The Rayman series has been through a whole lot of changes throughout its lifetime. It was once a 2D platformer, then it was a 3D platformer, and recently it has become one of the standard series for minigame collections. Rayman himself doesn’t show up much anymore, but I’m forced to be happy with the rabid rabbits that seem to have taken over the world in the games.

In this particular entry, the rabbids seem to have gotten sucked inside the television, and the minigames they now take part in are take-offs of well-known TV shows. Once you get into the game there is a TV schedule for each day, with each time representing a different minigame. You simply have to complete enough minigames for one day to unlock the next day.

The big deal this time around is that the game makes use of the balance board. Don’t worry, if you don’t have Wii Fit you can still partake in all of the minigames here, although the balance board, where included, does make several of the games a whole lot more fun.

Overall, there are over 50 minigames included. I am happy to say that they are a lot of fun overall, definitely more fun than last year’s entry, which were solid in their own right. Here is the link to my review of last year’s entry: http://www.game-over.com/reviews/wii/Rayman_Raving_Rabbids.html. You’ll be using both the Wii Remote and the Nunchuck to perform all kinds of actions. You’ll be posing for pictures, shooting things, dressing up rabbids to different themes, driving motorbikes, and much, much more. You certainly will not be at a loss for variety. For those rhythm and music junkies out there, you’ll be pleased to know that you’ll get the chance to shake away, and for the on-rails shooter fans, there’s a little something for you as well. All in all we were very pleased with the variety.

If you know anything about the series at all, then you know it’s at its best when played with friends. You can play by yourself, sure, but the only pull to play more than once is to get higher and higher scores, which will get old pretty quickly. Some games will have you and your buds playing at once, and some will have you taking turns. You can set “session” times, which is a nice addition as well. This basically lets you set the amount of time you want to play for, if you want to decide beforehand.

As for the visuals of the game, it’s pretty much what you’ve come to expect from the series. The game has a very cartoony, cute, playful look to it. It is not the type of game that will blow your socks off with high-end production graphics, but it gets the job done. The sounds effects are virtually the same, with the rabbids all sounding like whiny yet cute little kids, and the cartoony sound effects, while sometimes annoying, satisfying the playful mood.

I can very easily recommend this title to any fan of the series, or to anyone who enjoys playing fun minigames, alone or with friends. It’s cute, funny, clever, and the controls are all very responsive and tight for a collection like this with so many different games to build. So, if you’ve got the itch for some light-hearted minigame fun, go out and pick this one up.