Reviewed on: PS3
Ubisoft Montpellier
Ubisoft
24th November 2011
2D Platformer
PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS
Score: 5 / 5
Every now and then a great 2D platformer pops up in the gaming world. For example you might have read my review for Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken a couple of weeks ago which was one such game. Now Ubisoft are stepping it up with the fourth game in the 15 year old Rayman series: Rayman Origins; and I think calling it a great platformer is a bit of an understatement.
When I play a platformer there are a few things I look for to make it a winner in my eyes. Things like co-operative play, the level of difficulty of puzzles, the length of the game, and of course the fun factor and Rayman Origins doesn’t disappoint. I love any excuse to be able to play games with my girlfriend and with up to four player drop-in/drop-out in Origins it makes it so smooth and easy to get her or anyone else involved without interrupting game progression at all. It works perfectly and all the levels are designed so that at no point does it require more than one player to be able to advance, which is another refreshing feature.
The controls of the game are very smooth and easy for anyone to pick up which is fantastic in a co-operative game because it means that you don’t have to get held up by someone trying to figure out how to play when they drop in. That’s lucky too because as you advance through the game it takes some dexterity in to be able to navigate some of the level designs to find hidden levels and bonuses. Don’t take that the wrong way though, throughout my time playing the game I never got frustrated with the difficulty level. Sure some things took a couple of tries to get but unlike some other games I’ve played I never wanted to launch my controller through my TV.
Rayman Origins has a beautiful art style and the world is vibrant with a lot of different settings for levels, and the varied level design keeps it fresh throughout the game. There are boss fights, side-scrolling shooter type levels, time challenges, among other things, and all of these serve to keep it fun and keep you enjoying the game. The characters are fun and with over 60 levels to play through and multiple unlockable rewards it definitely provides value for money.
To be honest this game is one of the most perfect 2D platformers I have ever played and I would most definitely recommend it to everyone. It’s great fun on single player and if you have a couple of friends over it is so easy to just pick up and play with short load times and no down time for the fun factor throughout the levels, while still providing enough challenge that you might find yourself joining Rayman’s celebrations when you complete levels. Definitely go out and grab this game, you won’t regret it.
Disclaimer: Rayman Origins was supplied for review by Ubisoft, but I’m glad they sent it because otherwise it would have gone under my radar. Don’t let it go under yours!
