Rayman Origins

[Pichu]

Well that sucks. Ubisoft really shouldn't have released it smackdab in the middle of November.

[DinnerX]

Well that sucks. Ubisoft really shouldn't have released it smackdab in the middle of November.

Ubisoft isn't famous for doing things they should.

[BoringSupreez]

Well that sucks. Ubisoft really shouldn't have released it smackdab in the middle of November.

Ubisoft isn't famous for doing things they should.

IIRC, Ubisoft was in the bottom three last time Gamefaqs had a "which game company do you hate most" poll.

Edit: by bottom three, I mean it was one of the three most hated.

[Pichu]

Well that sucks. Ubisoft really shouldn't have released it smackdab in the middle of November.

Ubisoft isn't famous for doing things they should.

IIRC, Ubisoft was in the bottom three last time Gamefaqs had a "which game company do you hate most" poll.

I believe you remember correctly.

[Gamerforlife]

Honestly, while I do like the game, it's probably the weakest of all the holiday titles I'm playing right now and the weakest Michel Ancel game I've played. It's no where near as good as games like Beyond Good and Evil or King Kong were, and both Sonic Generations and Super Mario 3D land have been more fun platformers for me this holiday as I've been playing them as well as Rayman.

Rayman Origins is mostly standard platforming stuff. What makes it stand out is the art, the music and the crazy and funny stuff you see in each stage. It sort of reminds me of the Earthworm Jim games in that it is this surreal, wacky cartoon game with lots of bizarre characters in it.

Problem is, you eventually reach a point in the game where you can't proceed further unless you have a certain number of collectibles. I have to say, getting the collectible stuff can be infuriating and spikes up the difficulty considerably versus the difficulty of simply completing the levels, which is fairly simple. That's what hurts this game a lot. It's fun to simply play through the stages and get from point A to point B, but when the game starts making you collect stuff, the fun factor takes a serious hit. There's a metric ton of trial and error involved in getting all the collectibles since so many of them will pop up in a stage and quickly disappear. So if you miss it, too bad, and there is some seriously difficulty platforming involved if you want to get all the lums and all the skull coins, not to mention some pretty infuriating chase levels where you have to chase down a treasure chest, while avoiding obstacles, enemies, making super tricky jumps and keeping far enough ahead for the screen to not kill you as it moving forward. There is some seriously sadistic design in this game

Normally, I want Ubisoft games and particularly games Michel Ancel is invovled in to sell really well, but this is not his best work. The only thing Rayman has going for it is that there is so many sights to see and so many bizarre, surreal and funny stuff happening in most stages. The bosses are pretty hilarious too. If I were a reviewer type person, I'd score this a 7

[noiseredux]

Problem is, you eventually reach a point in the game where you can't proceed further unless you have a certain number of collectibles.

and just like that, I've made the decision to never play this game.

[Pichu]

Problem is, you eventually reach a point in the game where you can't proceed further unless you have a certain number of collectibles.

and just like that, I've made the decision to never play this game.

I'd agree with noise here, but since I got the game for Xmas (I haven't played it yet) I'm determined to.

How difficult is the game? Perhaps compare it to other 2D platformers this gen?

[Gamerforlife]

Problem is, you eventually reach a point in the game where you can't proceed further unless you have a certain number of collectibles.

and just like that, I've made the decision to never play this game.

I'd agree with noise here, but since I got the game for Xmas (I haven't played it yet) I'm determined to.

How difficult is the game? Perhaps compare it to other 2D platformers this gen?

Well Rayman Origins is like two completely different games. When you're simply running through a stage to get to the end, it's not very difficult. It's actually quite fun because you will see and hear so many cool things. This game is big on style and humor. Again, it kind of reminds of early Shiny games like Earthworm Jim. The bosses are pretty simple to beat too

Once you get down to the task of collecting stuff though, which the game eventually FORCES you to do, it becomes this infuriating, "hardcore" platformer. You'll need to grab as many lums as possible, which are like coins in a Mario game or rings in a Sonic game. Plus, you have to grab skull coins, which give you bonus lums. You have to rush to grab certain lums in each stage before they disappear, which requires a lot of trial and error. You also have to do incredibly difficult platforming feats to get skull coins, like having to leap off a wall JUST before you hit some spikes or swim through a VERY narrow spot between two rows of spikes in a swimming level. Keep in mind that one hit kills you in this game, unless you have a heart. Even then, you get penalized when you lose a heart, because you get bonus lums when you grab a heart and already have one. So you know each time you get hit and lose a heart that you're losing out on some extra lums that could have gone towards your total at the end of the stage.

Rayman Origins isn't one of those games where you have to FIND collectibles like in the Donkey Kong Country games on the SNES. It's more about doing really annoying feats of skill for skull coins or memorizing the levels so you can grab lums quickly before they disappear. There are also those levels I think I mentioned where you have to chase a treasure box to get "skull teeth". The screen is constantly moving forward at a fast pace in these stages as you chase this thing and you have to avoid stuff and make lots of jumps to keep up with it, just like the last stage of Earthworm Jim 2. These stages are based completely on trial and error and REQUIRE you to memorize the entire level. Even then, it's still hard because the jumps are very tricky and timing is also important. If you take a hit without having a heart on you, or you miss a jump, which you WILL, you have to start the chase over again from the beginning.

There's also these side scrolling flying levels that play like your typical shooter. Imagine having to focus on collecting things AND shooting everything AND dodging everything. Not fun, especially when you miss grabbing something because the screen is moving forward to fast. I've spent a LOT of time dying in each stage of the game so I can respawn at a checkpoint because of some lums or skull coins I miss.

In fact, I've spent way more time dying in this game to redo a section for missed collectibles than dying simply due to enemies or pitfalls killing me.

Let me put to the you this way, when you're running through the stages the first time it seems like a fun game. When you get down to the business of collecting, it feels like a mean spirited game designed by assholes, and I really mean that.

Play Sonic Generations. It's a much more fun game that didn't do nearly as well with video game reviewers

[noiseredux]

When you get down to the business of collecting, it feels like a mean spirited game designed by assholes,

this part cracked me up.

[Gamerforlife]

When you get down to the business of collecting, it feels like a mean spirited game designed by assholes,

this part cracked me up.

Yeah, sometimes I have to say what I really feel