Review: Rayman Origins (PS3)

Incredible platformer, though not very gender sensitive

I’m a huge fan of platformers. Heck, most folks that grew up with a NES or Genesis are the most familiar with the genre as that was the bread and butter of the day: Sonic, Mario, Ristar, Shinobi, Adventure Island, Castlevania and so forth. So let’s talk about one of the best modern platformers: Rayman Origins.

The plot behind Origins is rather silly: Rayman and friends are napping and their snores wake up the Livid Dead (not that there are many zombie enemies in the game) and kidnap his friends.  From there, it’s just a light-hearted adventure to save the dreaming world.

But we need to talk about the elephants in room: gender roles and the enforcement of them. What am I talking about? The first level of each area consists of Rayman [and friends] saving one of the big breasted fairies who can’t save themselves.  And then when she is released, her body is on display. This wouldn’t be a problem, or as big as one, if they could be saved by a woman. While some of the Teensies are androgynous enough (yea!), there’s no female characters at the start: you have to unlock the Teensie Princess. Thus, it can argued that men are the savers/rescuers while women are damsels. (See some of Feminist Frequency’s videos if you don’t believe me.) Those scenes give the game a very heterosexual vibe in contrast to the silly and carefree vibes that the rest of the game exudes. I don’t want this to turn into a discussion on body image issues (rock what you have), to me it represents what a good “woman” is supposed to be: classically attractive, play the support role, and define oneself by others.

But this doesn’t mean the game isn’t fun. This is, I would argue, better platforming than what the current Mario games have done. First of all, forget worrying about lives as they are unlimited and checkpoints are frequent.  This allowed Ubisoft more freedom to create creative and tougher levels than the aforementioned game. Secondly, the platforming is always doing something different in each area: shrink down to a size of a flea, float along musical notes and air, slip and slide on ice while breaking ice, and run along the walls. Then the game shakes things up with a shooter level.

And the thing is, it works brilliantly most of the time. There’s no need to worry about players taking up extra space as everyone can stand in the same exact place. Furthermore, characters can build character towers and swings to conquer challenges. While there’s no online multiplayer, multiplayer with a physical person  is always more fun and family/friends can easily join and leave. Adding to the fun is that a character can be “saved” by smacking the character’s expanded body, bringing that character back into play. This does mean that [more experienced] player(s) can be brats and ignore the player in need of help.

There are two main problems with the game: first, collecting the requisite lums (pronounced “looms”) is a pain as the requirement is quite high and requires a fair amount of perfection. It also doesn’t help that certain levels later in the game are easier than the earlier levels. The second problem are the endurance runs. While the main levels are perfectly balanced for single and multiplayer, the endurance levels are not. The game follows whomever is up front, leaving the other player(s) behind in the dust and causing defeat. Thus, there’s no chance of survival for said player(s) compared to the rest of the game.

Sonically, the game has a cheerful and catchy soundtrack –just like the art style. Surprisingly, it was done by a symphony in France. While they may not have the same name drop quality as over here in the states (NY Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra), they rival it. My only complaint is that it can be too catchy and can overstay its welcome.

Thus, Rayman Origins is a game I easily recommend for fans of platforming. Few games in this day and age ultilize creative level design like Origins. Yes, there are some flaws in this game. However, they don’t over power it. I lucked out and found it for $15 –which is a steal, especially since I’ve seen online and at Best Buy for $20. Regardless, give it a try.