Rayman Raving Rabbids 2

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 is the second installment of the Raving Rabbids party franchise, in which the Rabbids attempt to invade Earth and have set up headquarters near a local shopping mall. Players have the option to play as a Rabbid or as Rayman, who has disguised himself as a Rabbid to infiltrate their plans. The game features 54 minigames. This is the first Rayman game to have an E10+ rating by the ESRB,[1] a greater emphasis on simultaneous multiplayer gameplay compared to the original game, and online leaderboards.[2] It is followed by Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party.

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
European Wii Version Boxart of the Game.
Developer(s)Ubisoft Paris
Ubisoft Casablanca (DS)
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
SeriesRaving Rabbids
Rayman 
EngineJade
Platform(s)Wii, Nintendo DS (and Microsoft Windows in Russia, Poland, Canada, & China)
ReleaseWii
  • NA: November 13, 2007
  • AU: November 15, 2007
  • EU: November 16, 2007
  • JP: December 6, 2007
NDS
  • NA: November 13, 2007
  • EU: November 16, 2007
  • AU: November 22, 2007
Genre(s)Party
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Minigames in Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 are played by entering a mode known as 'Trips', which is divided into five regions of the Earth: USA, Europe, Asia, South America, and Tropics. Each region has 9 minigames, 5 of which are randomly chosen each time the player begins a trip. Completing a trip unlocks those minigames, which can later be played individually through Free Play mode. Additionally, players can use a Trip Customization mode to create their own trips using the available minigames.

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 features a wide variety of minigames that focus on different themes and use different control schemes. In rhythm music games, players use selective instruments (singing, guitar, drum, keyboard, etc.) to perform as part of a Rabbid band. Each minigame can be played with up to four players at once, as either Rabbids or Rayman.

Shooting games, which in the first Rayman Raving Rabbids were scattered among the regular levels, have now been moved to a separate area called the Shooting Arcade, where they can be played after completion of Trips. These first-person rail shooter games utilize real footage of locations around the world with Rabbids digitally inserted. As with other games in the Raving Rabbids series, plungers serve a primary role as ammunition.

The game has been released on the Wii and Nintendo DS. PC versions exist, but are available only in Russia, Poland & China. In the Russian version there are only 16 mini-games. In the Poland & China version there are 4 parts of 16 mini-games (4 mini-games in one part).

Character customization

Raving Rabbids 2 features an ability to create both custom Rayman outfits as well as custom Rabbids. These outfits are often parodies or references to famous movie or video game characters, including Indiana Jones, Spider-Man, Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sam Fisher, Ken Masters from Street Fighter, a Mantel Trooper from the PlayStation 3 game Haze, Sailor Moon, Command and Conquer: Generals, a Krusty Krew hat from the TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Friday the 13th and the Altair costume from another Ubisoft game, Assassin's Creed that often referred by fans as "The Bunny Creed".[3]

Plot

Characters

Rayman and the Rabbids return in this game. Players take the role of Rayman in Trips mode, and have the option of playing as either Rayman or a Rabbid in Free Play mode. It is possible to unlock costumes for both Rayman and Rabbids by completing high scores in both minigames and shooting games, or by shooting a specific Rabbid in each shooting game. Occasionally, when the player beats a high score, a new Rabbid will join their party as a play-and-customizable character.

Story

The game starts with Rayman infiltrating a mall overrun by Rabbids. As he's about to sneak in, he disguises himself wearing two socks on his head, a headband with two makeshift eyes, and inhaling helium into his lungs (in order to disguise his voice, thus blending in more with the other Rabbids). He then picks up a soda can and throws it to distract two guard Rabbids and steals one of their plungers. Rayman climbs to the roof of the facility and peers through a skylight, where he observes the Rabbids watching a montage of everyday human life. Seconds later, one of the Rabbids jerks its head, noticing Rayman's presence. Accidentally, he falls into the mall and is spotted. A Rabbid with split color eyes (also known as Professor Barranco 3) walks up to him and whips out a European Wii copy of the first Raving Rabbids game. Taking a look at the cover, it seems to recognize Rayman. Thinking quickly, Rayman screams "BWAAAAAAAAH!", convincing the Rabbids that he is one of their own. Rayman and the Rabbids are then led into an airborne submarine, taking him to a location for invasion.

Nintendo DS story

The Nintendo DS version of the game features a similar storyline with a few differences. The Wii version shows how Rayman invades the Rabbids HQ in disguise, while the DS storyline explains how Rayman followed the Rabbids to Earth and learns on how the Rabbids plan to act like humans. He then decides to help the humans by following the Rabbids on each area of the world (i.e. USA, Europe, Asia, etc.) by collecting information and evidence on the Rabbids antics and behavior. While remarking that the Rabbids are too stupid to understand the world and its culture, he still knows that they are a dangerous threat. He then gives the info to the humans to help prevent any more Rabbid attacks in the future at the end of story mode, which happened again.

Development

Previews and marketing

The original teaser trailer is a parody of the trailer for the 2007 Transformers film. As with other games in the Raving Rabbids series, Ubisoft released a number of humorous promotional videos entitled "Around the World", featuring Rabbids in a number of locations such as Japan; France; and Leipzig, Germany. Featuring the music of Around the World by Daft Punk.

Reception

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 received mixed to positive reviews as well as slightly less praise in comparison to its predecessor, with a 68% GameRankings average[9] (Rayman Raving Rabbids had a 76% GameRankings average). IGN dismissed the game as disappointing, as they felt the core games were less enjoyable than those in the first.[8] GameSpot stated that despite not being nearly as captivating as the first game, it also has its quality moments. The following ratings were delivered for the game:

References
  1. "GC '07: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Multiplayer Hands-On". wii. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  2. De'ath, Luke. "Ubisoft's 2007 Wii Schedule". Wii Monster. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  3. Bowskill, Thomas. "Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 review". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  4. "Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii) at Game Rankings". Game Rankings. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  5. "Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (DS) at Game Rankings". Game Rankings. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  6. "Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii: 2007) at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  7. Matt Miller. "Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii: 2007) at Game Informer". Game Informer. Archived from the original on December 3, 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  8. Matt Cassamassina. "Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 review (Wii: 2007) at IGN". IGN. Retrieved September 13, 2007.
  9. http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/939473-rayman-raving-rabbids-2/index.html
  10. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 review on GameSpy
  11. on NintendoLife
  12. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 on X-play
  13. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 review from Nintendo Official Magazine
  14. "Nintendo Le Magazine Officiel #62, December 2007, p.97
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