Rayman has returned! Last seen in 2003’s Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havok, not much was known about Rayman’s next installment. Series creator Michel Ancel began work on the next Rayman title while finishing the game adaptation of King Kong, but the wait is now over, and Rayman: Raving Rabbids is finally on store shelves, but the experience this time around is slightly different than what Rayman followers have come to expect. The plot picks up in traditional wacky Rayman fashion as the Ubisoft mascot is found sitting peacefully amidst a friendly picnic with a group of Globox youths, but it isn’t long before they are all accosted by a group of sinister bunnies. Thrown into a jail cell, Rayman is forced to participate in events that only crazy bunnies could think of in order to win his freedom.

As mentioned, gameplay in Rayman isn’t consistent with the previous entries into the series. Gone is the platforming of yore, replaced by a plethora of minigames that represent the crazed machinations of the Rabbids. Some favorites are the cow tossing, carrot juice stand, and plunger shooting segments. Each day, Rayman has access to three different events that each must be completed before unlocking the day’s fourth minigame trial. Completing each day nabs you a wonderful plunger for all your hard work for which, luckily, Rayman has plans.

It’s immediately evident that in developing Rayman: Raving Rabbids, the team at Ubisoft has worked overtime in devising numerous methods in which to take advantage of the Wii’s unique controller and nunchuck attachment. Some minigames use the remote like a pointer, while others have you rocking the remote back and forth in combination with the nunchuck. Each is unique in its control and the breadth of the collection is thankfully diverse enough to keep the whole experience from becoming stale. While the Wii isn’t the most powerful system out of the current big three, Rayman has been perfectly modeled and the environments and animations shine. Since Ancel and his team are very good at pushing their titles artistically, this title doesn’t suffer visually at all.

And even if this were not the case, entertainment is still the most important common denominator with regards to video games, and Rayman Raving Rabbids is one hell of a fun game. While the idea that the game is simply a collection of minigames might jade some existing Rayman fans, give it time and you’ll find yourself highly enjoying it both for its addictive gameplay as well as its hilarious humor.

It is an unfortunate note that the game doesn’t support progressive scan, that some of the later minigames are either not as fun or simply rehashes of others, and that the ending is rather tame, but these are really minor issues when considering this game’s overall value. Anyone who puts a few minutes with Rayman will have a hard time walking away without having smiled or laughed, and given that the bulk of the gameplay is so incredibly infectious simply adds up to one of the best launch offerings for the Wii.

Score: 84%