Rayman Origins’ First Episode Release This Christmas
Rayman Origins
Rayman Origins is an attempt by Ubisoft to pay homage to its roots. This latest entry in the franchise will tell the story of an “uncontrollable eggplant” in a crazy world and is slated for release this Christmas on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Only the first episode of Rayman Origins is expected to be released on HD consoles this year. Next year, more iterations of the Rayman Origins will pop up as more episodes are created for the year 2011. The UBIart Framework, a program used to create and edit levels and characters, used to create the latest Rayman game, will be released as an open source platform next year.
While the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are confirmed platforms for Rayman, Ubisoft’s official Rayman Origins website expresses interest in possibly bringing the game to the Wii, PC, iPad and Nintendo 3DS.
This is relieving news to those whom are retro gamers. Rayman used to be one of the best of its genre, one of the most renown platformers to date. The issue that many are having with the idea regarding the development of this game, and games to come, in this franchise, is how it is developed in episodes. On the Xbox Live Arcade, episodic content is often short lived and seemingly lazily developed. Since development costs are lower for a game such as this, it would be a good idea for Ubisoft to put forth an effort to make the game longer and content-rich. The game has not been released yet, but looking at the trend of all the Xbox Live Arcade games available, it would be no surprise.
I do thank Ubisoft for taking a step back into the 2D genre. 2D games have died off largely a couple of years ago with the release of 3D technology into video game systems. However, I feel that the death was vain. 2D games, especially in HD, still have a lot to offer. Some of the action and difficulty found in adventure, platforming and beat-em-up games cannot be replicated by 3D games properly. The insane amount of combos that can be achieved in a game like Dungeon Fighter Online is next to impossible to incorporate into a 3D game.
However, Rayman Origins is doing a very good thing. Ubisoft’s decision to pay homage to its roots and bring back the 2D platforming genre is cherished.You can find out more about Rayman Origins at the official blog.
