Reviews

Rayman 2: The Great Escape

By Corey

Ubi Soft does it again. They published possibly the most underrated game on the N64, Rocket: Robot on Wheels, and now they bring you another great platformer. But how good is it?

Graphics: 10

Easily among the best graphics on the N64. The backgrounds alone would probably give this part a 10. If you've seen how good Jet Force Gemini's backgrounds look, picture something better than that. There is no fog or pop-up in sight which is another bonus. The characters are highly detailed and colorful like everything else in the game. The art work is just so well done. And the with the Expansion Pak in, the game looks even better. Plus, there is never any type of slowdown or framerate problems.

Gameplay: 10

I want to first mention that this game has the best controls on the system. It is so easy to just pick up and play it's mind boggiling. Everything you do in the game - run, jump, shoot, climb, swim, fly, and more - is so easy to do because they only involve pushing one button (maybe two) to perform the move. Just take a second to get used to what button does what, then go on and play.

Now, the main objective of the game is to collect 100 Lums. That may sound like a lot, but it really isn't. Most of the 17 stages (plus bonus levels) hold 50 of these Lums. Now as you go from the beginning to the end of each level, the Lums are generally on your path. Sure, you'll have to use a bit of thinking to find some, but you never go completely out of your way to find them. And I should mention that the game is just so fun to play, it wouldn't matter if there were 5000 Lums to find.

Even with so many levles, the game never gets tedious. The main reason is because there are a lot of things going on. You'll be interacting with many characters, who will help you along the way by doing various things. For example, one character allows you to grab it's neck while it takes you to the other side of a swamp. You'll also find yourself running races, sliding down cliffs, and solving different kinds of puzzles.

Sound: 5

To put it simply, I hate the music in this game. After the first level or two, the music got extremely boring to listen to. It doesn't seem to fit with the level you are currently playing. And at times, there is no music what so ever! The sound effects aren't bad, but characters voices are, well, bad. I hated the way everyone talked in Banjo-Kazooie, and they do that same thing here. They don't really speak but just make sounds to let you know who is talking. At least you can read what they say easily.

Lasting Value: 6

Once you beat the game, that's it. Sure, it should take a good amount of time to get through the game, but after that there is nothing really to do. You may feel like playing through the levels just for the heck of it, but there is no Reason too. Of course, a lot of platformers don't have much replay value so this isn't much of a problem.

Bottom Line

This is another greatly underrated game on the N64, easily a must buy for a fan of any type of platformers. Seeing how you should be able to find the game for fairly cheap now, I'd recommend this game to just about everyone.

Final Score: 9 out of 10