"Everybody Loves Rayman"

Rayman is to Ubisoft as Mario is to Nintendo. The odd limb-less hero has been featured in several successful platforming games, both 2D and 3D. The mascot has proven to withstand the tests of time, and now, taking a nod from the plumber, Rayman is branching out into other genres. Rayman Arena is Ubisoft's attempt at a multiplayer party game that is unique enough to distinguish it from Mario Party and Super Smash Bros, but do a few novel ideas save this bare-bones package?

What little Rayman Arena does bring to the table is truly unique. The main attraction, the race mode, is such a genius blend of the racing and platform genres, it's a wonder this hasn't been attempted before. The game's fifteen courses will see up to four players racing to the finish as one of ten familiar Rayman mascots. The courses are set in a ring, and the goal is to be the first one to finish three laps. While this is acceptable, it would have been nice to see one long, continuous obstacle course. This isn't too much of an issue though, as every level is loaded with various shortcuts. Racing in Rayman Arena is all about cutting corners, and with the many shortcuts, this becomes the game's greatest strength. As well as the many hidden paths within each level, there are subtle ways to increase your speed. For example, sliding on slick surfaces will gain ground faster than running, and well placed springs can save you the hassle of scaling a tall cliff-side. Finding all of the shortcuts can be very exciting, but it also puts other, less experienced opponents at a huge disadvantage. Fortunately, the inclusion of items placed randomly about the course aid in closing the gap between players. Most of the items are based on the idea of confusing your opponent by either blurring their screen, making them invisible, inverting the display colors, or flipping the screen upside down. The weapons are pretty creative, and make for a more interesting interaction between players besides the standard projectile attacks and speed boosts. As a racing game, Rayman Arena moves way too slow. The characters trudge along at a snail's pace when running on ground. I can't help but feel a little bored, and frustrated by the slow nature of the game. This is a game that would be better suited for blazing fast, Sonic the Hedgehog type speeds. Not only would faster speeds make the racing mode feel more natural, but it would greatly add to the challenge.

Arena's second multiplayer offering, the battle mode, is merely a poorly designed and implemented first person shooter. This mode has no redeeming qualities. There is absolutely no fun to be had here, period. With a lock on firing system and frustratingly strong weapons, it's impossible to win a fight without holding the best weapon. Especially since the characters pause momentarily after being hit, making it unnecessarily difficult to escape the line of fire. It seems like the developers were too caught up in the race mode, and then simply tacked on the battle mode at the last minute. The resulting hack job should be avoided at all cost. The battle mode may be a major flop, but Racing does have some potential, unfortunately racing alone is simply not fleshed out enough to warrant Rayman Arena being a standalone product. In fact, the whole package would have been better fit as a multiplayer side note in Rayman 3.

Rayman Arena's visuals are only sub-par. The engine does run at a solid frame-rate, and the environments have a uniquely Rayman flare to them, but everything looks like it was recycled from Rayman's N64 outing. Models are basic, texturing lacks fine detailing, and the load times are pretty awful. It's not a total abomination; it's just nothing impressive given the capabilities of the Gamecube.

While Rayman Arena may not be the best looking game, a surprising amount of work went into the soundtrack. It's similar to previous Rayman soundtracks only heavier and with a hint of techno. Even still, it's a bit of a mixed bag with some songs being fresh and catchy, some generic and boring, and some downright awful. Each character has their own unique theme song that plays when they take the lead in the race mode, which adds some nice interactivity to the audio, and can be pretty rewarding when it's a good song. Sound effects are nothing special, and are considerably subdued by the music. In the end, Rayman Arena's music ends up being one of its stronger points.

Closing Comments
Rayman Arena's racing mode really is a unique concept. I wish the developers had spent more time developing this aspect of the game, rather than waste their time on the horrible battle mode. With more courses, more characters, and a faster pace, Rayman Arena could have been a huge hit. The multiplayer is pretty fun with four players, but as a single player experience, this game is pretty shallow. The whole package lacks any real depth, and would have been better as a multiplayer mode in Rayman 3.

Points
+ Unique blend of racing and platforming
+ Multiplayer
-- Only two game modes
-- Battle mode is atrocious

Score: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/07