rayman

Restart until you get it right

Rayman Jungle Run is an excellent single-touch control running game that keeps you on your toes as you try to collect all the coins (Lums) and attempt to complete perfect levels. Powered by the same UbiArt Framework engine that brought you Rayman Origins, Rayman Jungle Run features excellent graphics and a simplified control system for a great all-around game.

The controls couldn't be any easier. Simply touch to jump and touch-and-hold to fly for a short period of time. But even with such easy controls, Rayman Jungle Run is incredibly challenging. Rayman runs automatically once you start a level, … Read more

The legend is back! Rayman's new adventure on the Android scene

The legendary hero is back! And he's tackling the mobile platforming scene with Rayman Jungle Run. Selling for a little less than tree fiddy, will Jungle Run do justice to the Rayman series? All you have to do is read the next paragraphs to find out.

Installation is relatively fast for such a gorgeous game. It's essentially a Running game retaining the look of Rayman Origin.You'll lead our hero through a gauntlet to try and collect Lums (firefly-like creatures). The goal is to collect the maximum amount on each level by employing Rayman's various skills … Read more

Ubisoft tool brings 2D art into video games

Unlike many video game studios that hire animators and 3D artists with backgrounds in game design, Ubisoft reports that it can now recruit traditional painters, illustrators, and graphic designers to design a video game world.

The game studio did just that in creating Rayman Origins, a game for which it translated traditional 2D art into video game scenes via its new digital-art tool, UbiArts. Rather than having to reinterpret 2D art into 3D-rendered imagery, UbiArts lets 2D talent directly create a game.

Rayman Origins, set for a November 15 release, is the latest game in the long-running franchise. Rayman was Ubisoft's first hero and the first major franchise for the publisher in 1995. Since then, Ubisoft has released three more games in the franchise and positioned it as an art-centric game with picturesque graphics and environments.

According to UbiArts inventor and Rayman creator Michel Ancel, Ubisoft wanted to return to the roots of visual creation.

"We wanted to work with people who haven't typically worked in the gaming industry to get a fresh perspective," Ancel said from France. "So we found artists of all kinds--people in animation studios, painters--and we used a scanner to take their home drawings and put them directly into an engine." … Read more

What was missing from the Nintendo E3 press conference

The Nintendo press conference at E3 2008 just ended and we're left scratching our heads. While we were glad to see the announcement of titles like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party, hardcore gamers loyal to the Nintendo brand were completely left in the dust. There was no talk of any first-party Nintendo games beyond the Wii-branded Wii Sports Resort and Wii Music. There was absolutely no mention of new franchises like Kid Icarus or even anything from the Zelda or Mario camp. This has everyone in the office wondering, "Where are the … Read more

What's a Wii without the games?

I know you have one, hidden under the bed or tucked away in the dark recesses of the closet so your friends don't see. That's right, I'm talking about the Wii. If you don't have The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, you're in the bottom 25 percent who haven't jumped all over this title. For a lighter experience, get yourself a copy of Excite Truck. While it doesn't have the most flashy title, the game is addictively fun and is an excellent showcase of Nintendo's new control scheme. You might as well … Read more