Rayman: Origins

[Bridge]

Why does everybody love this game? It sucks, and it is difficult for me to say that considering I enjoyed it so much for the 7 hours I played it.

For starters, the soundtrack is by far one of the greatest in recent times and the graphics are amazing. The game is fun to play with varied gameplay mechanics and diverse environments. But this game has no story. I almost didn't realize it at first, but about an hour in this uncanny feeling of emptiness struck me as I was berserking through the stages with no clear goal apart from: move forward.

When I first heard that the developers that worked on the original Rayman were coming back to develop Rayman: Origins my first thought was: finally a serious Rayman game after all that Raving Rabbids crap. But instead of making another great Rayman game they just took the original Rayman and expanded upon it. Apparently someone thought that its insane difficulty and lack of story were good aspects.

So, what about the good aspects I mentioned: good soundtrack, good graphics and good gameplay? Well, Rayman 2 has all of that and a good albeit simple story. Seriously, some people are saying this is the best Rayman game ever, and those people have clearly not played Rayman 2 (or even 3, which was quite good).

This game was tailor made for casual gamers too (and yeah, that is a bad thing) because:

1) the game is very eager to extract you from dangerous situations should you get stuck (which isn't a bad thing but the game really pushes the feature on you instead of encouraging you to get better).

2) The point rundown screen is incredibly intrusive and it seems like it is the main focus of the game. Yes, getting a high score or a good time is as valid a goal as any other in a platformer like this but I really don't care. It takes way too long and you already know the score beforehand so there is no tension and in some cases (especially after the deep ocean level) it creates some very disturbing dissonance in the mood. Rayman 2 also had a rundown screen, but you could dismiss it instantly so it's not intrusive and it's only there for 100% completionists who are interested in that sort of thing.

3) The game has like hundreds of characters; I don't know if I'm a stick in the mud but when I pick up a Rayman game I want to play as Rayman, because let's face it, he's the man. Playing as Globox once or twice might provide an interesting contrast if it's done well, but I really don't care about the ridiculous amount of costumes and characters. The reason the game has so many is becuase:

4) Co-op. The "jump-in and out" system they devised for the game is actually quite cool (never tried it and never going to though) but the game is clearly designed to be a co-op game because of the arcade-style design and multitude of characters.

Anyway, I'm gonna stop rambling about this, but please tell me I'm not the only Rayman fan who was disappointed. This game gets as high as 10/10 on some sites. Really, I had fun playing it, but I became so bored with it because there was no emotional connection to the gameplay and therefore I could not care. What did you guys think about it? Praise deserved?

[HateSolstice]

I can't stand the Rayman games, so I have no idea why any of them get the praise they do.

[Bridge]

I can't stand the Rayman games, so I have no idea why any of them get the praise they do.

Have you played Rayman 2? What is it in particular you don't like about them?

[failedALIAS]

"Casual Gamers"? There is no such thing. It's simply an idea that the MAN has put into your head.
If you're talking about shit-heads that play Angry Birds or whatever on their Iphone then you're definitely confused, though you are right about them being bad though. Whenever I ask if someone's a gamer and they say that they play "Casually" I tell them that that's the same as saying "Oh, what's that? You want to know if I play the piano? Well of course I do! I play casually by twiddling my thumbs together like a douche! I'm what the music companies REALLY care about!"

If I EVER hear that the casual game plague spreads from platformers to horror then. . .

I WILL DESTROY THE FOUNDATIONS OF MANKIND!

[HateSolstice]

I can't stand the Rayman games, so I have no idea why any of them get the praise they do.

Have you played Rayman 2? What is it in particular you don't like about them?

I'm not much of a platformer fan, but I find the gameplay mechanics quite derivative and uninspired. I also don't really care for the humor.

[Bridge]

"Casual Gamers"? There is no such thing. It's simply an idea that the MAN has put into your head.
If you're talking about shit-heads that play Angry Birds or whatever on their Iphone then you're definitely confused, though you are right about them being bad though. Whenever I ask if someone's a gamer and they say that they play "Casually" I tell them that that's the same as saying "Oh, what's that? You want to know if I play the piano? Well of course I do! I play casually by twiddling my thumbs together like a douche! I'm what the music companies REALLY care about!"

If I EVER hear that the casual game plague spreads from platformers to horror then. . .

I WILL DESTROY THE FOUNDATIONS OF MANKIND!

Well, I'm not the person to argue semantics with because I didn't invent the term. But the implications of "casual gamers" on the artform and the definition thereof are quite easily understood; your post proves that.

I can't stand the Rayman games, so I have no idea why any of them get the praise they do.

Have you played Rayman 2? What is it in particular you don't like about them?

I'm
not much of a platformer fan, but I find the gameplay mechanics quite
derivative and uninspired. I also don't really care for the humor.

Yeah, fair enough. It's not for everyone, but I personally really appreciate the gameplay mechanics and humor and basically everything about Rayman 2 (not a big fan of Rayman 1 and Rayman 3 was decent).

[Prelauncher]

Ahh how I miss them old Rayman games, Rayman 2 being the great favourite but I also have fond memories from Rayman Gold and the original Rayman. Good old times