Don’t let Rayman: Origins go amiss in the influx of November releases – here’s why it deserves your recognition
Rayman Origins is probably the most underestimated title this year. Jack Bromley explains why it shouldn't slip under you radar during this release-packed month, and why you should give this classic character's revival a chance.
Rayman; a once classic series that hasn’t seen a true representation since 2005 with the Gameboy Advance release: Hoodlum’s Revenge which ultimately flopped, beginning the series’ demise and disappearance from the market. Rayman’s more recent escapades have mainly involved ‘Rabbids’. Raving Rabbids to be specific, and the original spin-off was initially planned as a one-off, simple mini-game based Wii launch title. Four years on, and Ubisoft have dragged out a total of six furry failures, all completely dishonouring Rayman’s past, and shattering the little dignity the character had left.
But now we’re in 2011, and the month of November is cluttered with high profile game releases sure to make any gamer’s wallet cry metaphoric tears of gold. Among the smorgasbord of titles lies the golden ticket to Rayman’s long overdue revival: Rayman Origins.
Origins is taking Rayman back to his roots, recreating the love so many experienced with the first game. Gone are the gimmicks, gone are the nonsensical rabbits, gone are the pointless additions, Origins has stripped back Rayman to its simplest, and most brilliant form. It is a barebones platformer, with a button to jump, a button to attack, and a stick to move. Nothing more. In this modern age, we underestimate the quality of simplicity, but Origins will eradicate those delusional views.
The most notable change in Origins is the new, radically vibrant art style. It looks almost hand-drawn, and combined with the game’s comical characters and animations, it almost feels like you’re playing through a Greenblatt cartoon. Not many other games look quite as unique as Origins, which is perhaps why it seems so special.
Once loved characters like Globox and Moskito have been brought back, full of the flair, humour, and beauty their previous iterations lacked. Ubisioft manage to empower these speechless sprites with vivid personalities. Making a character so full oflife without the aid of speech is quite a hard feat, but the developer’s genius use of over-the-top animations does a better job than words ever could. Don’t think that this graphical style is all the game has to offer, however.
Countless new platformers fall into the trap of making their game over-complicated, like Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet or over simplistic, like Mario. From the demo, Origins creates the perfect balance. It boasts easy controls, yet challenging and engaging puzzles to keep the player’s interest, something that’s quite hard to perfect. Another game seeming to strike this balance is Fez, an exceptionally different indie title releasing sometime next year.
Origins is probably the most underestimated title to release this year. Many players, like myself, have been disheartened by Ubisoft’s abuse of a hero. The constant regurgitation of ‘Rabbids’ games that completely crush his legacy. Origins and its new developers will hopefully breathe life back into the series, and make Ubisoft realise that the helicopter-haired, limbless hero can still be appreciated by so many; his ‘life’ isn’t over unless they carry on this doomed path.
For many, Origins will be a game avoided in favour of the more popular and more marketed games like Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3, and Saints Row 3, all unfortunately releasing in the same month. This shouldn’t happen. The potential that Rayman’s revival holds is immeasurable, and could (hopefully) spark the character’s recreation, becoming a classic once more. The developer’s passion radiates through this game, and among the ever-brown and grey world of modern games, that’s a rare occurrence. I ask of you, do not discount Rayman: Origins, it is worthy of being released in this hectic month, worthy of being released alongside AAA titles like Skyrim; because it is one itself.
8:19 pm 16th November, 2011
Personally, I hope Origins fails. Side-scrollers were alright…in the 80′s. The release of Rayman 2 was awesome, an interactive 3D world that blew side-scrollers out of the water, and a load more fun than the original Rayman. 3D was the right direction to go for Rayman, it actually upped the playability significantly, and now if you try to suggest Rayman as a side-scroller I wanna hurl, they dropped the ball! I will not buy this catastrophic failure, and imho anybody who thinks this is a great release is just going with the crowd and not really considering what they’re doing (probably why so many people are wearing their pants damn near down to their feet) and those people will quickly suffer buyers remorse/regret. Once a game starts advancing you don’t backtrack to a lesser platform, that’s why I consider GTA: SA the ultimate in the series (try customizing cars in GTA 4, can’t do it, and your character, gee do I want the crap hat or the crappier hat). Re-release this pathetic excuse for Rayman into an interactive 3D world and I’ll play it til my fingers go numb, but this I’d rather toss in the trash like a used diaper.
2:22 am 16th November, 2011
2D platformers were a hit in the 80s, but don’t you think it’s about time they made a return? Rayman Origins is the perfect game to kick that off.
In my opinion, Rayman 2 was awful. Simply being in a full 3D world completely detracted from the original game’s charm. 2D, sharp, smooth animations make for a great feel, and great gameplay.
If Origins was a new 3D reimagination of Rayman, wouldn’t it just suffer the same flaws that Raving Rabbids, or Hoodlum’s Havoc had? The problems that forced this character out as a major competitor. Going back to its 2D, gorgeous roots allows the developers to essentially ‘start a fresh’ with the series, and give Rayman back his relevance in the market.
I can agree with the GTA IV comment, however. Easily one of the most poorly made games I’ve ever played, such a letdown from San Andreas. But still, you can’t judge a game based on customisation of cars & characters, a feature that doesn’t even slightly determine a game’s quality. Plenty of games don’t offer customisation, and plenty of those games are brilliant.
‘Pathetic excuse for Rayman’ is way too harsh. The passion of the developers clearly shows in Origins. As mentioned before, in 3D, Origins would be awful, just like many other 3D platformers out there. But in 2D, Origins delves in a now recessive genre, giving it more originality, makeing it more unique and more appealing.
If Origins was a 3D platformer, it would suffer the same, critically-awful fate as its predecessors. In this 2D format, it’s incredible.