Rayman: Origins

Overview

Created by the forest nymphs, Rayman springs to life and is unexpectedly out of control. He quickly uses his detached head and hair as a fan to blow air up a nymph's skirt (to her aggravation and awkward satisfaction) and continues running amok until he is literally slapped in the face by his Double -- his blood brother, his id -- a Globox who somehow has a magical connection to him. The two are an inseparable pair and look to cause general mayhem around this new Rayman universe.

Gameplay

Rayman: Origins's gameplay is focused on jumping, gliding, slapping and climbing. Enemies and obstacles are either deftly avoided or quickly dealt with and include some familiar elements from Rayman and Rayman 2. However, there are also levels that focus on side-scrolling shooter action. At the end of each level, Rayman (or whomever the player chooses to be) will free some Electoons from a cage, though in most of the normal levels there is also two other hidden cages throughout the level. Additional Electoons may also be earned when the player collects enough Lums, or by completing the level in a given amount of time. The collection of Electoons unlocks playable characters and Treasure Hunt levels. Theese levels feature Rayman chasing a treasure chest through tightly scripted sequences, that are both chaotic and exhilarating, and includes elements such as falling boulders that block the players path, and a pirate ship that shoots the platforms from under the players feet. Aside from normal levels and Treasure Hunt levels, the game also contains "Shoot'em up" sequences and boss battles, all with multiple side missions for getting extra Electoons. The games featured co-op gameplay is mostly non-hostile, though the players can slap each other. Up to four players can play together in a "hop-in/hop-out" fashion.

Levels

Jibberish Jungle

• It's a Jungle Out There...
• Geyser Blowout
• Can't Catch Me!
• Punching Plateaus
• Go With The Flow
• Swinging Caves
• Over the Rainbow
• Hi-Ho Moskito!

Desert of Dijiridoos

• Crazy Bouncing
• Best Original Score
• Cacophonic Chase
• Wind or Lose
• Skyward Sonata
• No Turning Back
• Shooting Me Softly

Gourmand Land

• Polar Pursuit
• Dashing Thru the Snow
• Sink or Swim
• Piping Hot!
• Mending the Rift
• Aim for the Eel!

Sea of Serendipity

• Port 'O Panic
• Swimming with Stars
• Pirate's Treasure!
• Freaking Flipper
• Bad Bubbles and Beyond
• Fire When Wetty

Mystical Pique

• Moseying the Mountain
• Mystical Munkeys
• Tricky Treasure Temple
• Way of the Electoons
• Golly G. Golem

Moody Clouds

• Riding the Storm
• On Top of Old Smokey
• Mecha No Mistake!
• Tricky Temple Too
• The Reveal
• Get Away!
• Shoot for the Stars

The Land of the Livid Dead

UBIart Framework

The UBIart Framework logo

At Ubisoft's E3 2010 press conference, Michel Ancel revealed that the game is being developed by a small team (5-6 employees) using a new backend called UBIart Framework. It is described by the UBIart blog as a toolset designed to "limit the repetitive tasks to keep the team as small as possible and to keep it happy." Somewhat like the tools given to players in LittleBigPlanet, it is as yet unclear as to how much freedom Rayman Origins users will have to create their own levels but user generated content is definitely a big part of the game's feature set.