Raving Rabbids - Wii vs. PS2

As you know, games are often available in multiple systems. Madden football games are typically played on the Xbox consoles but are available for both Wii and Playstation 2/3. Rayman Raving Rabbids is one such game. I had the opportunity to play the game on both Wii and Playstation 2. I thought I would share some general comparisons between the two systems.

The storyline was the same, of course. Rabbids have taken over the world and Rayman must play in a gladiator-style series of games to defeat the rabbids with plungers and rocking dance moves.

The big difference of course lay in the control style simply because the Wii is more physical than the Playstation 2. Originally, I played on PS2. I sat down with a remote in my lap and my hands did the work. For one minigame, you twirl a cow and release it in the air sending it across a graveyard field. This was especially challenging on the PS2 because the release had to be timed perfectly with where the cow was swinging around Rayman. The release was achieved by pressing a button and if pressed at the wrong time (quite often) it landed to the side.

On the Wii, the throw was achieved while actually circling the remote around your head (not just rotating an analog stick). The release was still a button but you can kinda push the remote forward so the throw was a little easier. The controls reflected what you were doing while on Playstation 2 it was "push this button to achieve this."

One of the big differences I noted, however, was not the controls but the graphics. At the start of each minigame, the Playstation 2 would show Rayman on the left and the control description on the right. The Wii had a specific graphic for each game though. The graphic would be a rabbid showing you how to hold the Wii remote to achieve your goal. For the cow minigame, the rabbid rotated the remote like a lasso. In a different game, you draw the outline of a food item and then the rabbid eats it. On the Wii, it showed the rabbid moving the remote to "draw" the food-even zooming into the paw slowly moving the remote. The PS2 had one graphic for all the games and the Wii had individual graphics for each game menu.

The interesting differences made for an entirely new experience. I knew the goal but it was a different way of achieving it. Owning a Xbox, PS2, and a family Wii, I know that the differences between different systems is a topic discussed both passionately and thoroughly but to try it first hand was an exciting experience.