Rayman Raving Rabbids – Review

Before Rayman Raving Rabbids was released many gamers were captivated by the series of short movies that were released titled ‘Bunnies Don’t', these featured the Raving Rabbids being unable to do various things, from vacuuming to soccer skills and ended with the same fact ‘but they can dance’. If you haven’t seen them, get over to YouTube, they were so amusing they’re no doubt still there for prosperity. Anyway, these little clips led us all to the belief that Raving Rabbids was many things, including cute, insane, and mostly fun. It’s one of the few times the adverts didn’t lie.

The story to Rayman Raving Rabbids is pretty flat, but none the less amusing, you the hero Rayman have been imprisoned by insane rabbits, let out at intervals to take part in various mini games, spaced out around a gladiatorial arena. You compete in a number of mini games before defeating a final level, on completion this gives you an aid in your escape. I won’t spoil it for those that have not had the pleasure, but suffice to say it’s amusing.

The madness inherent in most of the mini games is apparent from when you first play through even a couple of them. Most of them are charming, with a few of them leaning far more to the side of frustrating than fun, which is a shame as overall the manic gameplay is wonderful. It’s difficult to put into words the amount of fun that Rayman Raving Rabbids can impart amongst the right group of friends, you’ll be splitting yourselves with laughter and this is mainly down to the control method. Most mini games utilize the WiiMote and Nunchuk in the most imaginative ways, it isn’t often you see someone spinning a cow above their head Olympic hammer style, but you will in Rayman Raving Rabbids. You’ll spin, shake, jiggle and point your way to freedom and you’ll have a lot of fun doing so.

Despite the fact the single player game features around 70 mini games, it won’t take the fit gamer long to fly through them, which is a shame, but where Rayman Raving Rabbids excels is in the multi-player and the replayability this lends the title. You and your friends will have a lot of fun and the cute and colorful graphical style only add to the overall amusement factor. The sound too is most amusing, with jiggly little dittys and insane sound effects throughout. Deaf and hard of hearing gamers may have a problem with one or two of the mini games, but overall it’s playable by all.

Female gamer angle for this title is simple, sure RayMAN is the lead character, but you can actually girl him up by using the various clothing / hair styles, some of which are hilarious. This style of game is a lot of fun whoever the gamer, but it should be pointed out that those of you with girlfriends / boyfriends who wouldn’t know their Master Chief’s from their Mario’s may have a game in Rayman Raving Rabbids that gets that partner interested in gaming. In fact, your entire family may well want a go, provided they’ve got the energy.

RayMan Raving Rabbids is a great game and it shows what the Wii is capable of with its mad array of WiiMote and Nunchuk hurling fun. Despite the single player game not lasting an age, the multi-player aspect of Rayman Raving Rabbids will lend the title a far greater lifespan because it’s playable by pretty much anyone of any age and skill level. Graphics aren’t great, but this isn’t meant to be a graphical tour de force, it’s all about the insanity of the games and the fun they bring the player. If you haven’t yet picked it up, get it, as a launch title it may well be on sale by the time you read this review.

Review by Angela