Rayman Legends for Wii U features GamePad controlled lightning bug

Rayman Legends gets a new character and some rhythmic platformer action.

At it's E3 press conference this afternoon, Ubisoft showed off a live demo of Rayman Legends for the Wii U. The game will feature five-player co-op and support the Wii U tablet controller, newly-announced Wii U Pro controller, and classic Wii motes.

Rayman, Globox and the Teensies are back in the new game that has them traveling through a series of legendary worlds with new environments, characters and enemies. The game will include a mix of themed levels, including several musical maps and a medieval themed map. You can also play the game online with friends, working your way through a variety of challenges.

The company also unveiled a new character: Murphy, a small green lightning-bug controlled using the Wii U's tablet controller. Murphy can zoom ahead of Rayman and manipulate the level's environment, lifting platforms and moving obstacles that the other characters cannot.

The demo of the game, developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, showed a segment from Legends that played like a rhythm platformer. The player controlling Murphy on the tablet had to activate platforms in time with the music. The two players participating on Wii remotes ran the gauntlet, flying through the level while Murphy did the heavy lifting. Players collected goodies and jumped platforms in time with the music, following the beat set by Murphy and his raising platforms. The level ended with Rayman and his companions performing a celebratory air-guitar session.

"The combinations of new controls and original game styles that the Nintendo Wii U makes possible really inspired the creative ambition of the team working on Rayman Legends," said Michel Ancel, creative director at Ubisoft. "Rayman Legends expands upon what everyone loves about Rayman's world, and adds new ways of playing together that will make it the most collaborative and fun game in the franchise."