Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Platforms: PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita
Length: 5+ hrs
Rating: Go halves with a mate
One of the unexpected hits of 2011 was the highly colourful Rayman Origins. Back from the dead, Rayman’s latest adventure received a great reception, not least because it offered a reprise from the onslaught of high action, blockbuster titles. But I must admit, whilst it certainly was an enjoyable title, particularly when carving through it with a mate, there was part of me wondering if I was liking it as much as thought I would.
It’s hard to hold a grudge against a game for being overhyped, but that certainly won’t stop me from trying to set your expectations to a more realistic level. Everything that has been said about the beauty of this game definitely holds true. There’s a fluency and crispness to the visuals that makes it a delight even just to watch. In this sense, I was kinda hoping there would be more of cut scene-driven story to it, but I wasn’t exactly surprised when there wasn’t. It is a platformer after all. Even without a story, there’s a good bit of comedy slipped in there, with some solid pelvic thrusting, some test tube dry humping and even some bouncing boobs in there to keep you chuckling.
My qualm is with the gameplay. Origins is a classic platformer, for better or worse. While the content is tried, tested and stunningly executed, it’s also not overly original. In fact, in trying to pick out a distinctive gameplay element, the best example that comes to mind are the various game homages, which in itself is a bit of an oxymoron. Even within the game itself there’s a good amount of repetition, with each world following the same template design, down to the near-identical damsels in distress. The extra abilities picked up along the way do help to keep the gameplay a bit fresh, but none of them particularly reinvigorate the game. With it also lacking much variation between enemies and very few larger, boss-style foes, the game starts to tire after a while.
With that said, this is far from a bad game. The co-op alone makes it a very enjoyable experience, assuming your mate isn’t a dickhead. At the full price tag, the cost of the game is possibly a little steep, but even still, there’s much fun to be had here.
