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Rayman Raving Rabbids 2

by Steven Rodriguez - July 15, 2007, 12:23 am EDT
Total comments: 2

Unexpectedly, it's yet another game which includes "Smoke on the Water" as a playable song.

The original Raving Rabbids centered around playing as Rayman, competing against the evil hoard of bunnies in a variety of multiplayer challenges. In the sequel, you can play as the bunnies themselves (or Rayman) in a variety of mini-games not unlike the first game. Playing as the critters directly makes the game a lot of fun, even more so than the first.

There were five multiplayer mini-games available to try out on the E3 show floor. The one I got the biggest kick out of was the music mini-game, where the four players could choose among playing the drums, guitar, keyboard, or vocals. There wasn't any singing required, however; the rabbits took care of that on their own, using the most high-pitched, ridiculous voice I've ever heard… especially since it was singing "Smoke on the Water". Each instrument uses the same control method, which is to drum the Wii remote or nunchuk in time with the corresponding icon that scrolls down the screen. I picked the drums, so the sounds I was producing were right on line with the motions of the controls. For the player on the vocals, slamming down the Wii remote on cue made the singing rabbit singing blurt out each syllable of the song (“Smooooooooooooke-on-the-waaaah-ter") quite hilariously.

There are also special controller movements in the music mini-game that will add to your score. One had you raise the Wii remote and rotate it around at a certain rhythm to fill a bar. Another had you do the rapid controller drumming that made the original so infamous. Most of the other games I played used the controller drumming technique, such as the swimming event or the laundry challenge. Swimming was different in that you had to hold the controllers in different position (flat vs. upright) or drum them in different ways (alternating vs. simultaneously), but it was still a workout. Laundry has you perform a "scrubbing" action with the controllers, and when you think the pair of underwear you're washing is clean, you must lift the controllers up to pull it out of the river and check it. If you scrub too much, though, it'll tear up and you won't get points for it. Your character will let you know how disappointed he is to have lost his favorite pair of boxers.

One of the goofier mini-games also used the drumming control style. Entitled "9-to-5", four rabbits are situated at their desks at work while their boss is on the prowl. While he's not looking, drumming the controllers will make your character dance around on top of your desk. Seeing the rabbits doing this is hilarious, and it's even funnier when the boss pops out of a soda machine or a ceiling vent to try and catch you. To avoid being caught, you must keep the controller perfectly still whenever the boss is looking. Toward the end of the game I was playing with a few Ubisoft reps, I was just about to win when someone "accidentally" bumped my controller while the boss was looking, which cost me some points and ultimately the game. I was bitter about this, and promptly destroyed the competition in the keep-away football mini-game, where no one could flick the Wii remote to tackle me and steal the ball often enough for me to use the analog stick to run around the mud-slicked field and avoid everyone else. That'll show them for messing me up!

One of the newer modes of the Raving Rabbids 2 that we didn't get a chance to see is the character customization mode, wherein you can adorn a custom rabbit with different hats, outfits, and skin appearances. I was told that all of the characters featured in the multiplayer demo could be made with the character creator (except for Rayman, who is also playable). There are 25 choices for each type of item, however, so that brings the total number of bunnies you could make to over 15,000. That's pretty good.

Ubisoft wasn't willing to say anything about the game's single-player mode at the show. Hopefully it'll be better than the awful forced implementation found in the original. And hopefully, most, if not all, of the mini-games available in Raving Rabbids 2 will be available from the start. One thing is for sure, though: the sequel will be even more hilarious and over-the-top than the first game.

Talkback

KDR_11kJuly 14, 2007

I hate those "shake as fast as possible" minigames...

I remember reading elsewhere that they're streamlining the interface so that you're on ly 2 steps from playing. Good. I HATED the HORRIBLE and HORRENDOUS menus in the first game, especially for playing the minigames in party mode... horrible, horrible menu layout and waaaaaaaay too many screens between me and the fun.

Also, I've got my eye on that music mini-game. 4-player Guitar Hero lite with Chipmunk voices? Sign me up!

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Rabbits Party Returns Box Art

Genre Party/Parlor
Developer Ubisoft

Worldwide Releases

na: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Release Nov 13, 2007
PublisherUbisoft
RatingEveryone 10+
jpn: Rabbits Party Returns
Release Dec 06, 2007
PublisherUbisoft
Rating12+
eu: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Release Nov 16, 2007
PublisherUbisoft
Rating3+
aus: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Release Nov 15, 2007
PublisherUbisoft
RatingParental Guidance
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