Rabbids Go Home
Encyclopedia
Rabbids Go Home, known in France as Les Lapins Crétins : La Grosse Aventure (lit. "The Moronic Rabbits: The Big Adventure"), is a "comedy
-adventure
" video game developed
by Ubisoft Montpellier and published
by Ubisoft
for the Wii
and Nintendo DS
. The game was released in North America on November 1, 2009, in Australia on November 5, 2009 and in
Europe on November 6, 2009. The modified, shorter version of the game was ported to Microsoft Windows
and released in selected countries (Russia, Germany, Poland). This is also the first game that the Rabbids become allies with the player.
Rabbids Go Home is the fourth installment in the Rabbids sub-series of the Rayman
series of video games and is the first stand-alone title in the sub-series. The game's plot centers on the efforts of the titular Rabbids to collect as many human objects as they can and create a huge pile high enough to reach the Moon, all the while avoiding the extermination attempts by the "Verminators", who wish to gain back the stuff the Rabbids have stolen.
The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised the game's humor, soundtrack and accessible gameplay, though some noted the game's low difficulty. The reviews for the Nintendo DS version were mixed.
will propel the shopping cart to three times its normal speed, while a sickly patient's quarantine bed allows the cart to
float and glide. Placed throughout the levels are "Collector Rabbids", with which the player can leave any stuff they have collected up to that point. The health
of the Rabbids (described in-game as "ideas") is measured in light bulbs, which fry out when the Rabbids take damage. At the start of the game, the Rabbids will have three light bulbs, displayed at the bottom-left corner of the screen. Later in the game, you can earn up to 6 light bulbs. If all of the light bulbs burn out, the Rabbids will reappear next to the most recent Collector Rabbid they've met.
The player can move the shopping cart with the Nunchuk attachment and accelerate using the A button. The Rabbids' main mode of offense is a loud vocalization called the "Bwaaaah! Attack", which can be triggered by shaking the Wii Remote. This attack can break certain objects, stun enemies and strip humans of their clothing. As the player advances through the game, the humans will start wearing soundproof helmets to protect themselves from the "Bwaaaah! Attack". The player can perform another technique named the "Super Boost", which is initiated when the shopping cart turns and drifts to the point where blue sparks fly from under the cart's wheels. When the player presses the B button, the "Super Boost" will be performed. This ability allows the player to knock down piles of crates, strip certain enemies faster and leap over obstacles through the use of springboards. The player can also launch the "Cannonball Rabbid", a Rabbid living inside the player's Wii Remote, by aiming with the Wii Remote and pressing the Z button on the Nunchuk attachment. This attack can strip certain enemies and open certain grates marked with "Tag".
, they decide to go to the moon, which they think is a giant light bulb. They come up with a plan to collect all of the human stuff they can find, heap it onto a giant pile and climb to the Moon. They gather the human objects and fit them all into one shopping cart, transfer all of the stuff they have found through the sewage system via a series of toilets and add the stuff to their growing pile, which becomes higher as the game progresses. Eventually, the humans revolt against the Rabbids and become "Verminators" in a bid to exterminate the Rabbids and retrieve their stolen stuff.
At the end of the game, the Rabbids are still not able to reach the moon, even after gathering almost everything from the city. The humans bombard the pile with time-delay bombs which explode on the pile, causing the pile to fly up into space. At the result of that, the XL junk falls from the sky and the humans panic. After all of the stuff has stopped falling, the humans are over-joyed to have all of their stuff back. In space, the Rabbids celebrate their accomplishment of finally reaching the moon, albeit caught in the moon's gravitational orbit.
, which was created alongside the game. The game was announced on April 9, 2009. On November 17, 2009, Ubisoft denied a rumor that the game would be recalled from United Kingdom shops due to "inappropriate language". As a result of this, the game has been re-rated a 12 in Europe.
gypsy brass band
, but inspired from the Romanian folk music. A 12-track soundtrack was made available on the iTunes Music Store on November 17, 2009. The game also includes licensed songs such as "Come Go With Me" by The Del-Vikings, "Louie Louie
" by Richard Berry
, "Take Me Home, Country Roads
" by John Denver
, "Jamaica Farewell
" by Harry Belafonte
, "Somebody to Love
" by Jefferson Airplane
, "Me and Mrs. Jones
" by Billy Paul
. and Rivers of Babylon by Boney M.
praised the game's "inventive" uses for the Wii Remote, "easy-to-get-into" gameplay, "deep" Rabbid customization modes, "great" soundtrack and "incredible" sense of humor, but noted the redundancy of the gameplay and inconsistent framerate as weak points. NGamer
UK concluded that "the Rabbids can pull off a fully fledged game without Rayman's assistance. This is witty, charming and, above all, incredible fun." GamesMaster
UK described the game as "witty, energetic and hugely entertaining, even if it isn't particularly smart." Matt Casamassina of IGN
stated that the game was "far more inspired and ambitious" than Rayman Raving Rabbids
and said that the title "at times feels like an action romp and at times a platformer on wheels, but regardless of the scenario, you'll be having fun and smiling if not laughing." Chris Scullion of Official Nintendo Magazine UK considered Rabbids Go Home to be "the funniest game on the Wii" and commented positively on the "tight" controls and "fantastic" soundtrack, but stated that the game was too easy. Aceinet of GameZone
praised the game's humor and "ever-changing" gameplay, concluding with a reminder that "games are supposed to be fun and Rabbids Go Home is a fun-filled experience that shouldn’t be missed regardless of the score." Aaron Koehn of GamePro
pointed out that the game draws its strength from its odd tone, but added that the simplicity of the gameplay becomes tiresome. Dan Pearson of EuroGamer
noted that the "constant enthusiasm" of the Rabbids can be "draining" to some and said that the game wasn't for hardcore gaming enthusiasts. Annette Gonzalez of Game Informer
said that the animations were "laugh-out-loud", but some of the gameplay sequences were "repetitive". Matt Leone of 1UP.com
remarked that the licensed soundtrack and customization features added enough personality to make the game worth playing. Nintendo Power
concluded that while the game was too easy, it was "a definite step in the right direction for the Rabbids, and I hope to see them continue this way." Tom McShea of GameSpot
commented positively on the character creator, unlockable content and cutscenes, but said that the early levels were too easy and simple and the game became repetitive.
Reviews for the Nintendo DS version were mixed. NGamer UK called the game "the best example of the genre we've seen in ages." Nintendo Power said that the game's style of puzzle is "perfect" for touch-screen control and noted that the ability to customize challenges "adds a lot of replay value to this latest exercise in Rabbid abuse." Chris Scullion of Official Nintendo Magazine UK criticized the game's "broken" physics, "universally dull" minigames and "irritating" gameplay, but noted that the cutscenes were "decent" and the level editor is "solid".
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
-adventure
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
" video game developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Ubisoft Montpellier and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. The game was released in North America on November 1, 2009, in Australia on November 5, 2009 and in
Europe on November 6, 2009. The modified, shorter version of the game was ported to Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and released in selected countries (Russia, Germany, Poland). This is also the first game that the Rabbids become allies with the player.
Rabbids Go Home is the fourth installment in the Rabbids sub-series of the Rayman
Rayman
Rayman is a platform video game published, produced and developed by Ubisoft and is the first game in the Rayman series of videogames. Originally released on the PlayStation in 1995, it was re-released for the Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn and MS-DOS in 1996. It has also been ported to various formats,...
series of video games and is the first stand-alone title in the sub-series. The game's plot centers on the efforts of the titular Rabbids to collect as many human objects as they can and create a huge pile high enough to reach the Moon, all the while avoiding the extermination attempts by the "Verminators", who wish to gain back the stuff the Rabbids have stolen.
The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised the game's humor, soundtrack and accessible gameplay, though some noted the game's low difficulty. The reviews for the Nintendo DS version were mixed.
Gameplay (Wii version)
The player controls a team of two Rabbids pushing a shopping cart. The goal of the game is to collect as much stuff as possible during each level and help the Rabbids build a pile high enough to reach the Moon. In each level, there is enough stuff to grow the pile by 1,000 feet. The minimum requirement for completing a level is to collect the "Xtra Large Stuff" and carry it to the toilet at the end of the level. The Xtra Large Stuff is located either in the middle or end of a level. Some Xtra Large items affect the gameplay. For example, a jet engineJet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
will propel the shopping cart to three times its normal speed, while a sickly patient's quarantine bed allows the cart to
float and glide. Placed throughout the levels are "Collector Rabbids", with which the player can leave any stuff they have collected up to that point. The health
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
of the Rabbids (described in-game as "ideas") is measured in light bulbs, which fry out when the Rabbids take damage. At the start of the game, the Rabbids will have three light bulbs, displayed at the bottom-left corner of the screen. Later in the game, you can earn up to 6 light bulbs. If all of the light bulbs burn out, the Rabbids will reappear next to the most recent Collector Rabbid they've met.
The player can move the shopping cart with the Nunchuk attachment and accelerate using the A button. The Rabbids' main mode of offense is a loud vocalization called the "Bwaaaah! Attack", which can be triggered by shaking the Wii Remote. This attack can break certain objects, stun enemies and strip humans of their clothing. As the player advances through the game, the humans will start wearing soundproof helmets to protect themselves from the "Bwaaaah! Attack". The player can perform another technique named the "Super Boost", which is initiated when the shopping cart turns and drifts to the point where blue sparks fly from under the cart's wheels. When the player presses the B button, the "Super Boost" will be performed. This ability allows the player to knock down piles of crates, strip certain enemies faster and leap over obstacles through the use of springboards. The player can also launch the "Cannonball Rabbid", a Rabbid living inside the player's Wii Remote, by aiming with the Wii Remote and pressing the Z button on the Nunchuk attachment. This attack can strip certain enemies and open certain grates marked with "Tag".
Plot
After invading Earth and partying intensely, the Rabbids are ready to get back home. Due to having the attention span of a goldfishGoldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
, they decide to go to the moon, which they think is a giant light bulb. They come up with a plan to collect all of the human stuff they can find, heap it onto a giant pile and climb to the Moon. They gather the human objects and fit them all into one shopping cart, transfer all of the stuff they have found through the sewage system via a series of toilets and add the stuff to their growing pile, which becomes higher as the game progresses. Eventually, the humans revolt against the Rabbids and become "Verminators" in a bid to exterminate the Rabbids and retrieve their stolen stuff.
At the end of the game, the Rabbids are still not able to reach the moon, even after gathering almost everything from the city. The humans bombard the pile with time-delay bombs which explode on the pile, causing the pile to fly up into space. At the result of that, the XL junk falls from the sky and the humans panic. After all of the stuff has stopped falling, the humans are over-joyed to have all of their stuff back. In space, the Rabbids celebrate their accomplishment of finally reaching the moon, albeit caught in the moon's gravitational orbit.
Development
Rabbids Go Home underwent three years of development before its release. A coherent and authentic storyline was needed to keep the Rabbids fresh and conserve their variety in the context of an adventure game. The development team evaluated the Rabbids as representing "emotions pushed to the extreme" and created the human characters to be the exact opposite: "[They] mull over all their decisions, their emotions in-check. Their organs have atrophied. They have nearly forgotten that they have a body or a heart, and can barely handle those." Jacques Exertier stated that the meeting between the two opposing characters is an allegory of the "internal debates we have with ourselves each time we make a decision" and that much of the comedic situations in the game stem from the meeting of the two archetypes. The setting of Rabbids Go Home was visually inspired by the period between 1945 and 1975, during which there was an explosion in mass consumption. The visuals were based on simple colors and geometric shapes rather than photorealism to create a caricaturized image of its "uptight humans with their sterile places and normalized urban planning". Rabbids Go Home is the first video game to feature the LyN engineLyN engine
LyN engine is a video game engine developed by Ubisoft. It's designed to effectively scale on both old-gen and newer-generation hardware. The first game released featuring this engine was Rabbids Go Home and will serve many forthcoming games...
, which was created alongside the game. The game was announced on April 9, 2009. On November 17, 2009, Ubisoft denied a rumor that the game would be recalled from United Kingdom shops due to "inappropriate language". As a result of this, the game has been re-rated a 12 in Europe.
Music
The music of Rabbids Go Home was composed by Fanfare Vagabontu, a MoldovanMoldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
gypsy brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
, but inspired from the Romanian folk music. A 12-track soundtrack was made available on the iTunes Music Store on November 17, 2009. The game also includes licensed songs such as "Come Go With Me" by The Del-Vikings, "Louie Louie
Louie Louie
"Louie Louie" is an American rock 'n' roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists...
" by Richard Berry
Richard Berry
Richard Berry was an African American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins....
, "Take Me Home, Country Roads
Take Me Home, Country Roads
"Take Me Home, Country Roads" is a song written by John Denver, Taffy Nivert, and Bill Danoff and initially recorded by John Denver. It was included on his 1971 breakout album Poems, Prayers and Promises; the single went to #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
" by John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, "Jamaica Farewell
Jamaica Farewell
"Jamaica Farewell" is a calypso about the beauties of the West Indian Islands.The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess . Lord Burgess was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1926. His mother was from Barbados and his father was from Virginia. The song first appeared on Harry Belafonte's...
" by Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
, "Somebody to Love
Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane song)
"Somebody to Love" is a rock song that was written by Darby Slick and originally recorded by 1960s folk rock band The Great Society and later by the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane...
" by Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
, "Me and Mrs. Jones
Me and Mrs. Jones
"Me and Mrs. Jones" is a soul song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It describes an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, Mrs. Jones. It has been recorded by Billy Paul and Michael Bublé, amongst others.-Billy Paul version:"Me and Mrs...
" by Billy Paul
Billy Paul
Billy Paul is a Grammy Award winning American soul singer, most known for his 1972 number-one single, "Me and Mrs. Jones" as well as the 1973 album and single "War of the Gods" which blends his more conventional pop, soul and funk styles with electronic and psychedelic influences...
. and Rivers of Babylon by Boney M.
Reception
The Wii version of Rabbids Go Home received generally favorable reviews from critics. Pedro Hernandez of Nintendo World ReportNintendo World Report
Nintendo World Report is a Nintendo-specific video game website that covers Nintendo's current consoles, the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, and Wii.-History:...
praised the game's "inventive" uses for the Wii Remote, "easy-to-get-into" gameplay, "deep" Rabbid customization modes, "great" soundtrack and "incredible" sense of humor, but noted the redundancy of the gameplay and inconsistent framerate as weak points. NGamer
NGamer
NGamer is a British magazine which mainly covers Nintendo video game consoles and software, and also to a much lesser extent, Sony and Microsoft consoles. The first issue was released on 13 July 2006...
UK concluded that "the Rabbids can pull off a fully fledged game without Rayman's assistance. This is witty, charming and, above all, incredible fun." GamesMaster
GamesMaster
GamesMaster was a British television show, screened on Channel 4 from 1992 to 1998, and was the first ever UK television show dedicated to computer and video games.-Origins:...
UK described the game as "witty, energetic and hugely entertaining, even if it isn't particularly smart." Matt Casamassina of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated that the game was "far more inspired and ambitious" than Rayman Raving Rabbids
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Rayman Raving Rabbids, known in French as , is a spinoff in the Rayman series released by the French company Ubisoft as a Wii launch title. The game consists of over 70 minigames...
and said that the title "at times feels like an action romp and at times a platformer on wheels, but regardless of the scenario, you'll be having fun and smiling if not laughing." Chris Scullion of Official Nintendo Magazine UK considered Rabbids Go Home to be "the funniest game on the Wii" and commented positively on the "tight" controls and "fantastic" soundtrack, but stated that the game was too easy. Aceinet of GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
praised the game's humor and "ever-changing" gameplay, concluding with a reminder that "games are supposed to be fun and Rabbids Go Home is a fun-filled experience that shouldn’t be missed regardless of the score." Aaron Koehn of GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
pointed out that the game draws its strength from its odd tone, but added that the simplicity of the gameplay becomes tiresome. Dan Pearson of EuroGamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
noted that the "constant enthusiasm" of the Rabbids can be "draining" to some and said that the game wasn't for hardcore gaming enthusiasts. Annette Gonzalez of Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
said that the animations were "laugh-out-loud", but some of the gameplay sequences were "repetitive". Matt Leone of 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
remarked that the licensed soundtrack and customization features added enough personality to make the game worth playing. Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
concluded that while the game was too easy, it was "a definite step in the right direction for the Rabbids, and I hope to see them continue this way." Tom McShea of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
commented positively on the character creator, unlockable content and cutscenes, but said that the early levels were too easy and simple and the game became repetitive.
Reviews for the Nintendo DS version were mixed. NGamer UK called the game "the best example of the genre we've seen in ages." Nintendo Power said that the game's style of puzzle is "perfect" for touch-screen control and noted that the ability to customize challenges "adds a lot of replay value to this latest exercise in Rabbid abuse." Chris Scullion of Official Nintendo Magazine UK criticized the game's "broken" physics, "universally dull" minigames and "irritating" gameplay, but noted that the cutscenes were "decent" and the level editor is "solid".