Head for the hills because the Rabbids are back! They’ve invaded some of the world’s most pristine locations causing chaos and confusion in their wake! Arm yourself with the closest weapon, be it sausage link or plunger, because they’re here to… party? That’s right; Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 is the next installment in this vastly popular minigame series. From burping contests to watermelon volleyball, the game brings party games to a hilarious new level. You’ll be trekking the globe dredging up new games and finding laughs along the way. However, if you’ve had the chance to play the original Rabbids title that was released at the Wii’s launch, you might be pretty disappointed that the developers ripped the wonderful controls out and implemented a whole new set of waggle. Oh, and the whole 30 less minigames than the original thing too might be unwanted. Yeah, the party might not be as great as the first but rest assured there are some pretty fun times to be had with this game, especially with friends. So pop open a bottle of carrot juice, wrist strap that Wiimote, and get ready to go hunt down some rabbids!

What’s great about the Rabbid franchise is the abrupt hilarity the people have thought up. Stuff like eating tacos and farting your way down a trench or trying to drop wads of spit into a fellow rabbid’s drink. With cutscenes involving flying yellow submarines and moments where the rabbids are chasing down real world people, this title is admittedly funnier than the last. Whoever came up with this stuff are comic geniuses.
 
Another feature that’s sure to bring a smile to your face is the rabbid dressing room. You can garnish your favorite rabbid with all sorts of clothing from around the world.  French maid outfits, samurai armor sets, mime makeup… the list goes on. You can even wear spoofed clothing from Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. It’s always a pleasant surprise when games allow you to personalize your character and this gives a pretty well rounded jaunt into the concept.

Also, there’s a new ability the developers have put in – trip planning. The game is based around the idea that the rabbids are invading the Earth and trying to enslave it. It should come to no surprise that you’ll be visiting many places from around the world. Asia, Europe, USA, and beyond are all included so you’re sure to see some far off locations no matter where you reside. After you beat the preplanned trips, you’re given the ability to make your own. You can select which ever minigames you’d like in whichever order you desire. So, if you have a friend over who hasn’t played before, you can show them your favorites without having to neither unlock them nor navigate the confusing menus that the original title had. Though all the upsides are great thing to see, many fans were expecting the exact opposite of what they did to the controls.

Do you remember how many of the first Raving Rabbids game used unique controls? Well think about all of them really hard, be sure to get a nice mental image, and replace most of them with shaking the remote. Not all that great, huh? There are some games that obviously should use this kind of function, like washing dirty laundry or drumming in the band, but there are some games that should have been better in the control department. I just don’t know why they would have reduced the awesome gameplay the first title had to another waggle game. It truly is a shame.

Speaking of shameful and head-scratching ideas, this game has little over 50 minigames to play through. The first had over 80. Why did they see fit to reduce the total number of games by almost half? You’d think a sequel is supposed to improve upon the title, not worsen it. Plus, Rayman doesn’t even have his own voice! He shares the same vocals as all the rabbids do! Why Ubisoft, why did you allow such a great franchise to go down the drain?

All in all, it’s a really funny game. the themes of the locations, all the different clothes, and the ability to play whichever game without having to unlock them with an unthinkable amount of points is nice and all, but I’d trade all that in for improved controls and more minigames. It’s not like I’m asking for much here. Sure, I’d like to see both better quality and quantity, but that should be expected since they created such a phenomenal title the first go round. If you enjoyed the first Raving Rabbids as much as I did, you might think twice before flopping down 50 bucks for this game.
 
Graphics -8-The rabbids’ look is and was perfect from the get-go, glad they didn’t change anything there. The locations too are quite appealing.

Audio -7- nothing much here. The obvious “BWAAAHS!” are there, but the soundtrack isn’t as star studded as before.

Gameplay -5- The controls are something I’d expect from a new developer; super waggle does not equal super cool. The minigames would have been a lot more fun if the controls were fleshed out.
Lasting Appeal -6- Multiplayer is a lot better than before, but single player isn’t all that great. There’s 30 less games than before, that’s not what I call “lasting”.

Overall -6.5- The Rabbid theme is fun and all, but when the controls and overall content is less than its predecessor, the game can easily be described as a cash in. I honestly think this a step back. If you want some minigame fun, you’re better off sticking with past titles.