At E3, PGC learned that Rayman 3 GC and Rayman 3 GBA will link up, allowing gamers to download 40 more levels onto their GBA.

Last updated: 03/07/2002

We first learned about Rayman 3 when Felix Tremblay of JeuXpress sent us an interesting message from Ubi Soft that had been sent to European gaming sites. The message contained a few hints about a big game from Ubi Soft, and it included a link to some promotional website called Hoodlums World. At first we thought that must be the name of the game...until IGN posted their “Mystery Trailer Contest”. A closer look at the Hoodlums World website confirmed that it was definitely the game from IGN’s contest, and moreover, that “Mystery Trailer” was actually available for download there. But surely there must have been more to it...after all, the Hoodlums displayed an unusual art style that seemed all too familiar. The obvious answer to any mystery involving Ubi Soft is, of course, Rayman, so we investigated the Hoodlums World website for some kind of confirmation. Bingo: the site’s source code reveals all kinds of clues in the meta tag keywords. “Hood Lums, Lums, insect, tiny, cartoon” just to name a few. Lums are the tiny little insect-like creatures that Rayman collects in his adventures. This was the evidence we needed to confirm that Ubi Soft’s secret game was, in fact, the next Rayman game. (However, we withheld this information so as not to interfere with IGN’s contest.)

Now Ubi Soft has formally announced Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc for GameCube, PS2, Xbox, and PC. The announcement contains very few game details...only that development is being led by Michel Ancel, the original creator of Rayman, and that the game will feature a “new innovative tactical arcade battle system”. For now, we can only guess at what that really means, but obviously Rayman will be battling against an entire army of these Hoodlum baddies...could it be that our limbless hero is resorting to mass warfare? Don’t expect anything too violent (the game is labeled as a “cartoon fantasy”), but it seems that Rayman will have some new attacks, at the very least.

What we can say with certainty is that the Hoodlums are not nice people, and that they are searching high and low for Rayman. Also, the word “Hoodlum” seems to come from a combination of “Hood” and “Lum”...does this mean the Hoodlums are actually a breed of Lums that have gone over to the side of evil?

The first two screenshots of Rayman 3 don’t offer much info, but they do at least confirm that this third game will continue the series tradition of complex environments and very vibrant colors. Also, Hoodlums World has posted a second Quicktime (or Divx) movie showing the Hoodlums posting “Wanted” posters for Rayman.

We’re sure to learn more about Rayman 3: Hoodlums Havoc on April 15, when its official website goes online. For now, we’ll have to be content to know that the game will surely be playable at this year’s E3 Expo in May, and its current release date for all target platforms in both Europe and North America is Q4 2002.