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Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc is a 2003 platform game developed and published by Ubi Soft, and the third major installment in the Rayman series. It follows Rayman in his quest to stop an evil Black Lum named André from taking over the world with his army of hoodlum soldiers, which includes finding a cure for his best friend Globox after he accidentally swallows André. It was released for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows, and on OS X by Feral Interactive in 2004. It was also released for the Game Boy Advance, N-Gage and mobile phones as a 2D platformer.
| Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Ubi Pictures Ubi Soft Shanghai (GC) Ludi Factory (GBA) Gameloft (NGE) |
| Publisher(s) | Ubi Soft Gameloft (NGE) Feral Interactive (OS X)[1] |
| Producer(s) | Ahmed Boukhelifa |
| Designer(s) | Michael Janod |
| Writer(s) | David Neiss |
| Composer(s) | Plume Fred Leonard Laurent Parisi |
| Series | Rayman |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | 21 February 2003
|
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer[a] |
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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. Rayman can restore health by picking up Red Lums. Instead of permanent upgrades to his abilities, Rayman can 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. After a certain point in the game, Rayman gains the ability to pull a face similar to the original game, which allows him to turn Black Lums left behind from defeating Hoodlums into Red Lums.
Unlike most entries, Rayman 3 features an arcade-style scoring system that tallies points from Rayman's actions. Whenever points are scored, this system switches to a "Combo mode" that adds additional points acquired from Rayman's actions to a separate counter, though if the player's scoring stops after a short time, the Combo mode ends as well; any points earned while Combo mode was active are added onto the score (i.e. scoring 50 points while Combo mode is active will add another 50 to the score once it ends). Points earned over the course of the game can unlock hidden content and, in some levels, allow access to hidden areas in later sections, therefore it is imperative to get as high a score as possible.[10] If points are scored while using a power-up acquired from a Laser Detergent, all point values are doubled. Until the release of Rayman Raving Rabbids, players could enter their final overall game scores in a worldwide score ranking on the RaymanZone website.
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André who was supposedly to have grown out of pure evil appears and transforms 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 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 defeated to get to Art Rytus.
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 through scaring him by pulling a face (a power he himself had acquired prior from being imbued with the Leptys' power), 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 it is not a good idea and that he does not 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.
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The game had a marketing budget of $4 million.[11]
Reception
By the end of March 2003, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc had sold more than 1 million copies.[25]
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,[12][18] the PlayStation 2 version 80% and 76/100,[14][20] the PC version 78% and 74/100,[15][22] the GameCube version 78% and 77/100,[16][19] the Xbox version 77% and 75/100,[17][21] the Xbox 360 version 69/100,[24] and the PlayStation 3 version 72/100.[23]
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