Those troublesome Rabbids are back, and they’re looking to cause as much havoc as they can. Does their latest party game outing offer enough content for everyone to enjoy via the Xbox 360 and Kinect? Read on to find out.
Game: Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking
Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Publisher: Ubisoft
Reviewed on:
GRAPHICS
Whilst Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking isn’t exactly a visual powerhouse, each mini-game is filled with some nice colourful environments. Watching yourself stomping around in the background of a mini-game is quite fun, and makes the game that bit more visually appealing, depending on who is playing of course! Menus are presented quite well, with preview screenshots of each mini-game visible in the background as you scroll down the list. It’s the bright colours and graphical quirks of the Rabbids that standout the most though. As mentioned earlier, Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking certainly doesn’t push the Xbox 360 to breaking point , but it still manages to be one of the best looking Kinect only games available at the moment.
SOUND
Taking into consideration the genre Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking falls into, the audio featured in the game is quite good. Whether you’re kicking a Rabbid or taking in the background music, the sound compliments the on-screen action well. On the whole, the sound is exactly what you would expect from a motion-controlled party game, nothing too fancy and functional.
GAMEPLAY
Being a Kinect only title, the main question in regards to the gameplay has to be “does the motion control work well?”. Well, the answer would be yes and no. Menus are very intuitive and responsive, with a swift slap-like action needed to progress further. The majority of the mini-games work without any issue at all, but a few are hampered by the limitations of Kinect itself. For example, one particular mini-game called “Hacked Off” requires two players to “hold” a side of a saw each and move the tool until a plank is cut. Unfortunately, Kinect fails to recognise your pull and push motions correctly and just randomly plays out the saw movements.
However, there are plenty of mini-games that make good use of Kinect’s abilities. For instance, “Rabbid-O-Matic” takes advantage of Kinect’s voice recognition really well. By using your voice, you can make one of those pesky Rabbid’s turn left or right depending on which side of the room you are speaking from, and the game acknowledges this superbly. Taking inspiration from Breakout, another mini-game called “Flaming Ball of Fire” requires you to bend down to go down and raise your hands to go up. Whilst not 100% accurate, Kinect interprets your motions well enough for you to enjoy.
Other fun mini-games include “Pumped Up”, asking you to make muscular poses that match the screen, and “Whack a Rabbid”, one that is sure to bring back memories of trips to the arcade during a holiday. Both of these mini-games are fun, but there are times where Kinect’s limitations are exposed. For instance, whilst playing “Whack a Rabbid”, you’ll more than likely find that Kinect won’t allow you to hit a Rabbid placed in the corner of the screen.
Consisting of more than 30 mini-games, Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking offers a fun experience for you and the family. However, there are some games that show up Kinect’s limitations and just don’t work as well as you’d expect. Bare in mind, the majority of mini-games require multiple players to get the best out of them, and for that you’ll need a very large play area. In fact, even with the one or two player, Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking requires more space than your usual Kinect title.
LONGEVITY
With the amount of mini-games on offer, you certainly won’t be left with nothing to do whilst playing Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking. However, as is the case with most party games, how much replayability you’ll get out of messing around with the troublesome Rabbids is entirely down to you. If you’re a party game fanatic and can live with Kinect’s limitation, then you’ll be playing the game for a while. On the other hand, if none of that applies to you, then Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking is more than likely destined to remain on your shelf.
VERDICT
If you’re looking for a Kinect party game with plenty of content and laughs, then you could a lot worse than Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking. Due to the limitations of Kinect, it can be frustrating at times, but when played with family or friends you’re sure to have a blast. Just make sure you have enough space to accommodate those pesky Rabbids!
