GamePlay: What if? What if 2-D platformers had never died off? What would they be like if you combined the simple fun design of platforming but added all of the computational power of current gen systems? Well Rayman answers those questions. Rayman takes the best parts of simple platforming and adds depth to them by bringing the characters and world to life in ways that couldn't be created on lower end hardware. The basic mechanics are jump attack in all directions, butt-stomp, float, and a few other power ups you unlock along the way all add to making Rayman feel and control in a fun and responsive way. When you mess up a jump or get crushed by falling debris, you know why it happened and you never feel that you were cheated. There are many secrets coins and cages to find in each level and they are really are fun to spot. The mosquito 2-D shoot'em-up levels are a blast too. Sucking up enemies and spitting them out adds a nice mechanic on top of the traditional shoot and dodge. Bosses are also ridiculously cool and well designed.
Art: Stunning 2-D drawings and animations bring out the characters and the world. Almost everything on screen is bouncing and moving to the rhythms of the stage. The foregrounds and backgrounds are littered with fun characters. Everything about the art is fantastic. The attention to details and overall quality are reminiscent of classic animated Disney films.
Music: This is where Rayman Origins really shines. The music is just perfect. It captures the tone of each level and really brings excitement to what you are doing and reflects what is going on in the level. It uses real live instruments and crosses many genres. From jungle melodies to jazzy rhythms, Rayman delivers light hearted melodic joy.
Rayman Origins is a gem in the sea of first-person shooters, games about anime dudes with swords, and the rest of the overcompensating, feature bloated, and unimaginatively bland games that come out over and over again. I'd recommend this game to gamers of all ages, its simple enough for kids, but challenging enough to make seasoned platform pros sweat. Support games like this and we can have more of them.
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My 4 and 6 year old kids love playing this game cooperatively. They've developed their own skills and talk each other through their challenges. It's great seeing such teamwork! While watching, I enjoy the art, humor, funky music and while playing, I like the gameplay, various levels of difficulty and depth. A great game for everyone.Best Deals for Rayman Origins - with Artbook - Xbox 360 (Standard with Amazon
Rayman Origins is perfect in every way. Artwork, sound, music, gameplay, everything. It is a perfectly constructed 2D platformer that never gets stale and delivers all the way through to the final stage.I put about 20 hours into this game and have completed everything. I am actually sad that the game is over. This is one of those rare gems that comes around every once in a blue moon.
I absolutely loved this game and I highly recommend this to everyone. Enjoy!!!
Honest reviews on Rayman Origins - with Artbook - Xbox 360 (Standard with Amazon
Rayman Origins is one of the best games out in 2011. Made entirely in hand drawn 2d style it is a huge achievement. By 2D I do not mean levels are structured to be viewed from the side and 3d objects are placed throughout, as has been the trend of last ten years, it is actually all hand drawn. The drawings and animations are very detailed and meticulously polished to create a seamless interaction of the player with the very diverse environment. For example in the beginning stages the levels feature earthquakes which cause the platforms to move and grind against each other. You have to run through and past moving plates of solid rock to avoid being squashed. I did not see any spots where either detection area was incorrect or invisible walls, it all seems to make sense in Rayman Origins.Gameplay is structured like many games from the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo generation. You have "worlds" and stages through which you travel on a big map. Perhaps it is a little homage to founding father Mario. The focus of gameplay is not simply to finish the level but to finish it very quickly while collecting the most Lums you can. Lums are like coins, but they are actually little happy smiling Luminous creatures who laugh every time you collect them. I've found myself running through some levels multiple times in hopes of discovering all the secret areas and hidden items, of which there are many. You will get a special reward for collecting all the items in quickest time possible. This also includes dealing with your enemies in the most efficient way possible.( This is especially enjoyable because everywhere throughout Rayman Origins runs in stable 60 frames per second.)For example you could punch an old wrinkled humanoid toon who then inflates and raises to the air. To get an additional Lum, you can maneuver to jump on it once more. One thing I noticed is that, probably because the game looks as good as it does, it does not have real time dynamic physics. For example there aren't big objects or particles that bounce off other objects or walls. That is not to say there are few special effects and particles everywhere.
Special care has been taken to increase re playability as well. Throughout your journey you unlock many friends whom you can pick at your "home base" to beat the levels. For the most part they are very similar to each other in their abilities, but their appearance is very different. One of Rayman's friends is a blue toad, another is a big nosed elf/troll-like creature. All have their own cool animations.
Sound is pretty good for the most part. If you enjoy cartoony sounds you'll like it more as there are many creatures sounding like Chipmunks. Language in the game is some sort of gibberish language resembling real languages in our world. One character sounds like he is speaking Hindi, a nymph fairy sounds like she is speaking some sort of Norwegian gibberish, another speaks with bits and pieces of English. It is all over the place. On the other hand , to be fair, there are some repetitive sound effects that could become annoying. I personally do not particularly like the South American sounding mandolin or banjo that plays every time the Lums turn red, but overall it is good.
The game also contains stages where you fly. They are made to resemble a scrolling shooter, which actually does its job really well. When I got this game I thought it would actually be pretty short, but it turned out it has close to 60 levels and very high replayability value.
Another aspect of the art in Rayman Origins is that while it is childish, it appears to be oriented toward older gamers or nostalgic gamers. You'll actually see frequent suggestive "naughty" animations or references which kids under 12 just will not understand.
Pros:
-hand drawn animations and backgrounds everywhere
-diverse levels with every color tone and every imaginable taste
-long game
-60 frames per second
-multiple characters and secrets that give reasons to replay the levels
-smart humor old gamers will understand
-up to 4 player coop
-nymphs
Cons:
-No online multiplayer
-Movement and objects are not based on real time physics
Tagline:
Rayman Origins is one of a kind 2D platformer with exceptional art direction. Meticulous attention to smallest details is noticeable. I hope this game gets some awards as it is truly one of the best games of the year.
Note:
If you can, try to get the bundle with the included Ubi-Art Rayman art book. It is a thin hard cover album that came with the pre-order. Very nice souvenir that all your friends will like to look at.
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