'Rayman Legends' challenge mode offered free on Wii U

The 'Rayman Legends' online challenge mode will be presented to Wii U owners in April, an act of appeasement following the well-anticipated game's loss of exclusivity and delay into September.

The game had originally been announced as a Wii U exclusive, intended for release alongside the new console in November 2012.

But a delay pushed it back to late February, until earlier this month Ubisoft confirmed a further delay until September 2013 -- because it would be launched at the same time as surprise PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.

Following the critically acclaimed 'Rayman Origins,' released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Vita and PC, Ubisoft announced that its 2013 sequel would be exclusive to Nintendo's new console, the Wii U -- a cause of consternation among those for whom 'Rayman Legends' had factored into their Wii U purchases.

So, this April, a second demo is being offered for download via the Nintendo eShop, and it's the game's online challenges mode that's being made available.

'We know you guys want to play the game as soon as possible,' said the Ubisoft Montpellier team in a video update. 'You may have heard about a demo, but in fact what we're going to do is release the full online challenge mode of the game, exclusively to the Wii U fans... it's the first time that Rayman has ever been online.'

Weekly and daily challenges take place in five different settings: the Deadly Pit, the Land of the Dead, the Infernal Tower, the Dojo, and the Wii U exclusive Dungeon.

Each can be played alone or with up to five players on Wii U; performance results are then saved to online leaderboards, and contestants can race against the 'ghosts' of other players, much like in 'Mario Kart' or 'Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.'

The challenge mode will be available from 'early April' and for 'countless hours' thereafter -- perhaps until the full game makes its postponed debut.