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E3 2011: Raving Rabbids Alive and Kicking Hands-On Preview

Now you too can feel the crippling insanity of being in the world of Raving Rabbids.

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The absurd minigame-filled Rayman spin-off bolts from its homeland on the Wii and splats all over the Xbox 360's Kinect. Ubisoft's new installment in the thrilling saga hosts more than 40 activities that span hours of multiplayer party game excitement. We teamed up to try out several multiplayer and single-player modes.

Among the first was Whack-a-Rabbid, a form of whack-a-mole that required stomping or jumping on rabbids that emerged from holes. At first, only two openings appeared in front of each player, but slowly another seven arrived and formed a three-by-three grid. Additional rabbids would also float across the screen and could be slapped for extra points. However, the sportsman tactic of using our feet wasn't required, as our opponents got on their knees and slapped the ground like power-pad cheaters.

Luckily, the next game was the single-player snot toss, where rabbids could be flung by whipping our bodies around in a circular squat-and-weave motion. While badly timed throws would simply mash the little rabbids, well-placed throws to the right of the screen could cause the tikes to soar through the air like home run balls.

Next was flaming pong, where the rabbids used their arson skills to bring justice to blasphemous firefighters. At each round, the rabbids would toss out fiery marshmallows and toss them around. Players moved their firefighters up and down poles by lowering and raising their hands. The goal was to deflect the burning confection with their oxygen tanks and slam it into the enemy's side. With each point scored, opposing players were granted an extension of the height of their oxygen tanks.

The final section we saw wasn't a full game but instead allowed us to interact with a pet rabbid. We could use our motions to kick or confuse the creature and even pass it around to other players. This allowed for creative use of how we wanted to interact with and treat the annoying buggers. There was also a quick camera motion formed with both pinkies touching each other and the thumbs used to press the triggers. This could be used to capture the memories of your ongoing abuse. We were told our accumulated rewards from the matches could be used to purchase items to further enrich the experience, though we weren't granted access to that feature.

There are dozens more minigames to explore, and we'll have more info when Raving Rabbids Alive and Kicking hits the Xbox 360 Kinect on November 8.

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