Rayman Raving Rabbids Wii review

Rayman Raving Rabbids for WiiAs a Wii launch title, Rayman Raving Rabbids (codename Rayman 4) is especially designed with the Wii Remote in mind. While it started out as the fourth direct sequel in the Rayman line of adventure games from creator Michel Ancel, the variation in gameplay modes become too wide to fit in just the adventure genre and thus the idea of a minigames collection based around the Bunnies came about.

System: Wii, PC, PS2, Xbox 360, DS, GBA
Genre: Party, Action
Release dates: November 19th 2006 (USA), December 7th 2006 (AUS), December 8th 2006 (EURO)
Players: 1-4
Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Publisher: Ubisoft
Origin: France

Rayman Raving Rabbids screenshot

Rayman Raving Rabbids marks the return of the iconic video-game hero, Rayman, in his funniest and zaniest adventure ever. When the world of Rayman is threatened by a devastating invasion of crazed, out-of-control bunnies Rayman must rise up against his furry foes to foil their wicked plans. Utilizing an array of amazing new abilities, and with the help of magical creatures, Rayman must break out all the moves to save his world from these delirious bunnies and their hare-raising antics.

Rayman Raving Rabbids has two different playmodes:

1. Story Mode — The game follows fifteen days of Rayman’s imprisonment by the Rabbids. Each day, Rayman must complete at least three trials, followed by one special boss trial, such as a first-person rail shooter using plungers, or a racing game in which the player controls a warthog and uses a flyswatter as a riding crop. Completing trials earns Rayman various costumes and matching music, including Gangsta, Raymaninho, Disco, Gothic, Caramba, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Granny, DeeJay and Bunny. Trial completion also earns plungers and after accumulating enough, Rayman builds a ladder up the edge of his jail cell and escapes to freedom.
2. Score Mode — Players can repeat past trials in an attempt to improve their score or as a multiplayer party game.

Rayman Raving Rabbids dancing screenshot

The minigames in Rayman Raving Rabbids are part of these four categories:

1. Bunny Hunt comprises of first-person rail shooter stages, all appearing in Story Mode as boss stages that the player may play for Score, Time, or Survival with the goal of obtaining the highest score possible with only one life. Two players can participate in Co-op Bunny Hunt, but Survival is not available.
2. Sports minigames can be played for Workout, which requires rapid movement of the Wii Remote, and Precision, which involves the controls of the remote. Sports minigames also include ‘Get Going!’ racing stages, including four warthog racing games and a skydiving race.
3. Challenges are various games found in Score Mode which must be played one after the other with the goal of a high combined score in a Triathlon, Pentathlon, or Decathlon.
4. ‘Shake your Booty!’ Dancing involves dance-themed minigames and are found in Story Mode each day. Also, there are Skill minigames that do not fall under any of the other categories.

Watch the hilarious Rayman Raving Rabbids launch trailer.

Rayman Raving Rabbids’ main features include:

* Master and Ride Creatures: Tame various creatures such as Sharks, Eagles, Rhinos, Spiders, and Angelfish. Each has their own unique capabilities that Rayman will be able to use to battle against the evil rabbits.

* Combat the Ultra-Crazed Evil Rabbits: Help Rayman save his world from the demonic bunny rabbits. They are nasty, mischievous, insane, and completely out of control. There are several types of rabbits and each has their own whacked-out characteristics.

* Explore the Colorful, Fantastic World of Rayman: With huge free-roaming environments and epic landscapes that mix real and cartoonish style.

The game features the following licensed songs during the dancing levels:

1. Dick Dale – Misirlou
2. Chic – Good Times
3. Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
4. Naughty By Nature – Hip Hop Hooray
5. Ritchie Valens – La Bamba
6. Mark Griskey – Dark Iron Bunnies
7. Mark Griskey – The Butcher Deejay

Watch some Rayman Raving Rabbids minigames gameplay footage.

So how much fun is the game on a scale from 1 to 10?

FUN FACTOR – 8.0
Fun. Crazy. Wacky. Hilarious. All these words can be used to describe the way the mini-games collection that is Rayman Raving Rabbids is tied together. The Wii Remote controller is used in a variety of ways, to: move Rayman through trials, do kung fu moves, direct creatures you ride on in races, do on-rails plunger shootouts, and dance with the bunnies to the rhythm of beats. Your controller movements translate fluidly into on-screen actions. The game has a wonderful, if somewhat twisted, sense of humor. You go from trying to throw an unappreciative cow on a lasso the furthest to closing the unlocked toilet doors on bunnies that are loudly trying to relieve themselves. There are 75 mostly funny minigames like that, they are part of the Bunny Hunt, Sport, Challenge and Dance categories. You’ll come across them all in the Story Mode where Rayman attempts to escape from the bunnies, even if the variations get a little repetitive near the end. They all use the Wii controller in one entertaining way or another, and while not all trials are available in multiplayer (also many are played alternating instead of simultaneous), I’m sure everyone will have at least a few favorites.

Graphics – 7.5
The in-game graphics are cartoony with colorful environments. The character design and animations are fantastic and make the Rabbids look… well quite frankly… adorable.

Audio – 8.5
The sound effects are cheerful and happy. There’s not so much voice acting as there is inaudible gibberish and of course the Rabbids’ wacky “Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” screams. It’ll make you chuckle or laugh every time, it’s all very comedic. The game features a variety oddly fitting music tracks for the minigames. From the licensed soundtracks the classic “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “La Bamba” stand out.

Ingenuity – 7.5
What a quirky new way of playing games. From Splinter Cell-like Rabbids shooting to running to the finish like crazy with the controllers in hands, the varied and funny minigames make great intuitive use of the Wii controls. It’s either straightforward or well explained, meaning you’ll always know what to do.

Replay Value – 7.5
While the 75 minigames have a repeated pattern in their respective categories and there really should be more minigames available for multiplayer, you can’t deny how many funny minigames there are that you’ll want to play again and again, alone or with friends. An advantage to the bite-sized action that’s delivered here is that it’ll keep you coming back for a prolonged time.

Here are some very useful scientific facts about bunnies.