Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time Impressions

Those incorrigible rabbids are at it again. These screaming, slightly misshapen rabbits started life as mere characters within the Rayman universe, but they have broken free from the limbless hero's grasp to forge their own niche. In last year's Rabbids Go Home, the silly rabbids got it in their heads that they were really from the moon, and using just a shopping cart and a pack rat's gathering ability, they horded enough earthly objects to reach the orbiting rock. In their latest adventure, they will no longer be restricted to a celestial plane. Only time will tell if giving rabbids the ability to travel through time is a good thing.

The prerendered trailer for Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time started things off in the bleak Stone Age. A lone caveman sits near a pile of sticks and desperately tries to light a flame using only the friction that frantic rubbing can provide. And then, with a pop and a poof, a couple of mischievous rabbids burst into the scene, wielding an object of unfathomable power: a lighter. With a few flicks of their dexterous thumbs, a fire was created, giving the poor caveman his first taste of artificial heat and a handy way to cook all that raw meat he's been forcing down his gullet. But before he can even thank them with a pleased grunt, the rabbids disappear into the ether, traveling to another place in time.

Of course, this wasn't the only ridiculous situation these time-dancing rabbids found themselves in. They bumped into an architect in ancient Egypt, causing him to knock the Sphinx's nose right off its face. And in an inspired scene during the Middle Ages just outside of Camelot, a skinny kid (presumably Arthur) was trying to pull a magic sword from a rock. The legend goes that the person who can rip Excalibur from its resting place will become king, but when this enterprising young man pulled with all his might, those dang rabbids were hanging on to the other end. It wasn't until he walked away, sad and defeated, that the rabbids grew tired of holding on to the sharp sword, making it possible to pull it up. An old woman then came along and yanked it clear out of the ground, changing history forever.

Because the trailer was entirely prerendered, there wasn't any gameplay to speak of, so it's unclear how these situations will play out in the game. But the goofy charm that has been a staple of the rabbids games shone through in full force. Hopefully, the game will be as funny as the previous efforts, though you should keep watching GameSpot for updated impressions when we get a chance to try it out firsthand. Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time is coming out exclusively for the Wii this October.