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Rabbids Go Home Review for Nintendo DS

Rabbids Go Home Review for Nintendo DS

Rabbids Go Solo

With the release of Rabbids Go Home, I can’t help but imagine that in some dark corner of the world Rayman is currently crying himself to sleep in an alley next to an empty bottle of Scotch while mumbling “But I made you!” When the Wii was launched nearly three years ago, Rayman was a well known character who helped to make Rayman Raving Rabbids as successful as it was. But sadly, with each sequel to the game, Rayman has become a smaller and smaller component of it, and he has now completely faded away in favor of a Rabbids-only game. But unfortunately for Rayman, I honestly have to say that this is my favorite game in the Rabbids series.

Rabbids Go Home screenshot

The story for the game is about as absurd as you would expect, since it reflects the foolish thought process of the incredibly quirky Rabbids. An opening cinematic, which looks somewhat like paper cutouts moving about, shows a Rabbid getting “tickled” by the electricity in a street light. He and his fellow Rabbids quickly turn getting shocked by street lights into a pastime but inevitably long for more. Looking up at the moon, the Rabbids decide that the glowing orb must be a gigantic street light that they could live on. Of course, being the dim-wits they are, the Rabbids all decide to build a massive pile of garbage that they could ultimately use to climb to the moon.

Unlike the previous Rabbids games, your goal isn’t attained by simply completing a series of random mini-games or even through action-adventure hijinks like in the Wii version of Rabbids Go Home. Instead, players must collect garbage by solving a lengthy series of Rube Goldberg-styled puzzles. In the story mode, players will need to make their way through five different levels consisting of two required zones, with a third optional one that can be unlocked, each zone being made up of ten puzzles apiece. Even with many of these puzzles taking between thirty seconds to two minutes to complete, the one hundred and fifty possible story mode puzzles still provide a pretty extensive play experience.

Each puzzle in the story mode starts off with a Rabbid in a shopping cart and ends at a toilet. In between the Rabbid and the toilet, which is his desired destination, are a series of traps, devices, Rabbids, enemies, and garbage pieces. Since the Rabbids are trying to build a garbage heap tall enough to touch the moon, the main goal of each puzzle is to collect as many pieces of garbage, preferably all, as your cart-riding Rabbid makes his way through the level before finishing at the toilet. It’s a simple enough concept, but because of the diversity of all the items, traps, and puzzles you’ll come across, it continues to feel fresh and remains challenging.

Rabbids Go Home screenshot

To solve these puzzles you are given access to items that can be placed in the world, which are different for each puzzle, in order to either help your Rabbid make it to the finish or to help direct the garbage to your Rabbid. For example, you may need to place a series of ramps to complete a runway for your cart while also placing a Rabbid next to some garbage so that he’ll push it off of an unreachable ledge into your path. This is an incredibly basic example, though, because the scope of these puzzles actually ramps up fairly quickly.

As you continue to progress through the game you’re given access to more and more items to help you complete increasingly more complex puzzles. Each new item is introduced by a brief cinematic before the level in which you’ll need it that shows exactly how it can be used. Since this is a Rabbids game and they’re known for being strange, these aren’t always straightforward items that you’ll be using. Some examples of this are spring-loaded punching gloves that’ll send your cart flying, gas tanks that Rabbids use to inflate and float around the level, televisions that can be used to distract Rabbids, and Chihuahuas that’ll hop into your cart to add momentum. Rabbids Go Home is really host to an eclectic array of items that are as useful as they are fun to watch in action.

Rabbids Go Home screenshot

But the puzzling fun doesn’t stop once you’ve completed the story missions, as there’s still a seemingly endless amount of content to be had. Rabbids Go Home also contains a challenge mode made up of four challenge categories with up to twenty puzzles each. Each category has its own objectives ranging from trying to knock every Rabbid off of their platforms to having fully set up puzzles where you’ll need to place your cart, Rabbid, and toilet in the proper positions in order to collect the most garbage in the shortest amount of time. These challenges are a great change of pace, adding some interesting twists to the conventions you’ve already learned by playing through the story mode.

Rabbids Go Home screenshot

However, the real gem to be found in Rabbids Go Home is its level editor. Here you can make your own ingenious, challenging, and humorous levels to play through. Using the touch screen and stylus makes setting up these levels incredibly quick and hassle free, which only further encourages you to really use your imagination. In another great move, these levels can also be uploaded and shared over Wi-Fi, meaning other people can download and play the levels you’ve created, and you’ll have access to a nearly endless supply of new brain-teasing puzzles to check out. My only real complaint with the created levels is that when they end, they don’t count up a score tally like in the challenge and story modes, but it isn’t really a huge issue.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Rabbids Go Home for the DS. I came into it expecting more of the same mini-game compilation-type stuff that I’ve come to associate with the Rabbids series, but what is here is much, much better than that tired formula. This is easily one of the most enjoyable and unique experiences I’ve had on the DS to date, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you like your puzzles served up with a dash of odd humor. On a side note, I hope you feel better soon Rayman.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.0 Graphics
The Rabbids look a little pixelated but they animate pretty well. 4.5 Control
Positioning objects with the stylus works like a charm. 3.2 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The sound effects are humorous and the soundtrack is as offbeat and awkward as the Rabbids themselves, but both are fairly limited. 4.7

Play Value
With over two hundred premade puzzles, a puzzle editor, and the ability to download and share puzzles over Wi-Fi, there is a ton of puzzling goodness to be had in Rabbids Go Home.

4.4 Overall Rating – Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • The Rabbids First Puzzle-Adventure Game: The Raving Rabbids, using a shopping cart, will have to solve the puzzle of each level and collect as much stuff as they can to build a giant pile to their home… the moon!
  • Stir up funny chain reactions in 150 brain-teasers based on physics and funny Rabbids characters. The goal is to lead a shopping cart to the Toilets, collecting as many maximum resources as possible on the way.
  • 15 tricky levels to actually build a huge pile to the moon: Test your reflexes and your skills with the stylus!
  • Challenge mode: Four delirious challenge modes of 20 levels each, apart from the story mode and with different rules and objectives. Create hilarious situations by getting rid of those Raving Rabbids or making them fly! But be careful to not miss the TV show.
  • Exclusive level editor: Create your own puzzles and share them with your friends and the whole RGH community! Also download other players’ puzzles for hours of additional gameplay.
  • My Rabbids (only on Nintendo DSi): Use the camera to take a picture, and customize it with funny Rabbid animations to make your friends laugh!

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