No arms? No legs? No problem. Review

No arms? No legs? No problem.

Don’t you just hate those days when Robo-Pirates come from deep space and ruin

your best outfit? Don’t you hate it when they’re intensely determined to enslave

all of your Teensie and Globox friends? And doesn’t it just irk you when those

same inconsiderate jerks break the heart of the world you live in, shatter its

primordial core into 800 pieces, and steal away all of your powers? Well, that’s

just the beginning of Rayman’s bad day, and now he’s flippin’ his lid like he’s

gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is the latest 3D platformer from Ubi Soft.

It stars that second string, college mascot-looking Rayman in an adventure to

save the world from… you guessed it, the Robo-Pirates of deep space.

You, of course, are Rayman, that funky little yellow guy made up of a torso,

a head, hands, and feet. The bad news is that he’s got no arms, no legs, and

hell, I’m not even sure that there’s really a torso in that little purple shirt

of his. The good news, though, is that his hair is just the right size, has

the perfect shape, and the precise amount of mousse to act as a propeller, giving

him the power to hover around like a helicopter.

Another bonus is that he has the ability to generate energy balls in his hands

and hurl them at the baddies. Hopefully, these powers will be enough to get

Rayman through the 50+ levels of sheer robotic madness. Jeebus, that’s worse

than being forced to watch a Real World marathon!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to collect the 800 pieces

of the primordial core that are scattered among the levels. These fragments

of the core are known as “lums” and look a lot like little fireflies. As the

game progresses, a certain amount of lums are needed to unlock the levels and

eventually destroy the Robo- Pirates.

While the PSX version doesn’t look quite as good as the Dreamcast

version, it isn’t expected to. The graphics are still pretty good with a

decent framerate and clean textures.

The

environments in R2: TGE are fun. Ranging from the eerie to the comical,

they create a cool world that is fun to explore. The enemies also have a very

creative flair. Admiral Razorbeard, flying Zombie Chickens, and the other bizarre

creatures that the programmers pulled out of Darwin’s grab bag will have you

dying with laughter.

Rayman’s path isn’t an easy one and often he is forced to discover alternative

modes of transportation. You’ll find yourself water-skiing, swimming, and even

rocketback riding on your travels to save the world. Being a hero is tough,

ain’t it?

Rayman 2‘s control is responsive and smooth, making it easy to navigate

the levels. However, my biggest gripe is that the camera isn’t always friendly.

Quite often you’ll find yourself taking leaps of faith, just hoping that you’ll

land where you need to be. Grab all the rabbit’s feet and four-leaf clovers

you can because it’s all up to lady luck to save your ass. (errr…does Rayman

even have an ass? – Ed.)

Like most platformers, R2: TGE can be quite challenging at times. Learning

the intricacies of each level or finding the rhythm for a series of jumps will

easily use up several of your infinite lives. Even the bonus levels are nearly

impossible. For the most part, though, some good old-fashioned persistence will

get you far and leave you with a great sense of accomplishment at the end.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is another 3D platformer competing for your

hard earned bucks. This game brings cool level design, silly characters, and

some really challenging levels to the table, but in the end, it’s just a different

cut of the same platformer meat. If you liked the first Rayman, then

you’ll definitely want to see the next chapter in his adventure.