Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party see’s the return of the raving rabbids for their third appearance in a video game and they have not lost any of their quirky sense of humor or mischievous nature that makes them so lovable.

But appearing in yet another package of mini games, for which the Nintendo Wii system has become so renowned, may dampen their appeal this time around - or because of the timing of the Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party release, it could  be just what you need to keep everybody entertained for a while this festive season, when the whole family comes to stay with you, again!

Another thing which could hold back the potential of the raving rabbids is the association with Rayman, who is a far less exciting game character and has easily been outdone by his little furry friends without a shadow of doubt. Instead, I feel the raving rabbits should have stepped into their own identity this time around - but beggars can’t be choosers, and I am sure it is only a matter of time before Rayman fades out completely leaving the rabbids with the limelight they so richly deserve.

The previous Raving Rabbids games introduced mini game lovers to a fresh feeling range of games which were made more enjoyable by the Raving Rabbids themselves - so much more fun than your average ‘Mii’ characters, right? Their unusual sense of humor and crazy antics from previous titles are still intact in Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, and perhaps stand out more than ever as they have taken to mocking popular cable TV shows in the brilliant and very funny cut scenes that you come across throughout the game.

The characters can only take the game so far, though, and when you begin to look into the actual games you will find a whole lot of fun for the whole family as you will probably be expecting, but unfortunately there are some flaws in the gameplay which will cause arguments, which is not so fun. When you lose to your little sister because of a control glitch and she is rubbing your face in it, you will not want to congratulate her, will you! These glitches are few and far between, but are apparent enough to spoil what would otherwise be a fantastic range of addictive mini games that would keep you coming back again and again.

There is something of a plot to Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, which is quite difficult to summarise so I will give you the basic outline. The rabbids are continuing their efforts to drive Rayman insane and have taken over the TV broadcasting to his home, and literally feed him their own brand of twisted programming - much of which includes parodies of real cable TV shows that you will know. You will play mini games which will ultimately decide what programs are fed to Rayman’s TV. Confused? Me too, to be completely honest.

The mini games themselves appear to be quite varied at first glimpse, but unfortunately the majority of them play in pretty much the same way and the control is often problematic. When you do manage to have a glitch-free multiplayer game with two or three friends or family members then the game is nothing short of awesome, but this is an all too rare occurrence as you will often be troubled by lame motion controls which you will soon tire of operating. There is nowhere near enough variety within the mini games to make Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party a game to enjoy time and time again, as it so clearly had the potential to be.

Despite the disappointment that this title will leave you with, the raving rabbids themselves remain lovable throughout the game and you almost feel guilty for thinking it’s crap game but do not fear, they are not really giving you puppy dog eyes, and the up side of this title is that there is plenty of room for improvement for the next Raving Rabbids title! Are any confirmed? I do not know, but I for one would love to see them back, but preferably on their own. Give this one a miss, but these guys will take over the world some day!

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