Crazy Rabbids, shallow party game.
But where has Mario Party has the advantage of many titles in the series, Rayman falls short in a couple areas in it’s first entry into the genre. Despite some technical mishaps, Raving Rabbids is still an addictive and fun game.
GAMEPLAY
Raving Rabbids is unique among party games on the Wii. Not because it’s games are any different, but because of the Rabbids. These weird bunnies serve as the “villains” for the game. At the start of the game they kidnap Rayman and force him to partake in various mini-games that involve everything from shooting Rabbids with plungers to disco dancing. It’s weak on story, but it serves its purpose to play more games.
All this is done using both the Wii controller and the nunchuck. Some of the min-games are mind-numbingly easy, while others force you to do movements so quickly that at times I felt like I was going to pull a muscle. This makes for un-even gameplay, and while none of the games are difficult, you will find that the requirements to pass them are steep. This means that you’ll often be replaying the same game until you finally pass it.
Despite the un-even mini-games, the Rabbids are what make the game fun. They are some of the goofiest, and weirdest villains I have ever seen. Even though I didn’t like some of the mini-games, I always was looking forward to the next game just to see what those crazy Rabbids were up to now.
GRAPHICS
Raving Rabbids is really behind the curve when it comes to graphics. On the technical side they’re so basic that they look like an early game cube game. Rough edges, and bland textures are the norm. However, from an artistic point-of-view the game isn’t so bad. The Rabbids are well designed, and offer a wide variety of facial expressions and emotions. This makes them even more likeable, and makes the lackluster graphics more tolerable.
SOUND
The games sounds are also sub-par for the platform. There’s no voiceovers expect for the occasional “Baaaaaahhhh!!” from the Rabbids. The sound effects are cartoonish as you would expect, but sound bland and muffled. The music fits the mood of the scene or min-game, but again it still sounds bland and forgettable.
VALUE
Raving Rabbids could be called a “single player party game.” This is because although it technically is multi-player, it can’t be played this way until you complete the single player mini-games. I was very disappointed about this because I had purchased it as a multi-player game, but now I’m forced to unlock new games via single player instead of being able to play them right away through multi-player.
There’s also the problem that most of the games are “turn based multi-player.” In other words, the players take turns playing the mini-games instead of playing at the same time. This makes it feel more like a single player game, and less like the party game it’s billed as.
Despite these technical shortcomings, Raving Rabbids is still a fun, and wacky game. If you’re looking for a single player game, full of wacky characters and mini-games, then look no further. However, if you are like me, and expecting a party game, don’t bother. The shallow multi-player will disappoint you. Hopefully Ubisoft can get some of these technical kinks worked out for the next game, because I’m looking forward to seeing more of those crazy Rabbids.