Product Description
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After a few years in retirement, jumping game giant Rayman
returns with a new 3-D adventure game that will keep you hopping
through several graphically stunning game environments. Fans of
Sonic, Mario, and other cartoon-like jumping games will probably
enjoy the familiar gameplay of Rayman 2. While the French-created
Rayman character may not be as recognizable as Sonic or Mario, he
does bear a distinct animated look that will win over younger
gamers. This strange cartoon creation manages to keep it together
despite lacking any body limbs to connect its head, hands, and
feet.
While younger players will appreciate the cartoon-like 3-D
gaming environments, this game promises to challenge experienced
gamers with 13 3-D game environments and 45 unique levels.
.com
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Rayman 2: The Great Escape packs more charm and surprises in a
single level than most games can muster in their entire length.
This 3-D platformer is designed in the same vein as Super Mario
64 ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000F1GM/${0} ) for the Nintendo 64 and
the Gex ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000021Y5T/${0} ) series on the
PlayStation. With the notable exception of Sonic Adventure,
Dreamcast owners have suffered through a dry spell when it comes
to action jumping games on the 128-bit system. Rayman 2 was worth
the wait.
The back of the case describes Rayman 2's graphics as "lush,"
but that may be an understatement. The game's environments and
effects are impressive. We were awed by the a of detail that
has been designed into many of the game's environments. Perhaps
more amazing is that the game suffers no slowdown despite the
high-resolution visuals.
Pretty graphics aside, Rayman 2 delivers solid gameplay that
will suck in both casual and hardcore gamers. The controls are
intuitive and special moves are easy to pull off. Rayman has a
limited set of moves--basically he can run, jump, and shoot
energy balls. Analog speed control is fully implemented, letting
users pounce through a field of butterflies or tiptoe around a
ing guard. Several puzzles are scattered throughout the
game, but they are so ingeniously designed that you'll never feel
overwhelmed by their complication.
We were hard-pressed to come up with many drawbacks to this
game. One slight flaw is the camera angle, which can sometimes
interfere with your ability to accurately control the on-screen
action. Fortunately, this can usually be amended with a few quick
presses of the camera control buttons. Other than that, Rayman 2
is as good as it gets in this genre. Better still, Dreamcast
owners get a special bonus: this version contains some extra
levels you won't find anywhere else. If you have multiple
systems, this is the version to get. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
* Outstanding visuals
* Tight control
* Excellent level design Cons:
* Has some 3-D camera problems
* Sound effects lack punch
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Review
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After patiently waiting more than a year between the
announcement of the release date of Rayman 2 for the N64 and the
actual release last November, fans eager for another serving of
Ubi Soft's jointless platform hero were rewarded with an amazing
platforming experience that truly showcased the N64. But what
really surprised the gaming populace was the announcement that
Rayman 2 was also in development for the Dreamcast and the
PlayStation. And while the PlayStation version has yet to be
released, the Dreamcast version is currently the best Rayman 2
available. Rayman has finally made the transition into a fully 3D
realm, and although not as well known as Sonic or Mario, Rayman 2
proves that you don't have to have a hugely popular character to
make a great 3D platform game. Evil mechanical pirates led by the
maniacal Razorbeard are enslaving the population of Rayman's
world. It's up to our jointless hero to collect four magical
s that, once united, will awaken a ing god who will help
Rayman defeat the pirates. Along his quest he'll pick up lums,
which are magical fragments of the world's energy core. He'll
also free creatures enslaved by the evil pirates and run into a
host of friends who will help him achieve his goal. Rayman 2
really immerses you in Rayman's world. The game offers stunning
graphics, incredible sound, and tons of rtunity to interact
with other characters. Almost immediately you'll run into Globox,
an old friend who helps you escape from the pirate ship. From
there, you'll encounter a cute fairy, a collective of tiny
magical beings, a muscle-headed giant, an imprisoned whale, a
polite water snake, and a few other surprising characters.
They'll help you along the way by opening new routes, pulling you
across chasms, giving you new powers, or even volunteering
information. The graphics are simply astonishing. People taken
aback by the N64 or PC versions of Rayman should really see him
on the Dreamcast. The environments are lush, the colors are
vivid, and the graphics are extremely crisp. There's absolutely
no pop-up anywhere in the huge levels, and the game flows
smoothly from one part to the next. You won't be truly impressed
until you stand atop a ledge and switch to a first-person view,
in which you'll be able to look down on the entire level without
any hint of fog. Rayman himself looks great, and the character
design is wonderful. The robo-pirates have just the right
combination of menacing and doltish, Ly, your fairy friend, looks
positively elfish, and Jano, the Keeper of the Cave of Bad
Dreams, looks like he belongs in a nightmare. Rayman 2 is one of
the most creative games to come along in a great while. Most
platform games give you tons of ledge jumping and room exploring,
with little deviation. Rayman 2, however, is packed full of
different modes and minigames. From waterskiing, to swimming
alongside a whale, to riding a rocket-powered horse, to flying a
flaming powder keg, Rayman 2 is full of gameplay surprises.
Indeed, there's plenty of platforming in Rayman 2, but the
frequent use of different gameplay elements keeps the game fresh
and exciting. Also, the game is very good at surprising you.
While there are not a lot of objects in the game, there are
several ways to use each. A powder keg can be tossed at bad guys,
thrown at doors, used to break open cages, and even lit to create
a rocket. This system always keeps you wondering what, exactly,
you're going to do with an item you run in to. Rayman 2 is not
only a treat to the eyes, but also to the ears. All the
characters in Rayman 2 speak in their native language - a sort of
quasi-French that comes out sounding more like gibberish than
anything positively discernable. While each level has its own
distinctive tune running in the background, certain scenarios
will cause the music to change tempo, or even switch to a
different track altogether, giving the game a truly interactive
sound system. And if that weren't good enough, the music is
actually really good. But that's not all the sound department has
to offer. The sound effects in this game are great too. Detailed
down to your footsteps, you'll hear every snoring pirate, every
plink of your shoes hitting hollow metal pipes, every swinging
cage, and everything else you'd expect if you were actually
Rayman. Playing Rayman 2 without any sound is a difficult task
indeed, as it's absolutely essential to the game. The control is
so intuitive you'll wonder why other games even bother with
bogging down the player with complex control schemes. You can
jump, use your helicopter move to glide, shoot purple rings to
swing, hold the left trigger to lock onto a target a la Zelda,
and stand next to an object to pick it up. That's all you must do
to get you through every level of Rayman. You won't need a
complex item inventory screen, a lives count, or even much of a
life bar, for that matter. With the wonderfully simple control
and nothing more, Rayman 2 still manages to be a challenge
without frustrating you with complex button presses or making you
figure out what item to use where. Ubi Soft wasn't satisfied with
simply porting the code over to the Dreamcast. Not only does it
look better than the PC version, but it's also obvious the
developers took their time making Rayman really take advantage of
what the Dreamcast has to offer. There are new extra features,
and Rayman 2 is now a multiplayer game. And if you explore the
game's web site through the Dreamcast's browser, you'll find
clues that lead you to a hidden Gloobox village, where you'll be
able to play the Gloobox Disk - a multiplayer maze game. Rayman 2
is one of the best platforming experiences available today. By
including a wonderfully humorous story, excellent game mechanics,
and perfection in almost all other categories, Ubi Soft has
created a game that appeals to all types of gamers. There are
many versions of Rayman to choose from, but the extra features
crammed into this version plus the Dreamcast's superior graphics
and sound make this the Rayman game of choice for choosy
gamers.--Ben Stahl--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. --
GameSpot Review
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