14 DAY TRIAL // In between large scale releases like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim or Need for Speed: The Run, Ubisoft is trying to reveal something other than a regular sequel, in the form of Rayman Origins, which delivers a new take on the French company's famous platformer series.
With rich and varied environments powered by the UbiArt Framework, the promise of the same great platforming elements that made the original Rayman games so popular many years ago, as well as all sorts of extra content, Origins is definitely looking like a successful revamp of the series.
So, is Rayman Origins a return to glory for the loveable character or should it be thrown off a platform? Let's have a quick look at its demo.
Without a doubt the most impressive aspect of Rayman Origins is its sharp visual tone. The UbiArt Framework technology allowed Ubisoft's talented artists to let their imagination run free and deliver some truly unique environments with stylish elements and characters, from Rayman and his trusty companion Globox, to detailed enemies or even the great looking collectible Electoons.
After you get over the rich colors and detailed animations, you're treated with a very responsive platformer, that allows for precise movements across the variety of environments and platforms from the game.
Once you start playing with a buddy things get even more hilarious, as you can slap each other, an action that's necessary once one of you dies. As soon as you're defeated, you start floating in a bubble around the screen and your buddy needs to slap you back to life. If both of you die, then it's back to the last checkpoint.
Make no mistake, however, Rayman Origins can be pretty easy if you know what you're doing and calculate your movements. When you're playing with one or more friends, however, things get hectic very fast and it's a true challenge to follow what's going on, so you'll often find yourself falling into a bottomless pits or defeated by enemies and/or traps.
Still, the game, at least from the short demo that's now available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, is a lot of fun and everyone should definitely try it out before the full game is released on November 15, in North America, and November 25, in Europe, for the PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii.
Until then, check out a video below for a two-player playthrough of the first two levels in the Rayman Origins demo on PS3.
