The Rayman series has traditionally been the victim of having the worst timing when it comes to game releases. The original game was released in 1995; with the lead platform being the Atari Jaguar, with secondary releases on the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation. The first two systems were outright bombs, with the Jagaur being a bigger one than the Saturn. As for the Playstation: while it was enormously successful, releasing a 2D game on the father of mainstream 3D polygons was about a smart as releasing a XXX BMX game on the Gamecube.

Rayman 2 fared slightly better; but the lead console platform, the Dreamcast, was already one leg out the door when that particular title was released back in 2000. Yes, no matter how many bad guys our little hero can punch, he can’t seem to defeat his biggest nemesis — bad timing. Which leads me to Rayman Origins: a game that is destined to bomb sales-wise, at least in terms of mainstream sales expatiations. That is a tragedy, because the game itself is quite frankly, a stunner, both visually and gameplay wise.

I’ll get into the real reason why no one will buy this game later; but first Let me give you the reasons why you should play this game.

Rayman: Origins is a rare bread in an era of first-person guns-and-glory. It’s a comical platformer harking back to days when you had to jump platform-to-platform, either dodging or killing enemies, timing everything just right in the hopes that you’ll be able to move on to the next stage. While there’s a plot about Rayman saving the Glade of Dreams from an old Granny hell-bent on oppressing the people’s right to a good nap, you’re not going to care about the story. Heck, I completely forgot about the plot 5-seconds in, which is fine, as you’ll be distracted by the games gorgeous 2D visuals. Quite simply, this game has some of the most beautifully drawn artwork that I have seen. The images just pop-out on a HDTV screen more so than most current 3D games. Every single level has a distinct feel to it, from the ice caverns, to lava pits and oceans. Each level has a detail that just isn’t seen in most games. This also applies to the character animations. You’ll see Rayman (or any character you choose) desperately hold his breath while fighting the currents in a deep sea level, watch as Rayman gets distorted as he walks behind giant ice blocks. It’s almost impossible to explain the minute details of the animations. My advice is to watch a clip of the game in 1080P on youtube.

Gameplay-wise, Rayman: Origins may be the best platform game just short of the best Mario titles. Levels are plentiful and mostly varied, with new types of obstacles encountered after Rayman learns a new technique at the beginning of each level. Things start off simple, with Rayman gaming the ability to use his head as a propeller to slow his decent, or hover/glide up when there are air vents. After a couple levels, Rayman learns how to swim which leads him to dodge giant, thorny seaweeds while navigating currents. One of the better powers that Rayman gains is the ability to walk up walls and ceilings, which allows him to get through the twisty lava caverns that follow. There are also the occasional shooting levels which is the games only real down point when it comes to level design. You only really get one weapon and a vacuum move which sucks up the enemies which allows you to shoot them out in one big ball. There isn’t anything seriously wrong in these levels; they just quickly become to formulaic and are the games only real repetitive moments. Another slight knock is that the enemies tend to recycle themselves. Many of them are unique, such as the creature who uses a tube of paint as a flame thrower; but there are too many blow fish, black chompers and pitch-fork bandits in my opinion, though in the grand scheme of things, the negatives are pretty minor.

The good news is that there is 4-player co-op. Bad news is that it’s local co-op only — no online. It’s basically similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii, in that all four players can play on screen at once and any of them can leave or join at anytime seamlessly. Like NSMB, it’s good if you just happen to have a bunch of people over that you need to entertain, but you’ll rarely use it.

One other thing to mention is that like most platformers (3D and 2D) is that there’s plenty of collecting. This can either be a good or bad thing depending on how this is done. In Rayman’s case; it’s mostly on the good side as you’ll need to collect Lums which are little yellow creatures. Depending on how many you manage to collect in a level; you’ll get one — to — three Electoons which are the real keys to unlocking future levels. While you can get as many as five Electoons on a level (Two hidden cage sections; one main one and an extra one or two depending on how many Lums you collected), you only need a few to unlock new levels — though if you go the extra mile, you’ll get rewarded with a bunch of new skins if you get tired of trusty Rayman.

Overall, while there’s no question that Rayman: origins is a quality game; what I do call into question is Ubisoft’s decision to release the game smack down in the middle of the most crowded gaming season in history. Let’s be honest here: releasing a 2D platformer via disc right after AAA blockbusters like Assasin’s Creed, Skyrim and Modern Warfare 3 is suicidal! Another mistake was releasing this game at the full 60-dollar price. Like it or not, the public at large has long gotten used to playing only 15-20-dollars on 2D-platformers over Xbox Live and PSN. Sure, Rayman: Origins is a big platformer, but I have a feeling that much more copies would have been sold if the game was priced at 40-dollars.

But timing aside, If you give Rayman: Origins a shot, you’ll be treated to one of this season’s best — if ultimately overlooked — games.

Gameplay

Graphics

Sound

Overall

[Show as slideshow]