Back to the Origins: Rayman

When you hear 'Rayman' you may think about his never-ending escapades with rabbits, who are equally as deformed as our titular character; Rayman. If you thought that, then you don't even know Rayman. He may not be as recognizable as Sonic or Mario, but Rayman certainly has become somewhat of an icon in the gaming world.

Now me and Rayman go way back. I'm talking about how he used to teach me such basic things like Mathematics and English on the sheer prowess of Windows 3.1! And, fortunately for me, there was even more that Rayman could help me learn! Branching out to explain the French language through his 'educational adventures'. If you were to get an answer wrong you were punished by watching Rayman die and flinching in shock because it happens so fast! Though my sarcasm may not be obvious to some, the origins of Rayman do not rest in the hands of 'Maths & English with Rayman!'. So don't worry, you wont have to solve those quadratic equations to beat the next boss.

While on the outside, Rayman appears to be a failing temporary teacher, fundamentally, on the inside, Rayman actually proved to be a pretty successful 90's platformer too! In his debut, the 2D classic, 'Rayman' managed to give me fond memories and nostalgia for the Playstation One title I once owned. In 2D, I could understand Rayman, his world was flat and in that existence his impossible body shape became possible. Overall, the game looked pretty good and hasn't aged as much as those nasty 3D games at all. Since then, Rayman has branched into extra dimensions and had multiple spin-off's. But nothing has come close to the classic gameplay of the original... not until the announcement of Rayman: Origins, of course.

Now granted, this is old news, and this game appears to be a long time coming. However, with Gamescom 2011 just around the corner, there might well be an announcement and something well looking forward to. In contrast to the way Rayman has evolved with Rayman 2 & 3, a step back to the original is most welcome. With inclusion of multiplayer modes and UbiArt Framework technology, this episodic title could return Rayman to it's former glory!

It seems that Rayman belongs in 2D, as do many other platformers. And with the artistic direction that Ubisoft has taken, Rayman: Origins may well be a great homage to the original Rayman. Hopefully, this title will be hitting the online marketplaces soon!