PixlBit

Yes, another Rabbids game. No, it's not the kind that was actually a bit of fun, it's the other kind, the mini-game cash-in kind. I think we can all agree that enough of these have released already this generation, but Ubisoft refuses to let up in their production. Even more disappointing than reverting the series to its roots, is that the premise (Rabbids travelling through time) would have made for a great follow-up to the more adventure-oriented gameplay of Rabbids Go Home. Instead, players are left with a collection of mediocre mini-games that don't even make an attempt to truly utilize the time concept, relegating it to the background of the mini-games, making its inclusion negligible.

Players start the game in a museum and can travel its halls to reach the various exhibits through which games are played. Throughout the museum are sidequest mini-games that can be kicked into motion seamlessly. These include shooting masks to keep them afloat, smashing displays continuously, and even playing back a small six key piano to match the demonstrated pattern. They don't add much to the gameplay, but do round out the game's presentation, making the museum seem more interesting and alive, despite having no NPCs.

The core of the game lies in the up-to-four player mini-games that are found in a back room of the museum. Split into five separate types with corresponding rooms, players have their choice of Bouncearium, Shootarium, Flyarium, Runarium, and Hookarium games. Each "-arium" has its own flavor of four or five mini-games, as well as sidequest mini-games that appear in the room.

Both the Bouncearium and the Shootarium based mini-games were the most enjoyable. The Bouncearium, as implied by the name, has players bouncing at varying degrees of strength. The A button produces a light bounce, while a controller shake produces a stronger smash. Its mini-games are platformer like in design, typically requiring players to collect items or smash things in the time the mini-game is based. The levels here are pretty well-constructed and the havoc of having up to four players competing makes for a perfect party environment.

The Shootarium is obviously based on shooting, whether it's gallery style or on-rails. Given the Wii Remote's pointing abilities, most of the games found here can be quite fun. Two games stand out for me in particular. The Uranium Rush is the first, which thematically matches the California Gold Rush. This has two opposing teams trying to shoot rocks of Uranium to "mine" them, all while trying to deflect explosives back and forth at each other to lose part of the collection. Against the computer the game is miserably easy, but with an opposing player it can get pretty intense.

The other one is where players must construct a pyramid before their opponent. Worker Rabbids walk by with big stones strapped to their backs, and players must grab them and toss them to the outlined pyramid in the background. Various impediments come into view, making it tough for players to toss the blocks, and certain Rabbids will come by that can destroy a single block of your opponent's pyramid if shot in the right spot. This has players feverishly tossing blocks and excavators back and forth, which is again, quite a bit of fun with another human player.

Runarium games are extremely boring. Players are simply racing to the finish line, while dragging another Rabbid behind them via toilet paper. The games are slow paced to begin with and are made slower by a variety of impediments placed in the game world.

The Flyarium is easily the worst part of the game, as it requires players to use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk as wings to fly a Rabbid around. Turning means dropping one arm down and raising the other, while using the analog stick on the Nunchuk to control altitude. It's disorienting and works shoddily due to the Nunchuk's poor motion sensor.

Finally, the Hookarium games, of which there are only three, are limited to those who have the Wii MotionPlus. These are essentially fishing games and, like the Flyarium, don't work very well even with the added precision of the MotionPlus.

While there are around 25 main mini-games with a fairly large collection of sidequest attractions, the game feels pretty light on content. This is most likely due to most games in the collection being unenjoyable or poorly constructed, and those that are, only mildly enjoyable at that. The Rabbids were heading in the right direction with Rabbids Go Home, but their washing/time machine has altered course to somewhere I'm not interested in going again.