I was at the library the other day and what should I see near the movies? Video games. And not just video games, games for the Xbox One and PS4. And not just X1 games, but Rayman Legends. And the grin on my face was as wide as could be, just thinking about all of the fun I had with Rayman Origins.
A few hours in, I can tell the game has a ton of content. The controls felt familiar and tight. Platformers typically frustrate me. But the light-hearted, bright art of Rayman and the generous checkpoint system create an inviting, one-more-try effect where success and progress never feel unattainable.
Like the previous version, a palatable learning curve for even the early available levels exemplifies gaming at its finest: the feeling of achievement because an obstacle or level has been overcome through practice and experience. While ultimately, I think maybe it's that lucky go that succeeds, that lucky go's foundation are attempt after attempt, learning what works and what doesn't, even if execution is not always completely perfect. I found, even in the early going, I was replaying levels. I wanted to "gold cup" each, trying to maximize my lum collection, and to do so required some tricky, timed maneuvers that called upon some Origins skills.
The game offers multiple types of levels as far as I've seen. The forced scrolling stages are present and the familiar, frantic sprint through a level was both tense and welcome. Legends offers online daily challenges to see how far through a level one can go. Further incentive to play and play a lot.
If there's one minor quibble I have, it's that there are some obvious remnants from the game's prior WiiU exclusive design. I remember it was the game I was most excited to try at the WiiU demo stand though I feared how it would affect a favorite title. There are portions that would take advantage of the WiiU's motion and touch controls available via WiiU control pad that have been substituted with button pushes ("B" and bumpers). To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the WiiU control portions but that may be stubborn, old man-itis more than anything. The effect here? It certainly adds a layer of complexity to sections of the game that already require a fair amount of dexterity.
Therein was my biggest fear regarding Legends. I loved Origins so much, I was worried that the new game would be too complex or less fun. I didn't want my failure at the new game to affect the joy found in the previous. So far, it seems like I can rest easy... though the game is anything but.
No comments:
Post a Comment