RAYMAN 2
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Way too cool for words

By WILLIAM BARKER

If Banjo Kazooie tickled your fancy a year or so ago, and your collective platforming skills have been waning of late, Rayman 2 could be just the ticket.

UbiSoft has finally released the N64 version of the game and it must be said from the outset that this title is no slouch. In fact, if it’is a good solid platform romp you're after then you can’it go past this title.

The story goes something like this: lots of helpless little people have been misled and ill-treated by a dirty scoundrel who happens to be the arch-nemesis to our hero.

Basically, this game works like Banjo and Mario, where collecting token stars - in this case living entities who give you useful information - you can enter more and more of the game world.

It's the old tried-and-true method of platforming, but it works and Rayman 2's charm adds another dimension to the whole shebang.

Getting around the fully polygonal 3D world is pretty easy, using basic analogue controls.

Our hero also has a whole myriad of cool, super-special moves up his proverbial sleeve (I should mention at this point that Rayman has no limbs –- his hands and feet are just distorted somewhere within the time-space continuum).

He can shoot little white spheres that rid the game world of baddies but are also needed for some puzzle solving too. His hair can be used as a rotor, acting like a quasi helicopter - which is way cool - and of course who could forget the various vehicles you can use in your quest for freedom. Not UbiSoft, that's for sure.

There is so much to see and do that the somewhat slow pace of the game doesn't frustrate, and thus you're left with a fun and exciting platformer.

The graphics in Rayman 2 are a far cry from the original's smooth but, ultimately, stilted 2D sprites. The N64 has another crowd pleaser here, though the game is only done justice in high-res mode (you'll need an expansion pak for this).

There is lots of colour, lots of variety in the textures and all characters are very well animated. There are cool cut scenes thrown in just for good measure. They look nice, but their true purpose is to further the plot and using all sorts of cinematic camera angles they do so with the utmost finesse.

The only sour part of the game that I found to be a tad sloppy was the sound effects. Sure, they are there, but only the obligatory bzzz and flump sounds. When Rayman speaks, however, the samples used are very colourful –- it's just lucky all is translated to text at the lower part of the screen. It would have been nice to hear a few more high-fidelity sound samples, but considering the restrictions of the cartridge format you can't really blame the developers.

Not since Mario 64 has a platformer held my attention for so long. The game has been a long time coming but the tweaking and fiddling that has been going on backstage has paid off big time.

If you even vaguely enjoy the 3D platform/adventure genre, then you should take a good old gander at Rayman 2. Top stuff UbiSoft!

ORIGINALITY 85%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 90%
PLAYABILITY 95%
ADDICTION 95%
ENJOYMENT 90%