Rayman Raving Rabbids
| Rayman Raving Rabbids | |
|---|---|
| Rayman Raving Rabbids | |
| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Bulgaria |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Director(s) |
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| Designer(s) | Michel Ancel |
| Artist(s) |
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| Platform(s) | PC, PS2, Wii, GBA, DS [1] |
| Release | Wii:  Q4, 2006 (launch title)PC, PS2, GBA, DS: 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer, Party |
| Mode(s) | Single Player |
Rayman Raving Rabbids is the fourth major installment in the popular Rayman series. The game's development is being led by Michel Ancel, original creator of Rayman, at Ubisoft's Montpellier studio. Ubisoft released two short teaser trailers of the game for the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2006, but did then not release a workable demo. The game was brainstormed whilst Montpellier worked on the King Kong video game, and began full development shortly after King Kong went gold.
At Games Convention 2006, Ubisoft showed and demoed the game, revealing the concept. The console game consists of an initial story mode, which takes you from one mini-game to another to progress through the story. These mini-games can be replayed as a multiplayer party game. The handheld game is a classic Rayman platform game[2], set in the Raving Rabbids story.
Description
According to Ubisoft's official press release:
"When his world is threatened by a devastating invasion of crazed, out-of-control bunnies, Rayman must rise up against these furry foes and foil their wicked plans. Using an array of amazing new abilities, and with the help of magical creatures, Rayman will need to break out all his best moves to save his world from these delirious bunnies and their hare-raising antics."
Plot
After planning since time immemorial, waiting for the day they could make their presence known and take over the world, the Rabbids come out from their underground home. So far, their plans are successful; they have attacked and imprisoned the populous, including Rayman. Rayman discovers that by performing various "trials", he can eventually become more famous than the leader of the rabbids and use this position to free his friends, a plot that is said to mirror the movie Gladiator in some ways. [3]
Release
The game will be available in the fourth quarter of 2006 for the Wii. It will be a launch title for Nintendo's Wii.[4] The game was originally intended to be a traditional platformer which would have been played on all consoles. However, the creators liked the innovative design of the Wii so much, they decided to solely focus on that version. The other console versions will be released later on in the fourth quarter of 2006.[5] In addition to the Wii version, on September 9, 2006 Ubisoft formally announced the game's release for PC, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS in late 2006.[6]
Features
- The game will feature 80 trials in which the types of gameplay vary. There will be 10 FPS-style trials, dancing trials, races, and others. Each different type of trial aims to use the capabilities of the Wii controller in a new way; Michel Ancel has stated that some trials are unique enough to be standalone games.
- There will be 'around ten' vast free-roaming worlds to explore. It is currently unclear how these will fit into the gameplay.
- Rayman can manipulate various creatures including sharks, eagles, rhinos, spiders, and angelfish, as a means of transportation. Each creature must first be defeated in combat before it can be used in this way.
- Rayman can change his appearance to reflect those of punk, pop, rock, hip hop, goth, clown and others. When the right dance costume is used, Rayman can hypnotise certain Rabbids. The Wii version will also require the player to dance in rhythm, using the Wii remote. Several licensed songs from such artists as ABBA and The Black Eyed Peas will be used in the dancing sections. Costumes can also be used as disguises.
- As the game progresses, Rayman will earn various items with which he can customize his jail cell, in order to make it increasingly luxurious. It is also where the game's many unlockables and secrets can be acessed.
- The game will begin by following a 'cliché videogame plotline', but gradually becomes more and more surprising. The game has been said to have a sad ending.
- The game also includes various references to popular media. The development team have said that they will poke fun at anything, 'no matter how sacred', as long as it is humorous. The humor in this game will be visual, as opposed to the spoken puns in Rayman 3.
- The recently released trailer shows many of the mini-games featured in the game
Characters
- 'Most of the loved characters' will return, but will be used for the rabbids' 'strange purposes'. However, these are not yet to be fully identified, and may have in fact been mentioned as an example of cliché plotlines. [7]
- Characters will not have the voice acting that was first used in Rayman 3. Instead, it will return to the subtitled gibberish spoken in Rayman.
- André will return, forming an alliance with Rayman.
- The Rabbid Emperor is to be Rayman's arch nemesis in this game. He strongly resembles Jabba the Hut from Star Wars.
- The Rabbid populous are the common enemy in this game. Their weaponry varies from highly technological (rabbit-eared spaceships equipped with lasers) to the inane (plungers).
Screenshots
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Chasing Rabbids on a giant spider
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Pop Rayman
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An army of Rabbids
