
an enemy to Rayman isn’t really helping his cause. You could really remove Rayman from this game
and you would hardly notice he was gone; such is the focus on the mini games
and the Rabbids. I’m not saying that
this is a good or bad thing; just this is now as far removed from the original
Rayman games that graced the Playstation as you could possibly get.
So now we know that this essentially a mini game fest, what
do you get for your money? Well 60 brand
new games all of which can be played with up to four players. Some of these are your traditional ‘all for
one’ battles, but quite a few are actually team based games, which make for a
few tactical moves here and there.
I personally think that most of the mini games just go on
too long, it really feels as if you’ve played for an unnecessary extra sixty
seconds. What makes me say that you
ask? Well, for one, most of the games
involve you waving the Wiimote and Nunchuck frantically up and down at quite a
pace and for a fair old time. Even Ringo
Starr would get arm ache after a couple hours of this title! Yes I
know Nintendo have warned me to take a rest every thirty minutes or so, but no
one takes any notice of the rules and recommendations of society, this is precisely
why we have overcrowded prisons.
Don’t get me wrong, a lot of the games are fun (especially
in multiplayer), just it’s a real shame there is nothing to break apart the
relentless arm waving action. What would
the harm of been in a bit of traditional Rayman platforming?
My favourite part of the original game was the first person
shooter sequences where you had your trusty plunger gun and hordes of Rabbids
coming towards you. It may have been
on-rails, but the levels were nicely designed and it was just fun.
The fps levels have returned, but very disappointingly are not very fun to play. Interestingly the fps levels in this game use
real world digital footage rather than computer generated landscapes. This really does make the levels look really
neat and original, trouble is, the full motion video and number of Rabbids seem
to be sapping too much juice from the Wii and the result is a slightly unsmooth
framerate. Not only that, but it can be
very hard to see the Rabbids on screen which makes it hard to shoot them. I could also say that the levels are way too
long and the bosses are crap, but then I’d be getting very picky.
Overall then, I can’t say this game is awful. In fact it’s a very fun multiplayer game, the
end of world Guitar Hero style rock sessions (featuring some ace tunes like
Smoke on the water) are top class, if again, a bit too long. Just if you game solo, I would pass on this.
Graphically, the game is still a bit basic, not really
pushing the Wii to near anything like its limit, but overall it’s smooth and colourful. The Rabbid FMV movies are the real highlight of
the game and are very amusing, that is, if you like red eyed and screaming Rabbids!
The game isn’t really a treat for the ears, but then, it
doesn’t make you want to press the mute button either.
As you can pick up this game for a knock down price (scroll
down), it’s not too bad for a few drinks and a night in with some mates, just
don’t expect months of replay value.