Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time

Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time
North American box art
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Paris Ubisoft Casablanca
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Series	Raving Rabbids
Platform(s)	Wii, Nintendo 3DS
Release date(s)	Wii NA: November 21, 2010 AUS: November 25, 2010 EU: November 26, 2010 JP: January 27, 2011 Nintendo 3DS JP: March 24, 2011 AUS: March 31, 2011 EU: April 1, 2011 NA: April 10, 2011
Genre(s)	Party (Wii), Platformer (3DS)
Mode(s)	Single-player, local multiplayer, online multiplayer

Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time is a party video game developed and published by Ubisoft for the Wii. It was released in North America on November 21, 2010, in Europe on November 26, 2010, in Australia on November 25, 2010 and in Japan on January 27, 2011.^[1] It is the fifth installment in the Rabbids series and, unlike the previous entry, Rabbids Go Home, it returns to the party game genre.

Plot summary

The Rabbids use a time machine (which looks like a washing machine) to go through different times to change the history of the World^[2] According to the trailer, first they go to from The Prehistory in 10, 000 BC and help a caveman discover fire, but end up giving him a lighter. Then they go to middle-aged Ancient Egypt in 2500 BC to disturb work on the Sphinx and make the nose fall off. And last, they go to Middle Ages in 520 but they end up underground holding down the legendary sword Excalibur when Arthur tries to pull it off the stone, but he gives up and leaves. When the Rabbids leave, Grannie ended up pulling the sword instead of Arthur.^[3][4]

In the intro for the game, a Rabbid is seen inside the washing machine/time machine altering prehistoric times, ancient Egypt, Middle Ages, Vienna in 1803 Beethoven's composition of the Fifth Symphony and Street Punk in 1980s a Punk Subculture, before smashing a vase in the modern day. The player then teams up with the Rabbid to mess with history (by accessing paintings related to each minigame) in order to repair the time machine (which was damaged on the trips to the aforementioned time periods). Upon altering time and accessing the washing machine, the Rabbid and the player are warped to the Futuristic City in year 4096 A.D (although the time machine says the player and the rabbid were transported to a museum in 2012 A.D, (4 years ago)), where Professor Barranco 3 (the ultra-intelligent Rabbid commander from Rayman Raving Rabbids 2) is drilling various Rabbids to use time machines to take absolute control over the space-time continuum. However, the player's Rabbid literally pulls the plug on one of the machines and causes all the time machines to disappear. This action inadvertently initiates a time paradox (which results in a sped-up version of the game intro).

Setting

The setting is a history museum. From there, the Rabbids can play quiz, singing, and dancing games. They can also customize their Rabbids with historical costumes. The Rabbids can also go into museum's main areas: the Bouncearium, Shootarium, Flyarium, Runarium and Hookarium; to ruin history with their Time Washing Machine.

Gameplay

Gameplay revolves around several minigames for up to four players (with computer AI controlling unused players) set during various segments of time. Some levels feature co-operative play, such as a level where two players are tethered by toilet paper. Ubisoft has stated this game intends to be 'waggle-free', and rather than having games shake the controller as hard as they can the designers hope to create mini-games with more depth.^[5]

Each minigame is set in one of five different sections of a history museum: the Bouncearium, involving maneuvering the Rabbids through side-scrolling platformer minigames; the Shootarium, using first-person shooting style minigames; the Flyarium, allowing Rabbids to fly and compete against one another in races and scavenger hunts; the Runarium, which has two teams race or collect items; and the Hookarium, which is themed around the use of the WiiMotion Plus accessory as a fishing rod. Some of the time traveling the minigames are the origin of time travel into the past.

Worlds

Nintendo 3DS version

A Nintendo 3DS version of this game has been announced that it will be a platform game. This version is titled as Rabbids: Travel in Time 3D. It has only 4 historical periods containing 60 maps.

Armed with good intentions, it's an original production for the Rabbids in the genre of platforming, the game itself invents nothing, but based on solid rules of old-school platformers, with simple handling.

The player must progress in bonus filled levels, fight some enemies and do jumps or slippery slopes for dynamic action. The advantage of 3D in Rabbids 3D is to provide an immediate gaming pleasure without complication or innovation. There are many checkpoints, lives and energy points (rolls of toilet paper, spheres of force) are generously distributed, so the player is never discouraged by the (few) difficulties present in the game.

In return, the game received mixed to negative reviews, with the criticism focused in the lack of originality, low difficulty and repetitive action.

Plot

Taking place after the events of the Wii version of Raving Rabbids Travel In Time, the Rabbids are playing in the museum, when the same Time Machine appears, this time containing a Rabbid with a duck ring. After the Rabbids fight for the duck ring, the player and the Rabbid get warped to the past, in which the player once again teams up with the Rabbid to get back to the Present while making mess of history again. The game's ending shows the Rabbid the player teamed up with finding a refrigerator, in which the Rabbid attempts to use it as a Time Machine, but he only put some stuff on himself, and is zapped by a lighting spark, and the credits roll.

Reception

Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time was met with mixed reviews. Nintendo Power gave the game a 6.5, while Videogamer gave it a score of 8/10. Official Nintendo Magazine criticized the game, giving it a 40/100. Recently, IGN reviewed the game, praising the graphics and the museum hub included, and gave the game a 7/10. Other websites, such as Nintendo Life and GameStyle, gave it the same score as well. TheBitBlock.com was more positive, giving the game 8/10, praising the inclusion of online play, graphics, and multiplayer, but criticized the disappointing use of WiiMotionPlus, the shooting games, and the historical theme of the game. TheBitBlock.com called it "a party game that offers up content that you've never seen before in the party genre." The game was not well received by fans and was criticized for the return to the party roots .

References

External links

• Official Global website