.............CONTENT
.Home
.News
.Reviews
.Previews
.Features
.Fun Facts
.Wallpapers
.Forums



.............MISC.
.Advertise
.Contact
.About Us
.FAQ
.Legal
.Privacy Policy



.............AFFILIATES
.insert credit
.DigitalBackSpin
.Rock, Paper, Shotgun
.The Wargamer

	Rayman Arena
	Developer: Ubi Soft Publisher: Ubi Soft Genre: Party Game Players: 1-4 Similar To: Mario Party series Rating: Everyone Published: 11 :07 : 02 Reviewed By: Ryan Newman Overall: 5 = Average

Screenshots

- - - -

The racing portions are broken down into a standard race and a time trial, where the player has to get a lead on their opponents by so many seconds. The tracks are laden with obstacles, but there's also a nice amount of shortcuts per track to circumvent them. What were particularly entertaining were portions lifted from Rayman 2; in particular, the watersliding was the most enjoyable portion of any race. There's a fair amount of tracks as there are three per cup and around six cups to achieve, each unlocking either a new costume or character per each win - much the same as with the combat games.

Combat, unlike racing, isn't all that enjoyable. The standard fighting portions are plagued with camera problems as the view tends to face the player, leaving you to wander around the map without ever getting your opponent n sight long enough to get a fix on them. The camera can be adjusted manually, but it's extremely rigid and I found that side-stepping was the only way to help center the view on the enemy, though even that was spotty. Littered throughout combat arenas are power-ups that range from increasing your incredibly slow rate of fire, to mini-blasts; sadly, none of them are exciting. Fighting is also handled via long-range blasts, leaving any fans of melee combat to feel left out. Characters can also jump and float down, but this tends to work against the player if they take too long floating down in a race, and not fast enough in combat. Like racing, combat comes in two modes, and the second one here is freeze combat. Freeze combat is an interesting take on freeze tag as each character can freeze the other to stop them from collecting Imps. The frozen state only lasts for a brief moment, so timing is important; there's nothing worse than freezing an opponent too soon and have them return the favor right as the imp is in reach. Level design was a problem in combat; the main complaint was that all tracks and arenas are shared for both sub-games, and that really isn't for the best. While sharing race tracks isn't a problem, a small arena isn't all that fun for long-range blasts and a big arena isn't fun for hunting down imps. The player is either too close to be effective, or too far away to grab the imps, though the latter can be a bigger issue as they have a tendency to randomly spawn in the same area.

If the player isn't fond of either game, then they're out of luck. The shared levels limits the replay value since it gives the other modes a strong feeling of déjà vu, and none of the games are really that involving. Racing is the most enjoyable, but placed with contemporary mascot racers like Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing, it just doesn't compete. Multiplayer also fares about the same as the initial excitement wears off after a few hours of play; the standard combat portion can be ignored completely as the enjoyment to be had from it will be too miniscule to appropriately measure. This is a shame really, as the talent to make a solid title in this genre using this series is definitely there.

Graphics: 7.5/10
Sporting some lovely textures, just about everything about Rayman Arena looks great. Design, on the other hand, is another thing altogether; many levels have very angular objects serving as obstacles, but they, and the overall designs, lack the great imagination of the series. With a consistent framerate, the special effects do much to add some spice to the drearier levels, without any sacrifice to performance. While I have seen the GameCube do far better, the cartoon-like approach was well implemented and pleasing to the eye.

Sound: 7/10
Not all that much stands out, really. Comparable to Rayman 2, although not quite as good, the music and sound effects do well with the action. The selection for both seemed limited as they were fairly generic in terms of originality. I could've definitely gone for a few taunts by the teensies.

Control: 7/10
Menus were easy to navigate and the basic controls were simple to get down. Camera problems did make it difficult to aim in combat, but it wasn't a problem elsewhere. A few areas on race courses had traps that seemed to lock the character in a section that would result in constant damage, and would take a second before it would eventually pop them out of the cycle and let them proceed. Those were rare though and only in certain courses, but it was insanely frustrating when it did occur. The controller itself fit well with the action: the button layout and contour went great together and it should do well for the third installment of the Rayman series.

Overall: 5/10
The GameCube version of Rayman Arena is really in a tough spot. This is the system that houses the Super Monkeyball series, Mario Party 4, and Super Smash Bros. Melee, all of which aren't just superior playing titles, but a better value in number of mini-games alone - aside from Mario Party 4, which is yet to be released, but the past three are of high caliber. The above-average racing portions and freeze tag will provide some entertainment, but not long enough to warrant a purchase. This is definitely a rental though, as that would provide the perfect timespan to unlock all the hidden goodies and still have fun before it becomes too monotonous.

[ top ]