Rayman Raving Rabbids (For the Wii)
By David Mume
Talk about bizarre; when a new Rayman game came out, fans were going wild...though gave slight question to the title.
What the heck do you try to accomplish in Rayman Raving Rabbids, anyway? Hmm...that's a tough one...you must destroy all rabbid bunnies in your path.
As the story starts out, Rayman is enjoying a quiet picnic with his Golbox pals when all of a sudden three ravenous rabid bunnies pop out of the ground. They then proceed in taking the Golboxes and dragging them down into their bunny lair. A bigger, fatter bunny grabs Rayman and gets dragged down as well. As Rayman finally comes to his senses, he's inside of a prison cell...surrounded by bunnies up and down the isles. Finding way in his new "home", he then finds a window! His only hope! But then he realizes that the window is WAY to high for him to reach, and as he looks upon his only escape route, a bird comes down out of the window and nails him with a bird doo-doo. Rayman, annoyed, shakes it off and decides to knock on the prison door, when...
Rayman Raving Rabbids is basically a series of mini-games all round of up into one. The games usually consist of using the Wii remote for main functions and the Nunchuck for assisting controls. In "Bunnies Can't Fly", you must send a bunny fast through the air by standing on a railing car while the bunny is on the other side. To build up speed, you must push up and down on the peddle/lever. You use your Wii remote and Nunchuck, going up and down alternatively. Other games like "Bunnies only fly downward" and "Bunnies don't like bats" you use the Wii remote to move in the direction you are pointing. There are a wide selection of mini games, and all are fun and challenging, and functionally use the Wii remote very well.
Let's go over some of the mini games types. First, there are the dancing, or the "Shake your booty!" mini games. These require you to alternatively and simultaneously use the Wii remote and Nunchuck in vertical motions as each bunny slides onto the circle mark (much like the Dance Dance Revaluation series). The bunnies come out, one after the other to create a pattern which gives your movements rhythm. It really feels like dancing! In the beginning when I tried the dancing mini games, I found myself becoming frustrated, as even though I was doing the appropriate movements, it was getting me no where. I finally figured out that, since I was sitting down, I was unintentionally doing two vertical swipes as apposed to one. After I'd done my first motion, I was in the process of bringing my hand back down to my "default" position when it added another swing. My final conclusion was to stand up, which in fact did help a lot more.
Another type of mini games are first-person plunger-shooting "bunny hunts". Armed with a plunger gun, you are required to shoot the bunnies on the field, using the Wii remote to aim, the Nunchuck-swing to reload, the Z button to grab and block enemy bunnies, and the B button to fire. Rayman moves on his own through the terrain. This mini game was, very easy because you are given WAY too much vitality (or "hearts"). Nine shots, and you're still alive. This is quite a luxury, as you can block any projectiles with grabbing (with Z) and firing. This makes it quite hard to get damaged. So, in my opinion, a sufficient amount would be 5 vitality. This would make it more fair...for the poor helpless bunnies (the poor wretches). These Bunny Hunts are VERY addictive and can be quite fun with a two-player Co-op (you can also score-war in two player versus). You seldom get bored during one of these highly intensified fights.
The Sport games are the other type of mini-games. Like I previously mentioned, these mini games vary, and really never have the same controls (besides sequels), and differed game play. In "Bunnies don't know what to do with cows", you must swing a cow on a chain in the air, until you gain enough strength to hurl it into the atmosphere (you use the Wii remote and swing it in circles, which is very fun). In "Bunnies don't understand bowling" you must roll a barrel and knock off as many bunnies as you can (You use the Wii remote to aim, and then thrust the remote forward to make the barrel propagate. You then may twist the remote side-to-side to adjust the angle of the barrel). In "Bunnies have a great ear for music", You are critiquing a choir of bunnies as they sing Ode to Joy. You must then find the Bunnies that are out of tune and slap them. Adjacent bunnies will give hints and point to the bunny singing the wrong note (you use your Wii remote to point to a bunny, and pressing A zooms the camera up on the bunny. If a bunny is pointing in a direction, let go of A and zoom in on a different bunny. If that bunny is wildly singing off note, you "slap" him with the Nunchuck. This is really fun to do!). Again, the games vary and there are so many that I just cannot tell you all of them!
The graphics are nothing to be crazy about, and they are rather gritty. Unfortunately, this game didn't have the best graphic appeal (especially compared with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess' outstanding look). But it doesn't really effect the game play, and therefore doesn't really matter.
There are not many character in Raving Rabids, but the bunnies become quite familiar figures throughout the game. There are many different types of bunnies, like marine bunnies, rocker bunnies, scuba-diving bunnies, pirate bunnies, and lots more. Some even resemble famous figures like Super Man and Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell.
As far as the rating goes, it is pretty accurate, though the violence department might have maybe been an E10 rating. Even though you only gun you shoot fires plungers, you are still firing at bunnies and "killing" them (though not realistically portrayed, as the bunnies just fall and disappear when shot). There are also a lot of bombs and other explosives in this game. Though quite minor, they are still there. Also, there is A LOT of head-punching, toe-smashing, face-smacking, eye-poking, tooth-pulling, dart-throwing and of course the ever popular plunger-hurling. But without some of this content, it would take away tons of the game's fun.
Rayman Raving Rabbids is an instant classic, and hold a lot of reply value; the mini games are so addicting that you are going to want to play them again, and again, and again! This game is probably one of the best multiplier games for the Wii yet. This game will give make you want to get your friends together for a Wii-playing extravaganza!
I rate this game a 8.4 out of 10. Potentially, this game is a great addition to the Rayman series. We now just cannot wait for a Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 that will be released later this summer of '07!
Bunny
Rayman (in disco uniform) and bunnies
A Rayman Raving Rabbids first person "bunny hunt".
By David Mume
Talk about bizarre; when a new Rayman game came out, fans were going wild...though gave slight question to the title.
What the heck do you try to accomplish in Rayman Raving Rabbids, anyway? Hmm...that's a tough one...you must destroy all rabbid bunnies in your path.
As the story starts out, Rayman is enjoying a quiet picnic with his Golbox pals when all of a sudden three ravenous rabid bunnies pop out of the ground. They then proceed in taking the Golboxes and dragging them down into their bunny lair. A bigger, fatter bunny grabs Rayman and gets dragged down as well. As Rayman finally comes to his senses, he's inside of a prison cell...surrounded by bunnies up and down the isles. Finding way in his new "home", he then finds a window! His only hope! But then he realizes that the window is WAY to high for him to reach, and as he looks upon his only escape route, a bird comes down out of the window and nails him with a bird doo-doo. Rayman, annoyed, shakes it off and decides to knock on the prison door, when...
Rayman Raving Rabbids is basically a series of mini-games all round of up into one. The games usually consist of using the Wii remote for main functions and the Nunchuck for assisting controls. In "Bunnies Can't Fly", you must send a bunny fast through the air by standing on a railing car while the bunny is on the other side. To build up speed, you must push up and down on the peddle/lever. You use your Wii remote and Nunchuck, going up and down alternatively. Other games like "Bunnies only fly downward" and "Bunnies don't like bats" you use the Wii remote to move in the direction you are pointing. There are a wide selection of mini games, and all are fun and challenging, and functionally use the Wii remote very well.
Let's go over some of the mini games types. First, there are the dancing, or the "Shake your booty!" mini games. These require you to alternatively and simultaneously use the Wii remote and Nunchuck in vertical motions as each bunny slides onto the circle mark (much like the Dance Dance Revaluation series). The bunnies come out, one after the other to create a pattern which gives your movements rhythm. It really feels like dancing! In the beginning when I tried the dancing mini games, I found myself becoming frustrated, as even though I was doing the appropriate movements, it was getting me no where. I finally figured out that, since I was sitting down, I was unintentionally doing two vertical swipes as apposed to one. After I'd done my first motion, I was in the process of bringing my hand back down to my "default" position when it added another swing. My final conclusion was to stand up, which in fact did help a lot more.
Another type of mini games are first-person plunger-shooting "bunny hunts". Armed with a plunger gun, you are required to shoot the bunnies on the field, using the Wii remote to aim, the Nunchuck-swing to reload, the Z button to grab and block enemy bunnies, and the B button to fire. Rayman moves on his own through the terrain. This mini game was, very easy because you are given WAY too much vitality (or "hearts"). Nine shots, and you're still alive. This is quite a luxury, as you can block any projectiles with grabbing (with Z) and firing. This makes it quite hard to get damaged. So, in my opinion, a sufficient amount would be 5 vitality. This would make it more fair...for the poor helpless bunnies (the poor wretches). These Bunny Hunts are VERY addictive and can be quite fun with a two-player Co-op (you can also score-war in two player versus). You seldom get bored during one of these highly intensified fights.
The Sport games are the other type of mini-games. Like I previously mentioned, these mini games vary, and really never have the same controls (besides sequels), and differed game play. In "Bunnies don't know what to do with cows", you must swing a cow on a chain in the air, until you gain enough strength to hurl it into the atmosphere (you use the Wii remote and swing it in circles, which is very fun). In "Bunnies don't understand bowling" you must roll a barrel and knock off as many bunnies as you can (You use the Wii remote to aim, and then thrust the remote forward to make the barrel propagate. You then may twist the remote side-to-side to adjust the angle of the barrel). In "Bunnies have a great ear for music", You are critiquing a choir of bunnies as they sing Ode to Joy. You must then find the Bunnies that are out of tune and slap them. Adjacent bunnies will give hints and point to the bunny singing the wrong note (you use your Wii remote to point to a bunny, and pressing A zooms the camera up on the bunny. If a bunny is pointing in a direction, let go of A and zoom in on a different bunny. If that bunny is wildly singing off note, you "slap" him with the Nunchuck. This is really fun to do!). Again, the games vary and there are so many that I just cannot tell you all of them!
The graphics are nothing to be crazy about, and they are rather gritty. Unfortunately, this game didn't have the best graphic appeal (especially compared with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess' outstanding look). But it doesn't really effect the game play, and therefore doesn't really matter.
There are not many character in Raving Rabids, but the bunnies become quite familiar figures throughout the game. There are many different types of bunnies, like marine bunnies, rocker bunnies, scuba-diving bunnies, pirate bunnies, and lots more. Some even resemble famous figures like Super Man and Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell.
As far as the rating goes, it is pretty accurate, though the violence department might have maybe been an E10 rating. Even though you only gun you shoot fires plungers, you are still firing at bunnies and "killing" them (though not realistically portrayed, as the bunnies just fall and disappear when shot). There are also a lot of bombs and other explosives in this game. Though quite minor, they are still there. Also, there is A LOT of head-punching, toe-smashing, face-smacking, eye-poking, tooth-pulling, dart-throwing and of course the ever popular plunger-hurling. But without some of this content, it would take away tons of the game's fun.
Rayman Raving Rabbids is an instant classic, and hold a lot of reply value; the mini games are so addicting that you are going to want to play them again, and again, and again! This game is probably one of the best multiplier games for the Wii yet. This game will give make you want to get your friends together for a Wii-playing extravaganza!
I rate this game a 8.4 out of 10. Potentially, this game is a great addition to the Rayman series. We now just cannot wait for a Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 that will be released later this summer of '07!
Bunny
Rayman (in disco uniform) and bunnies
A Rayman Raving Rabbids first person "bunny hunt".
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