Rayman M

Rayman M, known in North America as Rayman Arena, is a party video game developed and published by Ubi Soft. A spin-off of the Rayman series, it features two modes in which players control one of eighteen characters.

Rayman M was released in Europe for the PlayStation 2 and Windows and in North America for the GameCube and Xbox. A remake known as Rayman Rush was released for the PlayStation in 2002. Rayman M received mixed reviews from critics, commenting on the game's lack of originality, with Nintendo World Report stating that some have labeled it as a Mario Party-style game. Its remake was criticised for not meeting the original game's quality.

Gameplay
Rayman M contains two modes: racing and battle. Both incorporate platformer elements. In racing mode, the player races a computer player for three laps while avoiding twelve different obstacles. Battle mode features two playstyles: Freeze Fight, where four players have to collect as many "lums" within three minutes by shooting their opponents, and Total Fight, where players can use an unlimited number of ice bullets to freeze opponents while collecting lums.

Players can jump, glide, strafe, fire, and flip. There are twenty-nine tracks and eighteen playable characters, including Rayman, Razorbeard, Globox, Henchman 800, Teensies, Tily, New Henchman and Razorbeard Wife. In the battle mode, players focused on using ice shots to freeze their opponents, and they start off facing four opponents.

Development and release
Rayman M was originally separated into two projects: Rayman Tribe and Rayman Shooting Fish, which would turn into the game's modes. Rayman M was announced in April 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Ubisoft launched an official website for the game, containing a description of the game's characters, modes, and environments, along with galleries of screenshots from each of the game's version. Danny Ruiz, the band manager of Ubisoft Entertainment, said that the game "[promised] to provide gamers a new multiplayer experience while maintaining the production value associated with the Rayman franchise." In 2002, the game's producer Sylvain Constantin said that he wanted to do something serious after the game's development which Constantin was asked to lead the driving team and come up with a new idea because he was a driving game enthusiast.

Rayman Rush
Rayman Rush is a racing game developed by Ubi Soft Shanghai and published by Ubi Soft. It is a demake of Rayman M for the PlayStation that only features the racing mode. The game had three modes: training mode, where the player can race through levels without opponents or objectives; championship mode, where they race against an opponent; and time attack mode, where they have to finish a level within a set amount of time. Due to the PlayStation's hardware limitations, the game can only support up to two players.

Reception
Rayman M received "mixed or average" reviews, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic. Eurogamer writer Tom Bramwell wrote that he best described the game as "a cross country steeplechase dodgeball simulation" and also wrote that the game seems like "a manic, amazingly enterprising adventure game against the clock", describing it as a racing game that would not make sense. Nintendo World Report writer Michael Cole indicates that most video game series seems to be getting a multiplayer spin-off title which omit Rayman M and some have labeled it as a Mario Party-style game in the past however, the writer thought it isn't the solution. Mike Orlando of Nintendo World Report praised the modes for being fun to play with but criticised that the game was not worthy of purchasing. He compared the racing mode to Mad Dash Racing and Running Wild.

Rayman M has also heavily received criticism. GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann criticising the Windows version of the game's default controls which the player can configure the keyboard and mouse for race and battle games however, the player can also use a gamepad which he described as "the most convenient way to play the game" and the most difficult ways to configure. In addition, he praised the GameCube version that the game fits in nicely with games such as Mad Dash Racing, Running Wild, and Sonic R however, the game doesn't differentiate itself from the other games and create anything new. Brady Fiechter of Play criticise that the game should be call "Rayman Racing" and it was "a multiplayer game with nothing but characters from the Rayman universe running through obstacle courses." IGN writer Kaiser Hwang acknowledged that it doesn't live up to its predecessor's legacy, criticised it similar to Mad Dash Racing due to the racing and platforming mix however, it sense of speed is being called out as "slow" and the level design can be "flat-out horrible." Nebojsa Radakovic for GameRevolution also criticise that it does little to stimulate the kart racing/action game genres and it tracks play like any kart racing game however, she wrote that it might not be a "bad" game for a young child.

Rayman Rush
Rayman Rush received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Game Rant 's Mark Sammut disappreciated how the game only contains the racing mode along with the game looking far worse and was less responsive than it original game. GameSpot 's Ryan Davis was certain that it's doesn't maintain the same level of quality as the main games such as unlike the previous games which have top-notch sound design, the music and sound effects in the game feel rushed however, it can prove to be a decent diversion for a short period of time. Martyn Clayden of Games Domain praised the game's vibrantly colourful 3D graphics and the music as cheerful and manages of not becoming too irritating during a long gameplay session.