Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc

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Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc is the third major platforming instalment in the Rayman series. It tells the story of how Rayman stops André, an evil black lum, from taking over the world with his army of sack-like 'Hoodlum' soldiers. The game has sarcastic self-referential undertones, poking fun at the platforming video game genre. Released in 2003, it is currently the last in the main series to have been released, before Ubisoft turned its focus upon the Rabbids spin-off franchise.

Plot

(Warning: plot and/or ending details follow)

Andre, the leader of the Black Lums, is a lum, who was supposively said to have grown out of pure evil. One night, as he is passing through the Crossroad of Dreams, he transforms other Red Lums into Dark Lums to join him. The group eventually gains enough hair from various animals throughout the forest to dress up to disguise themselves as Hoodlums. In the middle of the process, Murfy, one of the residents and workers of the Fairy Council, discovers them. Andre later on discovers him hiding nearby and begins to make chase of him. Murfy is eventually chased to a small clearing, where Rayman and his friend Globox, are sound asleep. Just as Murfy reaches them, Globox is awakened by the commotion. Now aware of the situation, Globox helps Murfy try to get Rayman, who is still unawakened by the commotion, to safety. In the process, Globox accidentally removes Rayman's hands, forcing Murfy to pick Rayman up by his hair and drag him away from the clearing himself. In an attempt to save himself, Globox runs away to safety taking Rayman's hands along with him.

As time passes, more and more Hoodlums are invading the forest. After reaching the entrance to the Council, Rayman and Murfy discover Globox hiding in a barrel. Just as Rayman gets his hands back from his rather cowardly friend, Andre and a few of his minions join them, giving chase to a much frightened Globox. As Rayman and Murfy pursue after then, they learn of Andre's evil plan: to taint the heart of the world so that he can create that same energy into an army of Hoodlums. Undeterred, the twosome continue the chase. Eventually, Andre catches up with Globox, who ends up accidentally swallowing the evil creature. Now it is up to Rayman to find a doctor to rid Andre from Globox's stomach.

Along the way, Rayman meets up with three doctors: Otto, Romeo, and Art Rytus (or Gonzo). As all three doctors fail independently to purge Andre, they succeed in getting rid of him after some teamwork. Now angry and still undeterred by his plans for world domination, Andre teams up with Reflux, a being whom Rayman had to duel with to prove his worth to the Knarren race. Hungry for power and desperate to get rid of Rayman, the two decide to team up and make even more havoc for Rayman.

In a final faceoff, Rayman ends up destroying Reflux and turning Andre back into a red lum. Shortly thereafter, Rayman and Globox return back to the clearing that they were in at the very beginning. Globox is sharing his sorrow with Rayman about Andre's return to a Red Lum. Rayman tries to console him by saying that he thinks that there is really no way to bring Andre back. Globox then shares that, unlike making a Dark Lum turn back into a red one by making it laugh, you can turn a red lum into a Dark one by getting it scared. At a loss for what would truly scare a lum, Rayman and Globox fall asleep. In a flashback scene to follow, it is revealed that Rayman's hands are the "true enemy" of the game, as they detach from Rayman while he's asleep and run off to go scare a nearby red lum. The scared lum happens to turn into Andre, which brings the scene back to the proposed beginning of the game.

Voice Cast

• David Gasman as Rayman
• John Leguizamo as Globox
• Billy West as Murfy
• Nadine Vi as Mimi
• Casey Hut as Violet
• Ken Starcevic as Andre
• Ziggy Marley as Reflux
• Matt Hill as Tennsies
• Eric Bauza as Razoff

Reception

In general, the game has been received positively . Overall, the game has been praised for its graphics and sound quality, but is more hit-or-miss on the gameplay and sound style. IGN lauds the game for the voice-acting, calling it "exactly what the Rayman franchise has been begging for," whereas GameSpot notes that the dialogue for the game is "trying too hard to be self-aware and hip." Reviews also note that the gameplay sets into what can become an obvious pattern. The game has also been critisized for the character's and game world's sudden and highly unexpected personality change, which made the game less appealing to fans of the previous Rayman games.

These are a few of the scores that were issued for Hoodlum Havoc:

• IGN: 8.9 out of 10
• Gamespy: 2 out of 5 stars
• Gamespot: 8.1 out of 10
• GameCritics.com: 8.5 out of 10
• ActionTrip: 8.5 out of 10
• Nintendojo: 9.5 out of 10
• Gameinformer 7.5/10

References

1. IGN: Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Review (GCN), <http://cube.ign.com/articles/388/388218p1.html>. Retrieved on 19 December 2007 

2. Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Articles, <http://www.gamestats.com/objects/478/478841//articles.html>. Retrieved on 19 December 2007 

3. Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc For GameCube Review, <http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/rayman3hoodlumhavoc/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary%3Breview&page=1>. Retrieved on 19 December 2007 

All other respective information concerning scenarios and in-game items were taken from the Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc instruction manual.

External links

• Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc at MobyGames