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| Title: |
Rayman |
| Publisher: |
Ubi Soft |
| Features: |
Color GameBoy, Infra Red, Ubi Key |
| Format: |
Platformer |
| Reviewer: |
Ben Kosmina |
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Introduction
Rayman is a French gaming character that first starred in his own game in
1996. It was made for the PC as well as the Atari Jaguar (what?) and the Playstation. It was hailed for it's great
fun, amazing graphics and the fact that it was easy to get the hang of, yet really challenging in the later levels.
Now it's been ported over to the GameBoy Color, and it's just as impressive as when it was released back in 1996.
The story involves the evil Mr. Dark, who has arrived in Rayman's world and stolen all of the Toons, which provide
the light for the world. Mr. Dark has captured the Great Protroon, the guardian of harmony, and has caged the Toons,
stealing all of their power for himself. As a result of this, Rayman's world has become dark and twisted, and terrible
creatures have started to appear. It's Rayman's job to rescue all the Toons and defeat Mr. Dark so that everything
can be straightened out!
Gameplay
Rayman's gameplay is really easy to pick up - race through the worlds, rescuing
the Toons and defeating enemies along the way. There are about 34 levels in Rayman, which is nothing to sneeze
at considering all of the detail that's been packed in as well. The levels themselves can range from from easy
to fairly difficult (there was one level that was actually causing me to swear at my GameBoy though).
There's also a few neat bonus stages, as well as some unique levels, including one which the object of the level
is to climb up, with an onslaught of enemies and a rising water level!
Another unique feature that Ubi Soft has included is the 'Ubi Key' - this neat little feature allows you to access
a secret level in Rayman if you've got a friend who's got another Ubi Soft game that's got the Ubi Key feature
enabled.
You use the infra red ports to transfer the keys (temporarily.. you don't actually lose the key if you're sending
it) and the person who receives the key is automatically taken to the secret level.
Control
Controlling Rayman is a breeze. It's your typical A to jump, B to shoot
setup. Rayman himself does what he's told - the controls don't 'stick', and it's a blessing! Unfortunately it also
means you've got no one to blame but yourself when you die!
You'll receive some really great power-ups along the way, such as Rayman's trademark helicopter hair (which can
be used to both float gently down, and later on to fly) and his magical fist, which he can throw across the screen
like a boomerang. Tap B and the fist will only fly out a little way, but if you hold B to charge, it will cross
nearly all the way across the screen.
Ubi Soft has even been kind enough to include an "auto-hang" feature - when Rayman's near the edge of
a platform, he'll grab it - saving your life in a lot of cases!
Graphics
As soon as you turn on Rayman, you are greeted with a nice rendered Rayman
mucking around on the Ubi Soft and game logo. And it's really impressive. You've really got to see it.
From there, you just know that Rayman is going to be a really good looking game. And it is. You're able to see
butterflies flitting in the background, flowers dancing, mushrooms playing leapfrog. The enemies are clear to see,
as is Rayman himself.
Ubi Soft has put an AMAZING amount of detail into the GameBoy version of Rayman, as well as including nice short
cut scenes which are also pretty good looking. Nice one, Ubi Soft.
Sound & Music
Music is another area in which Rayman excels. For some reason, I was reminded
of those old Amiga game tunes which were played in the intro screens. Or maybe it was just me.
In any case, Rayman's got some really nice tunes, whether it be the title screen, a cheery bright level, a level
where Rayman is in the bowels of the earth, or the groovy Airy Tunes level. As for sound, well, nothing really
amazing comes to mind. Oh, except when you collect a Ting, you get a 'ting'. Seems fair to me.
Final Comments
I only have one complaint with Rayman: why doesn't a game this good have
a battery save? Come on, Ubi Soft! Rayman is your mascot!! Battery back-up instead of the irritating password system
would have made this game perfect. This has GOT to be one of the best third party games that I have ever played.
Ever. Aside from lack of battery back-up, there is no reason that I can think of for you not to buy this game.
Buy it. Buy it RIGHT NOW. |
