Graphically, Rayman Arena has a pretty standard look to it. The game runs at a reasonably smooth frame rate throughout all its modes, and the textures are just fine. The character design for Rayman remains unchanged, and the game's other racers fit into the Rayman universe, as well. The course design throws a lot of different looks at you throughout the game, moving from swamps to beaches to pirate ships and back again, but some slightly rounder edges would have added a bit more of an outdoorsy, organic feel that is missing from the game. The game's sound effects aren't very pronounced. Each character has a line or so of selection dialogue that plays in the game's front end. From there, the only sounds are cartoonlike effects that properly convey, say, your racer getting smashed by a rogue tentacle or getting zapped by an electric wall. The music does a decent job of fitting in with the rest of the game's look and feel, but it doesn't stand out.
Fans of the few other foot-racing games that have been released over the years, such as Mad Dash Racing, Running Wild, or Sonic R, will find that Rayman Arena fits in nicely with these games. But the game doesn't really do anything to differentiate itself from these older foot-racing games and doesn't bring anything new to the table. Anyone looking for an exciting mascot racing game won't find too much to like here once the thrill of four-player multiplayer has worn off.
- See more CNET content tagged:
- UbiSoft Entertainment,
- racing game,
- multiplayer,
- course,
- opponent
%20Xbox%20Game%20reviews%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/xbox-games/rayman-arena-xbox/4505-9582_7-30965491-2.html){kind=small}