LONDON, Aug 1 — A selection of recent free to mid-price games for the relaxing holidaymaker, whether travelling or at home. Today, a pair of Rayman games full of colour, sound, speed and carefully weighted challenge.
Rayman Legends (console & pc)
Platforms: 360, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, WinPC, XBO
Aggregate ratings (Legends): Metacritic - 90, Gamerankings - 89, ReviewTrax - Excellent (Vita: Good), Allgame - 4.5/5
Rayman Fiesta Run (mobile)
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8
Aggregate ratings: Metacritic - 86, Gamerankings - 87, ReviewTrax - Good, Allgame - 4/5
Well and truly back on the scene after a lengthy hiatus, the games' jump'n'run action can be found in “Rayman Legends” and “Rayman Fiesta Run,” both worth checking out each in their own right.
Animated with a vibrancy and joy, afloat on a stellar soundtrack, and wearing curtains in his hair like they never went out of style, Rayman jumps and whizzes his way through “Rayman Legends” and “Rayman Fiesta Run” like there's no tomorrow.
Both are sequels, to the excellent “Rayman Origins” and “Rayman Jungle Run” respectively, but add enough novelty into the mix for veterans and first-timers alike.
“Legends” takes players through a whirlwind of colour, sound, and — at times — excruciatingly challenging level design, but with an exacting precision to the way it's laid out, there's always a method to the madness, even if you and your friends'll get a blistered thumb or two on the way to completion.
“Fiesta,” meanwhile, takes the fruitful endless runner concept and places an end in sight, transplanting the same carnival of music and visuals from its bigger console and computer sibling and placing even weightier emphasis on split-second reaction times by nature of its genre choice.
Fans await news of further entries to the “Rayman” series, while staff on “Rayman Legends” contributed to historical tale “Valiant Hearts” and director Michel Ancel is thought to be developing the long-awaited action adventure “Beyond Good & Evil 2” for the newest tier of consoles.
Official websites: raymanlegends.com, ubi.com/US/Games/Info.aspx?pId=12045. — AFP-Relaxnews
