RABBIDS INVASION: THE INTERACTIVE TV SHOW (PS4)
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Publisher: Ubisoft.
Developer: Ubisoft Barcelona. Released: November 2014. Genre: Party. Other versions: XONE; X360; PC. Posted 16th May 2015. By Chris Weatherley © 2015 |
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Video game spin-offs are rare breed indeed, the Resident Evil and Street Fighter examples prove that diluting the source material is not always the best way forward. Franchises like Mario Kart and Final Fantasy are usually more welcomed, but its murky waters when you get a motion controlled game, taken from a TV series, based on a spin-off, which in turn stems from a classic PlayStation title. In this case, Rayman. Those damn Rabbids are back and gracing the current generation systems with a hodgepodge of cartoon reels and interactive elements. Potentially fine entertainment for the kids, but do Ubisoft pull this tenuous release off?
Such with many surreal cartoon creations, the Rabbids are zany, accident-prone and principally insane rabbit characters lifted from the Rayman franchise. However, many of the games they have been involved in have not been held in high acclaim. Playable yes, but nothing special like the franchise they originated from. Ubisoft did find they were popular with children however, so ran a dedicated TV network cartoon show, Rabbids Invasion. These same shows get translated onto the PS4’s hardware, whereas the players can interact with the cartoon shorts to build up points to beat each other. This interaction has no effect on the actual outcome of the stories within each cartoon however, and that’s only the first of the negative points.
Such with many surreal cartoon creations, the Rabbids are zany, accident-prone and principally insane rabbit characters lifted from the Rayman franchise. However, many of the games they have been involved in have not been held in high acclaim. Playable yes, but nothing special like the franchise they originated from. Ubisoft did find they were popular with children however, so ran a dedicated TV network cartoon show, Rabbids Invasion. These same shows get translated onto the PS4’s hardware, whereas the players can interact with the cartoon shorts to build up points to beat each other. This interaction has no effect on the actual outcome of the stories within each cartoon however, and that’s only the first of the negative points.
The most disturbing bondage outfits we've ever, ever seen
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Not quite Formula One
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Using the PlayStation’s EyeToy camera, players have to copy movements and actions of the Rabbids at key points in each of the short films, where the cartoon pauses and a mini game starts. These games can involve a variety of moves whether it be simple running on the spot, climbing, jumping and so on. These shows are selected from a simple map of a town populated by humans and Rabbids. Now, as stand alone cartoons go these are rather neat. Meekly amusing and rendered wonderfully, they are simple but fun, with the odd adult reference sandwiched in for good measure. However, the game aspect is minimal to say the least and has a host of problems which start off as mildly annoying before reaching hair-pulling levels of frustration. This leads to the naturally short attention span of a 7 year-old to wane quickly, and this is mostly due to the random functionality, or non-functionality of the motion tracking.
When a mini-game starts, an old lady appears to tell you the rules of the game. She cannot be bypassed, and has one of THE most annoying voices ever put into a cartoon game. Once this is over, the camera has to ‘find’ you. This happens on the start of every mini-game. Going strictly by the directions within the help screen by the letter, the camera can have problems firstly finding you, and if it does you will be lucky if it keeps a lock. Even sometimes focusing on strange objects within your room for no reason. Playing this with my daughters, it consistently kept losing track of one or two of us, and at several intervals tracked a coat hanging on my back wall! Changing the lighting, position and space area didn’t seem to help, and as all requirements were fulfilled by the game’s instructions, this is not user error. This led to my children getting so frustrated they couldn’t play correctly, and basically wanted to just sit and watch the cartoons play out. Added to this poor motion tracking are the movements you have to pull off to score points. Often directed to perform one action, after practice you find the action needed to activate the points bar is entirely different, or sometimes impossible!
This fundamentally puts the playability of this game at nearly zero, as it just becomes random chance of whether the camera follows you or not, and if it can, the movements still are not recognised half of the time. Apart from instantly taking the fun away, this always presents a problem of progression in the game. Set point targets need to be achieved to access a new level and with the haphazard nature of scoring, this becomes tiresome, as do the constant notifications of DLC. Yes, you can purchase each level if you can’t unlock it. What a surprise. This reeks of exploitation, with kids getting annoyed at not playing the next cartoon bugging their parents to simple buy the next stage at stupidly inflated prices. Ugh!
When a mini-game starts, an old lady appears to tell you the rules of the game. She cannot be bypassed, and has one of THE most annoying voices ever put into a cartoon game. Once this is over, the camera has to ‘find’ you. This happens on the start of every mini-game. Going strictly by the directions within the help screen by the letter, the camera can have problems firstly finding you, and if it does you will be lucky if it keeps a lock. Even sometimes focusing on strange objects within your room for no reason. Playing this with my daughters, it consistently kept losing track of one or two of us, and at several intervals tracked a coat hanging on my back wall! Changing the lighting, position and space area didn’t seem to help, and as all requirements were fulfilled by the game’s instructions, this is not user error. This led to my children getting so frustrated they couldn’t play correctly, and basically wanted to just sit and watch the cartoons play out. Added to this poor motion tracking are the movements you have to pull off to score points. Often directed to perform one action, after practice you find the action needed to activate the points bar is entirely different, or sometimes impossible!
This fundamentally puts the playability of this game at nearly zero, as it just becomes random chance of whether the camera follows you or not, and if it can, the movements still are not recognised half of the time. Apart from instantly taking the fun away, this always presents a problem of progression in the game. Set point targets need to be achieved to access a new level and with the haphazard nature of scoring, this becomes tiresome, as do the constant notifications of DLC. Yes, you can purchase each level if you can’t unlock it. What a surprise. This reeks of exploitation, with kids getting annoyed at not playing the next cartoon bugging their parents to simple buy the next stage at stupidly inflated prices. Ugh!
Remember: whoever loses interest first loses. Or perhaps wins
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"A bit like the other screenshots? Dunno what yer talkin' bout mate"
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On the presentational aspects, Rabbids Invasion doesn’t fair that much better than the mostly non-present gameplay. The cartoon shows themselves are nicely done as already mentioned, being true to the original TV show; but the menus and game segments are distinctly reminiscent of a couple of generations before. It’s nothing the PS2 or Xbox couldn’t have handled with ease. Audio is also hit and miss; some nice child-like tunes play and are easy on the ear, some okay selection sounds also, but the constant Rabbids cry of ‘Bwaaahhh!’ and the granny’s stereotypical NY-styled voice get very annoying, very quickly. At least the reproduction sounds of the cartoons are good.
So is this really a game at all? For me, no chance. My children got continually frustrated with its lack of cohesiveness, the broken up mini-games, the unskippable on-screen help and the non-responsive and random motion control feedback. The blatant DLC windows add to this from an adult point of view also. Honestly, if this was a disc full of Rabbids cartoons it would be fine, but as a game its poor, cheap and an excuse to drain cash from parents wanting to please their children. Possibly one of the worst games to embarrass the PS4’s hardware. One word can only sum this up... Bwaahhhhh!!!
So is this really a game at all? For me, no chance. My children got continually frustrated with its lack of cohesiveness, the broken up mini-games, the unskippable on-screen help and the non-responsive and random motion control feedback. The blatant DLC windows add to this from an adult point of view also. Honestly, if this was a disc full of Rabbids cartoons it would be fine, but as a game its poor, cheap and an excuse to drain cash from parents wanting to please their children. Possibly one of the worst games to embarrass the PS4’s hardware. One word can only sum this up... Bwaahhhhh!!!
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VERDICT
Visual: 6/10
Audio: 5/10 Gameplay: 1/10 Longevity: 3/10 OVERALL: 3/10 |