5 /10 1 Votes
6/10 GameSpot Initial release date 13 November 2008 | 4/10 IGN Genre(s) Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Rabbids Go Home, Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party is a video game developed by Ubisoft and is the third installment in the Rayman Raving Rabbids'series. A teaser trailer was released on April 29, 2008. The trailer, showing a Rabbid swallowing a Wii Balance Board, indicating the gameplay would make use of the device and as such would be a Nintendo exclusive, just as the previous title of the series, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2.
Contents
In this third installment of the Rabbids series, the Rabbids take control of Rayman's TV station and monopolize their transmissions during a whole week. Each day of this week contains a different set of minigames, and some of them make use of the Wii Balance Board. All the minigames follow the TV theme, being based on films, fitness programs, gardening programs and all sorts of shows. The "ads" are present in the form of microgames which appear randomly during gameplay, lasting only a few seconds. Clearing a microgame awards a bonus to the winning player. The game allows up to 8 players in turn based mode. This is the last Rabbids game to feature Rayman. It is followed by Rabbids Go Home.
Gameplay
Unlike its predecessors, the game supports the Wii Balance Board accessory. Several mini-games support use of the Balance Board, including dance and racing games - notably, the 'first video game you can play with your butt.'
The minigames consist of a channel system, each channel giving hold to specific minigames, in the same setting. For example, the X-TRM Sports, consist of racing on the belly of a yak down a hill, doing jumps, or a parody of MTV's Jackass that involves the player diving off an unfinished skyscraper, drawing shapes to fit through boards with holes in them. Other minigames involve a Plunger FPS similar to the other games. But this time, the player shoots plungers at a specific clothed Rabbid that does not belong in a movie, and in the ending, the ability to shoot is disabled for the whole ending for that minigame. Also, there are various games tied to dancing, wrestling, even a Rock Band experience. The player can run over other rabbids with a giant tractor, try to flip burgers, or possibly destroy a city as a fire-breathing Rabbid on a take of Godzilla. In the DS version of the game, the game replaced some games with new games. Also, there's a change to the minigame "Prison Fake". This time, the player has to find an item somewhere in the prison using the touch screen.
Plot
Rayman is running away from a group of rabbids who are then distracted by lightning, which later, before the distraction, causes Rayman to stop running. Nevertheless, they continue to chase Rayman after it stops, which puts Rayman to running again, but are struck by the lightning which connects to a dilapidated Rayman's house where he hides. The lightning then teleports the Rabbids through the TV antenna, through the TV wire, trapping them in the TV much to Rayman's astonishment. He turns the TV on and it suddenly from channel to channel, retro 2D Rabbids appear on it. As the player plays through the game, there are cutscenes showing Rayman trying to get rid of the TV. At the end of the game, Rayman breaks the TV, (with his shoe, in which he takes off after being so angry) freeing the Rabbids, much to his shock. Rayman then runs off from the house with the Rabbids chasing after him, but one Rabbid stays in the house. This one gets its ears stuck in Rayman's vacuum cleaner and mistakes the TV remote for an ice cream cone as the credits roll.
Reception
Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party received mixed to average reviews. It was nominated for multiple Wii-specific awards by IGN for its 2008 video game awards, including Best Use of Sound, Best Family Game, and Best Use of the Wii Balance Board. This game also got a 7.0 from IGN.com and a 7.4 from GameTrailers.com
As of January 2009, the game had sold 1.5 million copies.
