POSTED 3/2/12


RAYMAN ORIGINS VITA

Ubisoft

We doff our hats to Ubisoft – or we would if we actually had any atop our bonces - for it appears that they’re an equal opportunity employer. Rayman has no arms or legs, yet he’s become one of their greatest gaming ambassadors. Clap!

This 2D platformer shoom back to his early days was one of the tastiest treats on bigger gaming machines in 2011. It’s now been Vita-lised, losing little in translation and gaining other bits. Clicking here will tell you more about the game generally – but please come back and read the rest of this afterwards, even if we’re not quite sure what we’re going to fill the space with yet.

Umm... cartoons are ace. In the ocular excitation stakes, Rayman Origins pulls off the remarkable feat of looking like something you’d TV slouch on Saturday mornings, rather than something all pixely and gamelike. Think Dragon’s Lair, but actually playable. As any cartoon buff will tell you – especially those into the genius of Warner Brothers - visuals are important, but sound is vital. Whilst there are no Mel Blancesque vocal amazingasms here, the aural ingredients add to the experience majestically, ye varmints.

Can you tell that we lurve this game?

OK, so multiplayer’s vamoosed, but that’s it for blah news. Perhaps as compensation, or perhaps just throwing Vita’s touchy-feely things a bone, there are now hidden objects to extract during your exploits, and you can zoom in and out of the screen for finicky bits – very handy when some levels start with Rayman making Inch High Private Eye look like the Iron Giant.

Whining that there’s nothing like Mario on Sony’s tactility machine? There totally is, he’s just disguised as a peculiar French limbless thingummy. If you only buy no games for your Vita then you’re weird; if you only buy one, then it should be Rayman Origins.

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