Rayman Raving Rabbids shares a character with the rest of the Rayman series, but that's where the similarities stop. Far from a platformer, Raving Rabbids is a collection of 70 bunny-based, tongue-in-cheek mini-games which make extensive use of the motion-detecting Wii remote. Players take on the role of Rayman, the yellow-snooted cartoon hero, snatched from his picnic lunch and forced to entertain disgruntled, bucktoothed bunnies Roman Coliseum style. By beating rounds of mini-games, you can gain respect and a shot at freedom.
Each game comes labeled with its own endearingly odd "scientific fact" about bunnies, who apparently can fly, never close bathroom doors, and helped tame the Wild West. Shooter games, which pit Rayman against angry onslaughts, let you use your remote like a gun. Less traditional games instruct players to shake the remote to smack tone-deaf singers, or move the remote and the attached nunchuk rapidly up and down to milk a cow. Or possibly a pig. It's that kind of game. But no worries: Whether in story or score mode, all of the violence is plunger violence, and Rayman has potty-humor to spare.
Beyond the game: Unlike other mini-game titles, Raving Rabbids is equally fun alone or with friends. The first-person-shooter mode gets particularly heated with a fellow plunger-slinging gunman.
Worth playing for: The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use a cowbell to lead a blinded bunny into a variety of pointy objects—rakes, cacti, open bear traps—while earning points for pain. In short, the adorable sadism.
Frustration sets in when: The dancing mini-game (shake the remote and nunchuk in time with the sliding bunnies) has tons of potential, which it doesn't live up to. Sound levels make it hard to hear the music, turning complicated songs into messes instead of challenges. Other mini-games just don't work right. Try to lead a baby pig through a field of buried bunny land mines, and end up with a furry explosion every time.
Final judgment: For those with a twisted sense of humor or just a serious case of attention deficit disorder, Raving Rabbids is not to be missed.