2002 Ubi-Soft
Last year Ubi-Soft announced that they would be backing the cube heavily with 19 titles planned. In the meantime, Ubi-Soft has been working hard to try and make some respectable titles on our beloved cube. To start, they released Tarzan Untamed and Batman Vengeance at the consoles beginning. Both were developed by Ubi-Soft Montreal, and Batman in particular ended up being better than expected.
N-Side The Game
Now the companys trademark figurehead Rayman will be arriving on GameCube. Ubi-Softs main man will be coming in the form of Rayman Arena, a game focusing on multiplayer aspects. The game takes place completely in the Rayman universe with cartoon-like textures and creatures. If you have played Rayman 2 before then you know what to expect from the visuals.
Although you could be somewhat disappointed that we arent getting a full fledged sequel for Rayman yet, the new title still holds promise. Included is the option to play in both an arena setup and foot-racing as well. In the arena you do combat with lums, the main magical element in the Rayman series. As usual, the combat will unfold through a third person view and probably dual analog control. As for foot-racing, you can imagine that it will be wacky platforming type levels that require more than just turning and using acceleration. Essentially this mode should/will feel like a marathon race through a colorful world.
Outlook
On top of the different modes of play you also have all sorts of bonuses. The option of eight different characters to play with, different skins for these players, and earning extra levels is all included. Of course, all of these options and modes can be accessed by four players. By the looks of it, the spirit of four player madness seems to be coming along quite nicely. Well keep you posted on any more details but in the meantime check out Rayman Arenas official site.
Jason Nuyens