Rayman 2
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When Ubi Soft signed onto the develop and publish on the Dreamcast, it was a no brainer that its mascot would in some shape or form eventually make an appearance on the next generation console. That time has just about arrived and Rayman will appear in the hit N64 incarnation Rayman 2: The Great Escape.
Thus far Ubi Soft has given us three different racing games on the Dreamcast format. It is adventure games however that made Ubi Soft what it is today. This holds especially true for the Rayman franchise which first appeared at the launch of Playstation. Its rich textures and bright colours wowed gamers the world over and in essence put the French developer on the map. Well the same brilliance continues in Rayman 2: The Great Escape for the Dreamcast. I have been spending quite a bit of time with the early build of the game that Ubi Soft sent us last month and let me start off by saying it is absolute beautiful to look at. Rayman 2 employs the same great bright visuals that we have come to expect in the series. These same visuals give the game more of a cartoony feel than anything else. In this sense no other game can compete with these kind of visuals as they are unique and in their own class. The gameplay is equally as good although in the early version we have all of the gameplay elements have not been pulled together. The frame rate is a little under par and at this stage resembles more of a N64 game. However, Ubi Soft has promised that the final game will be running at a silky smooth 60 frames per second refresh rate. The premise of the game is basically this: as Rayman you have to rescue your friend Globox, an angle and a whole population of frog like creatures from the clutches of the evil pirates. Rayman can run, jump,and helicopter spin as his basic moves. As the game progresses Rayman will gain power-ups in various forms. The game thus far has 20 massive areas that in themselves are broken down into smaller sub-stages. Each area or world has its own unique theme and it is shown in stunning detail. As in the original Rayman, you must collect 'lums' There appear to be over 1000 lums hidden over the 20 areas. In addition there are a number of mini-games that can be accessed depending on how well you do in the level. The levels themselves combine a number of traditional platforming sequences from search, slides, flying, running, side scrolling, 3rd person perspective, and first person perspectives. In sum, there is a lot to do in this game. If everything continues as scheduled, Rayman 2: The Great Escape may well end up as the best platformer available on the Dreamcast. We will soon find out, as Rayman 2 DC is due in March. |
