Old game heroes never die, they just…. get revamped. Sometimes this is for the best, others not so much. In the case of Many of yesteryear’s pixelated icons, the inevitable return to the latest gaming age can prove itself a horrible mistake, One need only look at the legion re-iterations of a certain blue Hedgehog to see how not to approach this problem.
So it was with no small amount of happiness that we awarded the previous re-imagining of the Rayman series, Rayman Origins the top score of 5/5. Even better, that was simply on the basis of the console editions of the game. The later released PS Vita edition took everything that was great about Origins and adapted it for the portable smaller screen as well as implementing a host of touchscreen features to make it even more special on that device. It still stands as an essential purchase on the Vita, and it came as no surprise when Ubisoft announced their showcase Wii U release title would be the follow-up.
The crazy crew from the previous Rayman adventures has returned. True to the usual form, there isn’t a hugely complex story involved. Considering the plot of Rayman Origins revolved around The Livid Dead waging war on the world on account of Rayman’s loud snoring. Shades of Norse mythology aside, we can predict that there aren’t going to be long passages of complex reading and history involved in Legends. Instead this time Rayman and his mischievous pals have found a series of strange painting deep within an enchanted forest. Upon leaping into these painting, the crew can adventure to their wee hearts’ content and collect precious Lums, whilst saving each other from captivity. So pretty much business as usual.
Much like Origins, Legends has the ability for four players to lump into the daftness at the same time, but this time with an added bonus of one player having the option touse the Wii u Gamepad’s touchscreen to control the character of Murfy, the grinning green sprite. Murfy has the unique ability to effect the environment around Rayman, Globox and chums, to aid them by pulling levers, turning cranks and splatting bugs. It’s a system that worked brilliantly when we got our hands on the game, and anyone who has played Origins will be glad to know it’s as intuitive as everything that appeared there.
For the players who have no friends, the game still includes this fun, as the control will switch to Murfy solely so the fun doesn’t get skipped. In practice we here at SquareGo can legitimately see there being a lot of fighting over who gets to use the Gamepad. Still, play nice kids.
Whilst all of this news is surely whetting appetites, it’s unfortunately the case that the ALREADY delayed game, which was originally slated for a November 2012 release has been AGAIN delayed to September 2013, in order that the PS3 and XBOX 360 editions can be released simultaneously with the Wii U version. Sad news for Wii U owners, as the game is presumable already finished and ready to go. Still, this gives some hope that there may be Microsoft Surface and PS Vita compatibility with at least some of the functions seen in the Wii U version. We’ll naturally keep you posted.
