For a guy with no arms and no legs, and hair that can turn into a helicopter as needed, Rayman is an adorable little guy. Somehow our family missed earlier installments of the Rayman series of games, but when we installed Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc on our Mac Mini, we quickly caught on to what the rage was all about.In this particular game, Rayman is once again out to save the world. The world of Teensies, that is. The premise of the game is pretty much like every other arcade style action game out there. Hero makes his way around the world just one step behind the big bad guy, trying to catch up in scene after seen, until a final mighty confrontation at the end. In this particular case, the big bad guy is Hoodmonger, and his henchmen are Hoodlums. The Hoodlums come from Red Lums and Black Lums … as I understand it, at least. And if you haven't picked it up so far, this game is filled … No, it is overflowing, with puns and humorous quips galore. Reminds me a lot of a well done animated movie as far as that goes - the humor coming on two levels, one for kids and another for adults. Your kids won't get some of the jokes because they just don't have the life experience yet (probably, at least) to understand them. But a lot of the jokes are ones you'll be sharing with them as you battle for play time. For example, if you read the text on the menu options pages, you'll see a scroll box go across the screen that says, "Young lady with no torso or head seeks Rayman for torrid merger." Good adult humor there, without being outrageous enough to make your kids ask uncomfortable questions. But you'll want to play through even the tutorial levels of the game again and again, because of quips like what Murfy says to the Manual: "You guys get paid to write this, don't ya?" The Manual stands up for itself quite well, however, telling Murfy to watch his language and threatening to shut him up.
To be honest, I've only played through the first few areas, because every time I get to playing the game, I'm invaded by at least one child just needing to play. On one invasion, my oldest went so far as to swipe the keyboard right out from under me - playfully of course - because he felt it was his turn so much. So, being the smart mom I am, I decided that if the kid was going to keep having to have the Mac from me, I'd make sure he included his thoughts on the game in this review as well. Here's what Josh (age 10) had to say:
I think Rayman 3 is really fun. You get these different powerups. The ones I've had so far is one I call tornado punch, which comes in a green can. With tornado punch, this tornado forms and it will pull down a pole or platform so you can get up to another level. What it does to enemies is spins them around and shrinks them. The other powerup is power punch, that breaks down doors. It comes in a red can. It's really super powerful and cool. Rayman's hands change to metallic with these spikes on the end. The last powerup is called chain punch and it comes in a blue can. His hands shoot out these big chains that whip around. You can use it to swing across a big gap, or grab an enemy to pull it to you. It's pretty awesome.
One level you have to get on this hoverboard and ride on these really narrow paths. At the end you have to jump off at the right time and get onto this other path. I'ts great, but really hard. It's hard because you have to stay on the path or else you have to restart from the last check point. But it is fun 'cause it is challenging. It took me two days to beat the level, but it was great when I did it. On this other level, Rayman is on this blue guy's back through the level, but there's these piranha that are swimming after you trying to get at you. If you don't press the jump button or attack button fast enough, you'll go backwards down the stream toward a waterfall. When the piranha hit your head, it will send you swirling back too. So you have to be really fast to get through this level.
I haven't gotten to the level with the hoverboard yet. (See note above about kid stealing the keyboard for reason why.) The disadvantage is that I haven't gotten as deep into the game as I normally would before writing about it. I can tell you for sure that the controls are easy to learn, sometimes challenging to master. But that's pretty much normal for me when playing this style of game. Having a gamepad or better mouse than just the one button mouse that ships with most Macs would make playing much easier, I'm sure. But it is manageable with just a keyboard. The graphics are great. I like the fact that you don't have to do everything just right in the right order to get through the game. You're rewarded for scoring more points, and there are hidden levels to unlock if you do score high enough. But you don't have to be perfect just to move on to a new level and see what happens in the next scene.
As a mom, I've no problem whatsoever with finding a game that my kids like so much that they fight me for play time. Gives me a good reward for when the homework is done, actually. And I don't even mind just sitting watching the kids play it, either. Listening to Murfy interact in the game is well worth it as far as I am concerned. This is a game where I even just watched the cinematic "cut scenes" that you can unlock after you pass different levels.
It is a bonus that this game comes as part of the Family Fun Pack 2 from Feral Interactive. With it you also get Worms 3D, Ghost Master and Children's Encyclopedia Britannica 2004 Edition. At the risk of seeming to repeat myself, and I will be if you've read the reviews of these other games first, this Fun Pack of games is a great deal. Each of the games alone has been fun for my kids and I to play, and the Encyclopedia's a good educational tool where kids can learn while they play around finding information. Simply put, if you have a Mac, and you have kids, this pack of games is a great deal and I highly recommend it. I've said that about each of the games individually, so of course it only makes sense to say it about the whole pack of them.
I’ve played computer games since college, addicted first to story type games like Might and Magic. I have 3 children who also love computer games. My oldest son is a typical kid who loves the challenge of pressing the right combination of buttons and levers on a joystick in just the right way to make something happens, and frequently gets frustrated with mom’s slow fingers. ;) We use computers for both education and entertainment, and sometimes even bribery for good behavior.
The “glory days” of computer gaming for me were when games like Spectre Supreme, Pirate’s Gold, the Might and Magic series, the original Prince of Persia… those sorts of games were coming out on a regular basis. Back then I owned a Macintosh and was a die hard Mac fan. I was one of the first in my area to buy an iMac and on it learned the joy of playing games on the internet like daily crossword puzzle and “mind bender” type puzzles. My first online RPG was given to me for Christmas the year EQ was released, and I was hooked from day one. I played EQ for about a year. I started playing DaoC during late alpha testing, and was hooked on it.. well, to be honest I still am. I’ve tried pretty much every MMORPG I can get my hands on, from big names like EQ, to more obscure ones such as Underlight. I’ve been writing for IMGS since the first DaoC guide, and find I love the challenge of learning a game and presenting what I’ve learned (and sometimes my opinions), to other players.
I’m not a very strong player as far as learning PvE or quick reaction times, so I tend to stay away from games where I’m pitted against someone else in a way that requires physical (rather than mental) response. I still enjoy story and puzzle games, and in a way that’s how I still approach online games. I would much rather spend hours working through a quest than 5 minutes in combat against another player. I still get lost in simulation type games, obsessing over them until I’ve gotten them beaten. And I like being able to sit down at the computer when I’ve got less than half an hour and playing through a few levels of a puzzle game. I tend not to like first-person shooter type games, or anything with person to person violence, so I steer away from them unless they are fantasy based settings. All in all, I enjoy computer gaming so much that my life feels incomplete somehow when my computer is down.
