Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc

Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
North American GameCube box art.
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Shanghai (GameCube) Ubisoft (GBA)
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Release Date(s)
Nintendo GameCube	NA: March 4, 2003 EU: February 21, 2003 EU: October 22, 2004 (Player's Choice)
Nintendo GameCube	NA: March 4, 2003 EU: February 21, 2003 EU: October 22, 2004 (Player's Choice)
Game Boy Advance	NA: March 4, 2003 EU: February 21, 2003
Game Boy Advance	NA: March 4, 2003 EU: February 21, 2003
Virtual Console (Wii U)	NA: April 20, 2017 EU: May 25, 2017
Virtual Console (Wii U)	NA: April 20, 2017 EU: May 25, 2017
Platform(s)
Classification(s)	This game was labelled as Player's Choice
Rating(s)
ESRB	03
PEGI	01
ACB	01
USK	01

Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc is a 2003 platform game developed and published by Ubisoft, and the third major installment in the Rayman series. It tells the story of how Rayman stops André, an evil black lum, from taking over the world with his army of sack-like "Hoodlum" soldiers.

Gameplay

Rayman's controls are similar to that of Rayman 2: The Great Escape, albeit utilising long-ranged punches (and kicks at some opportunities), instead of throwing Energy Spheres. Instead of permanent upgrades to his abilities, Rayman can now find special "Laser Detergent" cans (used by the Hoodlums to turn their clothes into combat fatigues) containing one of five temporary power-ups. The Vortex allows Rayman to fire mini-tornadoes instead of punching, the Heavy Metal Fist increases Rayman's strength and allows him to break down certain doors, the Lockjaw gives Rayman extendable claw weapons that can be used to latch onto and electrocute enemies or swing across gaps, the Shock Rocket allows Rayman to fire a remote controlled missile, and the Throttle Copter provides Rayman with a special helmet that allows him to fly vertically for a limited time.

Plot

One night, a Black Lum named André, who was supposedly said to have grown out of pure evil, appears and transforms other Red Lums into Black Lums to join him. The group eventually gains enough hair from various animals throughout the forest to dress themselves as scarecrow-like Hoodlums. In the middle of the process, Murfy, one of the residents and workers of the Fairy Council, discovers them. André later finds him hiding nearby, and he and his Black Lums pursue him. Murfy is chased to a small clearing, where Rayman and his friend Globox are sound asleep. Just after Murfy reaches them, Globox is awakened by the commotion. Now aware of the situation, Globox helps Murfy to try and get Rayman, who is still asleep, to safety. In the process, Globox accidentally removes Rayman's hands, forcing Murfy to pick Rayman up by his hair and fly him away from the clearing himself. In an attempt to save himself, Globox runs away to safety, taking Rayman's hands along with him.

As time passes, more and more Hoodlums invade the forest. After Rayman wakes up, he and Murfy reach the entrance to the Council and discover Globox hiding in a barrel. Just as Rayman gets his hands back from Globox, André and a few of his minions appear, following Globox as he flees into the Council. As Rayman and Murfy pursue them, they learn of André's evil plan: to taint the heart of the world so that he can create an army of Hoodlums. Eventually, André catches up with Globox, who ends up accidentally swallowing the evil creature. Afterwards, Rayman attempts to seek out a doctor that can rid André from Globox's insides and Murfy departs from the team, warning Rayman the Black Lum may force Globox to drink plum juice, in spite of the latter's allergy to it. Rayman meets up with three doctors: Otto Psi (a play on the word autopsy), Romeo Patti (homeopathy), and Art Rytus (arthritis). After all three doctors make independent attempts at purging André by using various parts of Globox's body as musical instruments, they succeed in getting rid of him after collaborating in Art Rytus' clinic room. Refusing to admit defeat, André teams up with Reflux, a member of the Knaaren race that Rayman had previously defeated.

Reflux steals the scepter of the Leptys – a god worshiped by his people – from the child king of the Knaaren and uses it to increase his power, which in turn will allow Andre to infinitely reproduce. With Globox's help, Rayman climbs to the top of the Tower of the Leptys and faces Reflux and André as the former transforms into a giant winged monster. After a prolonged battle, Rayman and Globox destroy Reflux and Rayman turns André back into a Red Lum which results in all the Black Lums turning back into Red Lums. Shortly thereafter, Rayman and Globox return to the clearing that they were in before. Before they resume their nap, Globox admits that he misses André and would like him back, but Rayman says that's not a good idea and that he doesn't know how to get him back. Globox says that a Red Lum has to be scared to be a Black Lum, to which Rayman replies that he would hate to imagine what could scare a Lum. A flashback to before the beginning of the game reveals that Rayman unwittingly created André when his hands went off on their own and scared a Red Lum with frightening shadow puppets.

Reception

Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Game Boy Advance version 82% and 83/100 and the GameCube version 78% and 77/100.

External links

• Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc at MobyGames
• Rayman 3 at GameFAQs