Rayman

Review

by Colin Williamson

He's got no arms and no legs, but he's got plenty of attitude! He's Rayman, the latest creation from French developer UBI Soft, and the savior of the struggling Atari Jaguar platform genre.

The plot of Rayman is a bit bizarre -- Rayman's buddies, the "Protoons" and "Electoons," have been captured and held hostage by some evil figurehead named Dr. Dark. Only Rayman can save the day by negotiating a series of cleverly-designed levels, and using special moves to defeat an army of darkness. Sounds like your standard 2D platforming fare -- so how does it play?

Rayman controls quite well with the stock Atari Jaguar gamepad. Aside from jumping, Rayman can also climb, slowly hover to the ground, and punch his enemies. The lack of arms and limbs make for some seriously interesting animation -- Rayman can wind up his fist and send it flying halfway across the screen! There are a number of unique puzzle sequences, including a race against time where you have to plant seeds that grow an enormous beanstalk into the air.

This is also a remarkably difficult game. Rayman can't take that many hits before giving up the ghost, and a number of platform-negotiating puzzles require perfect timing and rote memorization, with instantaneous death as the consequence for carelessness. You'll need to hover-jump through walls of spikes, and do perfect leaps from point to point.

Visually, Rayman shines. The whole kit and kaboodle is animated with vector techniques, which result in fluid motion and smooth-scrolling backgrounds. Rayman has plenty of character and "attitude," despite the fact that he's at a loss for limbs. Even the competition is incredibly cute, with tiny walking bombs and other strange characters. Backgrounds are right out of a Disney flick, with plenty of pastels in use.

Though Rayman is still a 2D platformer (and a difficult one at that), it's still an enjoyable romp through a magical cartoon world, and offers a significant challenge through a number of well thought-out gameplay events. If you can find this one on the cheap, pick it up.