Rayman M

A spin-off of the Rayman series, it features two modes, racing and battle, in which players take control of one of eighteen characters from the Rayman series. The game retains many elements from the 1999 platform game Rayman 2: The Great Escape such as the game's control system.

Rayman M
European box art
Developer(s)	Ubi Pictures Ubisoft Milan
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Director(s)	Arnaud Carrette Riccardo Lenzi
Producer(s)	Sylvain Constantin
Designer(s)	Philippe Blanchet Benoit Macon Davide Soliani
Programmer(s)	François Mahieu
Artist(s)	Jean-Marc Geffroy
Composer(s)	Claude Samard
Series	Rayman
Engine	RenderWare
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2 Windows Xbox GameCube
Release	EU: 30 November 2001 NA: 24 September 2002
Genre(s)	Party, racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Rayman M was released in Europe for the PlayStation 2 and Windows, and in North America for the GameCube and Xbox. A demake, known as Rayman Rush was released for the PlayStation in 2002. Rayman M received average reviews from critics arguing whether or not the game does stimulate it genres, with Nintendo World Report indicates that some have labeled it as a Mario Party-style game. Its demake was criticised for not maintaining the level of quality as the original game.

 

Rayman M contains two modes; racing, a two-player mode, depicted in a horizontal split-screen perspective with variety of twelve obstacles levels on foot where the player have to race around three laps against a CPU opponent, and battle, an arena-based four-player mode features deathmatch-style gameplay which is played from a third-person perspective and features two play styles; Freeze Fight, players have to collect as many "lums" within three minutes before players scored points by shooting their opponents and Total Fight, players can use unlimited number of ice bullets to freeze opponents while collect lums. The PlayStation 2 version uses a split-screen perspective, however in Windows, players will be able to play online.

The game's control system is identical to Rayman 2: The Great Escape which the only change was in tactics while players can jump, glide, strafe, fire and flip. There are twenty-nine tracks and eighteen playable characters - Rayman, Razorbeard, Globox, Henchman 800, Teensies, Tily, New Henchman and Razorbeard Wife. Both modes incorporates platform elements can be played in multiplayer with up to four players. In the Windows version, Rayman M came with two discs and the Windows version are structured different than the other version. In the battle mode, players focused on using ice shots to freeze their opponents, and they start off facing four opponents.

Rayman M was originally separated into two projects which would ended up as the game's modes; Rayman Tribe and Rayman Shooting Fish. The game was first announced in April 2001 to be scheduled for the PlayStation 2 which was reported by IGN staff. Ubisoft launched an official website for the game which contains a description of the game's characters, modes, and environments, along with galleries of screenshots from each of the game's versions. Another IGN staff stated that Danny Ruiz, band manager of Ubi Soft Entertainment said that "Rayman Arena promises to provide gamers a new multiplayer experience while maintaining the production value associated with the Rayman franchise." In 2002, Sylvain Constantin worked as a producer for the game and he said that he wanted to do something serious. After the game was finished, Constantin was asked to take over the driving team and come up with something new because he was a big driving game enthusiast.

Rayman Rush

Rayman Rush is a racing game developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and published by Ubisoft. It's a demake of Rayman M for the PlayStation which only features the racing mode. The game also had three modes; training mode; players can race into levels without opponents or objectives, championship mode; players are against an opponent which they are showed with aggressiveness and ability to seek out shortcuts and time attack mode; players have to race into levels in time. The game can only supported up to two players due to the PlayStation's hardware limitations.

Rayman M received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Eurogamer writer Tom Bramwell wrote that he best described the game as "a cross country steeplechase dodgeball simulation." He also wrote that the game seems like "a manic, amazingly enterprising adventure game against the clock" and describing it as a racing game wouldn't make sense. Nintendo World Report writer Michael Cole indicates that every character seems to be getting a multiplayer-oriented title which includes Rayman M which some have labeled it as a Mario Party-style game in the past however, he thinks it isn't the case. Another Nintendo World Report writer Mike Orlando noted that the modes were fun to play however, he doesn't see the game having content to warrant a purchase. He indicates that the racing mode is similar to Mad Dash Racing for the Xbox and Running Wild for the PlayStation.

Rayman M has also heavily received criticism. GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann criticising the Windows version of the game's default controls which the player can configure the keyboard and mouse for race and battle games however, the player can also use a gamepad which he described as "the most convenient way to play the game" and the most difficult ways to configure. In addition, he praised the GameCube version that the game fits in nicely with games such as Mad Dash Racing, Running Wild, and Sonic R however, the game doesn't differentiate itself from the other games and create anything new. Brady Fiechter of Play criticise that the game should be call "Rayman Racing" and it was "a multiplayer game with nothing but characters from the Rayman universe running through obstacle courses." IGN writer Kaiser Hwang acknowledged that it doesn't live up to its predecessor's legacy, criticised it similar to Mad Dash Racing due to the racing and platforming mix however, it sense of speed is being called out as "slow" and the level design can be "flat-out horrible." Nebojsa Radakovic for GameRevolution also criticise that it does little to stimulate the kart racing/action game genres and it tracks play like any kart racing game however, she wrote that it might not be a "bad" game for a young child.

Rayman Rush

Rayman Rush received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Game Rant's Mark Sammut disappreciated how the game only contains the racing mode along with the game looking far worse and was less responsive than it original game. GameSpot's Ryan Davis was certain that it's doesn't maintain the same level of quality as the main games such as unlike the previous games which have top-notch sound design, the music and sound effects in the game feel rushed however, it can prove to be a decent diversion for a short period of time. Martyn Clayden of Games Domain praised the game's vibrantly colourful 3D graphics and the music as cheerful and manages of not becoming too irritating during a long gameplay session.

• Rayman M at MobyGames
• Rayman Rush at MobyGames
• Official website