“See you in Rayman 4!” jokes Murfy, your smiley green winged guide, blissfully unaware that it would take exactly 8 years for that rendezvous to take shape. Yes, with the outstanding Rayman Origins claiming many ‘Game of the Year’ awards (including our very own, check out the review here), it seems only right that Ubisoft have given fans another opportunity to experience one of last-generations strongest platformers.
Back in 2003, Ubisoft proved to a commercial audience that Rayman had truly “found his fists”. After two bold and successful iterations to the series, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc was creative director Michel Ancel’s big chance to demonstrate that Rayman could perform competitively alongside many contemporary blockbuster favourites – including PlayStation icon Crash Bandicoot and multi-billion dollar man, Master Chief.
I remember at the time being extremely disappointed with Rayman’s third outing. Rayman 2: The Great Escape had blown me away; expanding on the original 2D side-scroller to such an extent that both titles were genuinely indiscernible from one another (aside from obviously both sharing the little limbless protagonist). Characters such as Globox, the Teensies, Ly and Razorbeard added layers of childish depth to the already outstanding universe developed from the first title – and perhaps these are the reasons why Rayman 2 has been ridiculously successful since, ported and remastered on the DS and 3DS along with an iOS version and more. Hoodlum Havoc seemed to take that energy from the previous games and try to add a more “action-packed” element, using radical costumes and swampwater-esque hillbilly monsters to give Rayman another new flavour… and then as we all know the series fell in to disarray with Ubisoft’s bizarre inception of Rabbids. Whilst I didn’t like Hoodlum Havoc back then, I must admit – I love it now.
That’s because the charms of the HD revamp exceed more than just a slick lick of visual paint. Ubisoft have once again exceeded themselves, applying the same level of care and attention to this remaster as they did for Beyond Good & Evil HD (and we all know how stunning that refurbishment proved to be.) The blistering sound design, along with competitive leader boards, trophies/achievements and a distinct overhaul of the games’ vibrant colour palette all aid in making sure Rayman 3 HD is the most comprehensive Rayman package to date.
The story, as with most Rayman games, is bare bones. However in this case, these bare bones are fleshed out with heart-warming charm, wit and a loving nod back to the retro days of the platforming genre. Andre, an evil black lum, is attempting to take over the world with an army of sack-like “Hoodlum” soldiers. After accidentally being swallowed by the cowardly Globox, Rayman decides to take his friend to a doctor; ridding both his partner and, on a larger scale, the entire universe of the evil lum Andre. That’s essentially where the game kicks off, and descends into a rollercoaster ride of thrilling set pieces, boss battles and entertaining encounters.
The game oozes with self-aware charm, often parodying the platforming genre and bantering the games own developers (similarly to how the Simpsons ridicule FOX). It’s a welcome and hilarious feature of the title, but sadly is one that’s often lost behind some glaring volume and sound issues. Your guide towards the beginning of the game, Murfy, comes out with some hysterical one-liners and pithy dialogue that’s usually so inaudible behind the layers of soundtrack and gunfire that it’s easy for newcomers to miss. This is a real shame and is probably an issue that won’t be addressed as it likely has something to do with the side-effects of the HD remastering as opposed to an original game flaw.
Gameplay is your usual fare of Achilles-heel finding boss-battles, simple platforming puzzles that utilize Rayman’s new power-up ability to adopt costume changing multi-coloured tin-canisters that are scattered around and standard hand-to-hand combat, however this time Rayman actually uses his fists and his feet to attack as opposed to the energy spheres he used to launch in Rayman 2. The gameplay is entertaining throughout but is noticeably limited due to its age, eventually falling into a repetitive pattern that you must rinse and repeat until completion. An option to try and get 5 stars (100%) on every level in order to unlock bonus mini-games is a fun way of encouraging players to explore and revisit levels further, however actually getting full marks on every chapter seems like a ridiculously hard, if not impossible, task.
Overall though, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc HD is a fun and beautiful 1080p revamp that has helped this doubtful reviewer fall back in love with the original Rayman saga. Some excellent visuals, combined with wonderfully crafted dialogue, satisfying mini-games and nostalgic platforming puzzles help make this a must-have purchase, especially at the modest price of 800 Microsoft Points/$10 on PSN. Pick it up if you’re in need of a seriously fun game that allows you to shut off your brain for a few hours, you won’t be disappointed. Now where did Globox get to…
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