There were many games I was anxious to try out at E3 2011. Rayman Origins was one of these games. Having played the very first Rayman for the original PlayStation back in the 90s I was full of excitement when I saw the debut trailer appear at E3 2010. I saw that this would be the first time since the original Rayman that the lead character would go back to his roots, side-scrolling platforming. After the original Rayman, he would go on to do a series of 3D games, even appearing in the Rayman: Raving Rabbids games.
Sure enough, the game was on display at the Ubisoft booth and I was more than willing to give it a try. The playable demo was better than I expected and it really acted as a throwback to the original Rayman I played so many years ago. If you've seen the debut trailer then there's no doubt you know that Rayman Origins will be a co-op supported game, but I was playing as Rayman alone for my demo. It really captured the feel the very first game had, such as its visuals, music, and gameplay. I remember Rayman for the PlayStation 1 being so beautful when I saw it on my screen for the first time, it still holds that value to this day. Rayman Origins is no different and it really caught my attention at the great use of color within the game. I was even surprised to see that Ubisoft had included some references to the original like the first boss in the game, "Moskito", of course "Bettilla" the fairy returns along with the "Electoons", "Globox", the "Photographer", and more. Since this is Rayman's origins, can we assume that his first nemesis, "Mr. Dark", will return once again? We'll see.
Rayman Origins reminded me of New Super Mario Bros Wii, in terms of gameplay. When you're playing with another person you can either work together or hinder each other if you want to. You can exchange slaps and punches that'll make you and the other player laugh. When one player falls behind, they catch up to the leading player in a bubble to resume gameplay. Playing cooperatively means that two players can reach areas within a level that a single player couldn't do alone, this means secrets are in store for those who go the extra mile. There are wacky and colorful creatures chasing after you and the action does a great job of keeping the player's attention and presses them to stay on their toes.
Initially Rayman Origins was to be an episodic series available to PlayStation Network, and XBOX Live, however due to timing in the development process, Rayman Origins will be having a full retail release. I had a great time playing the game and I look forward to its release when it hits store shelves Fall of 2011. Check out the video below for some gameplay of Rayman Origins.
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