I stopped by Ubi Soft's booth twice today to check out Rayman 3. The GameCube version is definitely the earliest one; only two levels were playable. However, what was available was quite polished and representative of the Rayman style and quality that I loved so much in the last game.

The graphics aren't vastly superior to Rayman 2's at first glance, but there are a few cool effects going on, and again, the GameCube version is still early. Rayman can still hover by holding down the A button, and he still shoots little balls of energy to attack. In the levels I played, the balls bounced off walls and homed in on enemies slightly. New gameplay additions are Globox interactions and Rayman's superhero transformations.

The former refers to Rayman's best friend, a tall blue guy who, as per the storyline, is acting very weird. Not only does he follow around Rayman and do lots of funny stuff, but he also factors into puzzles. In one level I played, you can get him drunk on grape juice and he'll burp out big purple bubbles; Rayman can then jump on those bubbles to shoot down an object that was floating high in the air.

The superhero powers come into play when Rayman rescues wizards and is granted with special cans of...something. Maybe spinach? Regardless, getting such items will change Rayman's appearance and give him new powers. The two transformations I saw only gave our limbless hero more powerful shots, but hopefully the final game design calls for additional powers that are a bit more compelling.

The second level I played didn't have Globox and was set in a large house. Apparently the mansion's owner doesn't like Rayman, because he started hunting me down with his gun. At various points in the house, he would corner me and I'd have to fight him for a while. The rooms have plenty of furniture to hide behind, and this guy's gun shot very slow spear-like projectiles, so he wasn't too hard. After fighting him in three different rooms, I finally depleted all of his life bar and the house was (more or less) safe to explore.

Art direction has always been a big part of the Rayman series, and what I've seen of Rayman 3 fulfills that legacy. The architecture is quite varied and interesting, and there are many rooms and situations that will focus on particularly beautiful lighting or a great texture map.

The game's control at this point feels responsive but very simple...in fact, I would have liked more moves. However, there may be more still left to add before its release, and the series has always been pretty inventive in terms of combat. At one point I was fighting five or six enemies, all of whom were up on stilts and firing missiles down at me. I couldn't jump up high enough to hit them; the trick is to stand under one enemy and let the others shoot at you. Then jump out of the way and their missiles will destroy the first one's stilts. Once he's on the ground, you can eliminate him easily. If that sort of creative combat is present throughout the game, maybe Rayman doesn't need a lot of complicated moves and powers.