Obscured by the ever-growing fame of those crazy Rabbids, Ubisoft’s mascot finally returns with a new platform game that’s also a reboot. It will explain, as the title suggests, Rayman’s origin. It initially was supposed to be released via digital delivery, but has now been delayed for a November retail release on Xbox 360, Wii and PS3. A Nintendo 3DS version will follow shortly, and in March 2012, Rayman Origins will be available on Vita as well.
The game’s visuals come courtesy of the UbiArt Framework, a development tool by Ubisoft explicitly conceived to allow artists to implement their art seamlessly into the game engine. And thanks to it, Rayman Origins looks just like a beautifully animated digital painting — that also runs smoothly at 60fps in HD resolution. But it’s not a matter of numbers: The game world’s incredibly detailed and alive thanks to the talent of the artists working on it. UbiArt has indeed great potential, and it gives artists freedom and a prominent role in the actual development by allowing them to easily manage collisions and animations.
