"Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc" occupies an interesting space in the "Rayman" catalog. As I mentioned in my review of "Rayman 2: The Great Escape," that game received such overwhelmingly positive reception that it gained "sacred cow" status and was considered one of the greatest games ever made to some players. Thus, when "Rayman 3" was released, it had an entire mountain of pressure, and many felt it didn't deliver on that pressure. Perhaps Ubisoft (or, as they used to write it then, Ubi Soft...no, I'm not calling you "soft") even felt that way, because there hasn't been a proper 3D "Rayman" game since this one. All of this made things even more interesting for me because, not only did I really enjoy "Rayman 3" but, while my final score may not show it...I have to say I honestly like it even better than "Rayman 2."
"Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc" has a lot of great things going for it. The writing is every bit as whimsical as the past games, and while I was a little uncertain about the addition of dialogue, I think it adds nicely to the colorful cast of characters. The game also features good visuals between a variety of worlds, made even better by the polishing on the "Rayman 3 HD" re-release. Speaking of polish, the gameplay is even more polished than before, and the combat (one of my biggest issues with "Rayman 2") is better than ever. The level design is much more linear than "Rayman 2," but that honestly works to the game’s benefit. I personally had a few points in "Rayman 2" where I got a bit overwhelmed by the size of some levels, so I'm glad "Rayman 3" was able to tone things down a bit. And even with the linearity, there's still plenty to collect in the game, and the minigames feel more varied and interesting than before.
Of course, the game isn't "flawless." While the boss fights are not too bad, they can feel a bit long-winded at points. I also found the camera to be a bit wonky, which did feel like a distraction at a few points during the game.
Overall, though, "Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc" is a wildly enjoyable game that I often found to be even better than its predecessor. As much as "Rayman 2" is adored, I had my qualms with it, and "Rayman 3" improved on many of the things that I felt needed to be tweaked, without introducing major new issues. I appreciated the direction they took this game in comparison to the second game, and it makes me sad that Ubisoft never tried a proper 3D "Rayman" game again. Knowing modern Ubisoft, it'll probably never happen, but either way, I definitely recommend giving "Rayman 3" a shot, especially the "Rayman 3 HD" re-release of the game.
Final rating: 8 out of 10 "Great"