Rayman preview wins me back

When it was revealed that one of the most promising 3rd party Wii launch titles, Rayman, was going to be a pseudo-party game and not a platformer, I freely admit that I kind of lost heart. The screenshots were gorgeous, and I unfairly assumed that this title was going to be a platformer with some Wii-exclusive goodies thrown in. But then the rumors started, and then became fact: Rayman was a party game with more than 70 mini-games and a story mode that consisted of various tasks meant to impress your Raving Rabbid captors. But…

From 1UP: “Despite mixed reactions to Nintendo’s Wii announcements at Games Convention this week, Ubisoft isn’t letting the system escape the show without making its presence known, as Rayman Raving Rabbids is available for play behind closed doors — and it looks to be one of the strongest Wii launch games.”

They then go on to describe 10 of the mini games they were allowed to play behind closed doors by Ubisoft. What caught my attention, and as a result got me back on the wagon for this game, was that the controls were described as being capable only with the Wii. The fact that this game impressed the skeptics who were ready to dismiss this title (myself included, unfortunately) as some haphazard party game was all I needed for those lingering doubts to disappear. Rayman, you had me at hello.