For the past few hours I’ve been buried deep inside Rayman Jungle Run, occasionally glancing upwards to watch Alex Kingston discover that some of her ancestors were filth-merchants on Who Do You Think You Are? It’s been a brilliant and educational evening.
Little warms the heart as much as the returning triumph of Rayman. The music, the insanity, the evil jungle explorers and the cartoon woman in the bikini: all uniting to make you forget that his earlier games were a bit rubbish.
Rayman Jungle Run has been built with the same UbiArt Framework engine as its big brothers on console – and it’s a slick, beautiful beast. Rayman sprints endlessly on the spot until your finger connects and then it’s one way traffic – he’s off into the level with only your finger to make him jump, glide and, later, get up to a little punching.
The aim is to collect those cheeky Lums – and it’s an easy task to collect enough for progress, but an achievement that requires dedication, memory and split-second leapage to collect them all. There are forty levels of springs, drafts and imminent lava flow to deal with – and as you work your way through the game then the perils and your abilities start to mount.
It’s an absolute pleasure being able to take your time in Jungle Run – the game isn’t about the speed-run, and your brain only has to canter at the same speed of the limbless one himself. Rayman on iOS is about jumping at the right time – doing your utmost not to leave any Lums stranded behind. This said, a full house will give you a tooth – and five teeth unlock a Land of the Dead race. Now these are timed, and bastard hard, but a welcome distraction from Lum obsession none the less.
Rayman Jungle Run is slick, beautiful and a worthy companion piece to its big brother Rayman Origins. It’s the very best slice of nonsense, and certainly worth its elevated price-tag.
Rayman Origins costs a whopping (!) £1.99 but is certainly worth it. Get it from here chums.
