SPLICED Magazine Issue 01 Oct/Nov 2013 | Page 98

SPLICED GAMING / REVIEW / Rayman Legends ISSUE 01 Platforms PC / 360 / PS3 / Wii U reviewed on 360 Genre Platformer Multiplayer Co-op up to 4 players Developer Ubisoft Montpellier Publisher Ubisoft Age rating PG Website rayman.ubi.com by Pippa Tshabalala Rayman Legends Rayman returns in a beautiful, dynamic platformer we couldn’t put down. Legen… wait for it… dary! R ayman: Origins was a pretty darn amazing game. It had all the style and pizzazz of the beloved Rayman series and managed to take it to the next level by sprucing up the look and feel of the game considerably. Rayman Legends has amazingly managed to surpass the charm of its predecessor. Now that Ubisoft have finally departed from those blasted Rabbids we see a return to the fun platforming style that made this series a hit. To be honest, there isn’t really much of a story – it’s a series of levels loosely grouped together by the premise that Rayman, Globox and the Teensies have been sleeping for over a century, and in that time, the nightmares of the Bubble Dreamers have grown exponentially in strength and number. The world has been plunged into complete chaos (no surprises there). You must now run around saving the world! Free Teensies from captivity, all the while navigating through levels that can become increasingly tricky to negotiate. One misstep and you’ve missed your perfect score. Sure you can go back and do it again, but there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing that you rescued all things, discovered all secrets, did all the things first time around. Let’s be frank though, you’re really not here to play this game for the story, which is thin at best – you’re here to play for the love of the platforming experience, of which this is a particularly good example. Jump on things. Jump over things. Find secret places. Open cages. Free Teensies and most importantly – collect Lums. For those people who have somehow never managed to play any Rayman game ever, Lums are the glowing things you collect as you traverse throughout the world which help you unlock various bits and pieces, in this case the Legends was originally going to be a WiiU exclusive, but most important being playable characters. was eventually put on hold in order to accommodate development for PS3 and XBox 360 as well. WiiU fans were upset with this decision and protested outside Ubisoft Montpellier's offices. 98 Watch the trailer