Rayman was one of those games purchased for me for Christmas by oblivious parents, and it was actually really good. When Rayman 2 came out I bought it the day after it was released and I still play it today. It really is one of the best platformers around, and clearly shines on the Dreamcast.
I've completed rayman 2 3 times since i've got it for the DC it really is a special gem, you really got a bargin i think paying £15 would be a good price for thsi fantastic game!
Tis a truly great game as was the original on PSX and Saturn. PersonallyI prefer the 2D Saturn version... I'm crap at both the DC and Saturn games! damn those fucking hornets and my alcoholic shaking fingers. Ah! what about Nights Into Dreams and Casper? There's a lot to be said for games made for toddlers...
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
[Image]The Dreamcast Junkyard's newest entrant arrived this morning, albeit without his arms or legs. However, fear not - I'm not about to sink billions of pounds into finally taking Royal Mail to court for ordering their posties to stand at the gate and throw parcels randomly in the general direction of the front door (although I wish someone would). No, the newest arrival hasn't had his arms and legs snapped off by Postman Shat - he simply never had any in the first place! Gasp!!
Ladies and Gents, allow me to introduce Rayman. Yes, this weekend I finally lifted my eBay embargo and purchased Rayman 2 for the varicose vein bursting price of 99p. Yep, ninety nine new pence. Lets look at what else you can get for 1p less than a pound, just to highlight the fucking awesomeness of this transaction:
9 bags of Space Raiders and 9 penny chews2 and a half copies of The Mirror2 cartons of Sainsbury's Basics UHT skimmed milkNOTHING from the local Pound ShopSo you see, paying 99p for Rayman 2 is possibly the best thing ever to happen to me. A reflection of the patheticness of my existence, true - but that's life.
Anyhow, back to Rayman 2.
Quite simply one of the best platformers I have ever, ever, ever played. Not as good as Mario 64 mind, but still very much in the same ball park. From the sublime visuals, to the massiveness of the quest, to the pure playability - Rayman 2 is superb. It's also rather relaxing - you get to run around, solve simple puzzles, shoot shit with balls of energy and float about using Rayman's helicopter hair. Great fun.
[Image]Frolicking in the lush meadows. Bliss.
[Image]Here we see Rayman water skiing. How much gameplay variation do you want?!
[Image]The Donkey Kong Country-esque level select screen
I vaguely recall Rayman on the Atari Jaguar and it was one of only a handfull of games that was actually worth playing on it - for those who are interested, my other games (the word 'games' is used in the loosest possible terms, you understand) consisted of Club Drive, Fever Pitch Soccer and Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy...so you can probably see why Rayman sticks in the mind.
The best thing about Rayman 2 though, is that it was obviously a labour of love on Ubisoft's part. The game is literally stuffed to the rafters with detail. In the early levels, little hornets with massive noses buzz about whilst the toasdstools huddle in groups and stack themselves up to amuse themselves. Run through long grass and a cacophony of butterflies will erupt and scatter into the sky, and if you leave the joypad alone Rayman will pull faces at the camera or play basketball with his body. The graphical style of the game is totally unique on the Dreamcast, being set in a sort of cartoon world that also has some slightly sinister undertones. Like I said - one of the best games I've played on the Dreamcast thus far.
Rayman 2 was released on nearly every format around, including the N64 and PSX, and I also remember that Ubi ran a brilliant advertising campaign for the game in the US press (I admit it...it was me who bought that single copy of EGM back in 2000). It compared a fat guy in a vest called Ray to Rayman...and was smile inducing, rather than tear inducing like the rest of the typical American-style adverts that make up 98% of US mags:
[Image]This is Ray. He clearly isn't Rayman. He's got legs for a start.
Lastly, I feel a special mention must go to the manual. Every single page is full colour and it appears to have had the same amount of time spent on it - look at the illustrations and stuff accompanying the blurb:
[Image][Image]If only all manuals were as well produced as this.
Overall?
Rayman 2 should be sought out by all platform fans - and even if you rarely give platform adventures a second look (like yours truly), break the habit and give it a spin.
Want more Rayman you nutter? Go here to view every version of every Rayman game ever released, from the 'edutainment' bullshit to the great-looking Japanese version of Rayman 2:
"Legless"
5 Comments -
Rayman was one of those games purchased for me for Christmas by oblivious parents, and it was actually really good. When Rayman 2 came out I bought it the day after it was released and I still play it today. It really is one of the best platformers around, and clearly shines on the Dreamcast.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
I've completed rayman 2 3 times since i've got it for the DC it really is a special gem, you really got a bargin i think paying £15 would be a good price for thsi fantastic game!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Yeah, there's no denying the quality of Rayman 2. The new Wii Rayman looks a bit shabby though...
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
That's not a vest, that's a wife beater! :)
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Tis a truly great game as was the original on PSX and Saturn. PersonallyI prefer the 2D Saturn version... I'm crap at both the DC and Saturn games! damn those fucking hornets and my alcoholic shaking fingers. Ah! what about Nights Into Dreams and Casper? There's a lot to be said for games made for toddlers...
Tuesday, August 29, 2006