N-Philes

As Nintendo gamers, it's very hard for us to break out of the Mario mold in terms choosing platforming games. Why try something new when we have the best of the best right in front of us? Even during the eras of the Super NES and Nintendo 64 we had Rare to fill in the gaps with amazing games like the Donkey Kong Country series, Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie - even the crude Conker's Bad Fur Day. Now, Rare is gone and Mario only makes a true appearance once every five years or so. The platforming genre has taken a turn for the worse - for Nintendo consoles anyway.

However, if you delve deep into the GameCube's library you may emerge with one of the finest examples of a quintessential platforming title. That game is Rayman 3: Hoodlum's Havoc, and it quite possibly rivals Nintendo's tip-top Super Mario Sunshine. The only problem is that nobody knows it. If you scour the net you'll find that the game has actually received high marks with critics across the board. Unfortunately, because all of us are so stubborn at not wanting to try anything outside the Nintendo brand, Hoodlum's Havoc hit the market with little impact, low sales numbers and it quickly became a bargain-bin throwaway.

I admit it went completely under my radar as well, and if it weren't for a recent buying binge, I would have never stumbled across the limbless hero. Picking it up for $20, I didn't know what to expect. I had played a little of the original Rayman on the Atari Jaguar way back when it was a side-scroller, but didn't care enough to ever complete it. I also knew that the second installment for various platforms was extremely well-received as being the pinnacle of platform gaming, so getting Rayman 3 didn't seem like such a bad idea. Soon after cracking into the third installment, I was hooked and it was every bit as fun and interesting as the best platformers I've ever played.

The first thing that really gave me a positive impression about the game was its environments. It's almost as if you are playing in a fairy tale; the worlds alternate from bright and cheerful wonderlands to dark and dreary swamps. The presentation and graphics are very clean, creative and stunning. While I admit Super Mario Sunshine's level designs were gorgeous in every which way, typically it was the same thing over and over with minor tweaks. In Hoodlum Havoc, however, there's a lot of variety in each level and things don't appear to be continually identical to what you had previously played.

Yet what truly sets Rayman apart from other games out there is its variety in the gameplay department. Instead of the typical cookie-cutter platformer where you run around gathering up oodles of items, the game is much more action-oriented with lots of actual platforming. Of course there are things to collect, but they aren't required; they are objectives to complete on the side in case you want to beat the game 100%. Other games force you to to gather a slew of items to progress forward in the game (ala Super Mario 64 and the power stars).

Best of all though are the variety of power ups that change his performance and features in different ways. The LockJaw for example will morph Ray's hands into steel clamps which he can use to lock onto targets, allowing him to swing his way to new heights. Other power-ups include a powerful metal fist, controllable rocket missiles, and even helicopters (among others), providing plenty of different gameplay styles and missions.

With over ten hours of adventuring to be had, Rayman 3: Hoodlum's Havoc will surely keep you busy. Ubisoft also went the extra mile by adding a point system at the end of the game which grades your performance on each level, and calculatesa total amount of points as well as issuing a grade. Afterward, you will be given a code you can take to http://www.rayman3.com and, once entered, it will show how you ranked against other gamers around the world. If you're one of those hardcore competitors you might find yourself playing the game over and over trying to get the best score possible.

So are you a gamer who's gathered up all 120 shines in Super Mario Sunshine and are in need of a platforming fix? Run to your local game shop and save Rayman from a fate worse than a thousand deaths: the discount bin.