Rayman 2: The Great Escape

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Developer(s)	Ubisoft
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft Sony Computer Entertainment (PS1, PC) SoftKey (PC)
Designer(s)	Michel Ancel
Composer(s)	Eric Chevalier
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64, Windows, Dreamcast, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Network
Release date(s)	October 29, 1999 Nintendo 64, Windows EU October 29, 1999 NA October 31, 1999 Dreamcast EU February 27, 2000 NA February 29, 2000 PlayStation EU September 8, 2000 NA September 15, 2000 PlayStation 2 EU December 22, 2000 NA January 30, 2001 Game Boy Color NA June, 2001 EU December 14, 2001 Nintendo DS EU March 11, 2005 NA March 24, 2005 AUS March, 2005 PlayStation Network NA December 18, 2008
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone
Media	Cartridge, CD-ROM, GD-ROM (Dreamcast), DVD (Playstation 2)

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is a platforming video game and the sequel to Rayman. It was developed by Ubisoft and first released on January 6, 1999. It is considered to have raised standards regarding 3D, level design and game play^[1][2], being praised by numerous reviews^[3][4]. It was first released for the Nintendo 64, PC, Dreamcast and PlayStation. Later ported for PlayStation 2 as Rayman 2: Revolution, Game Boy Color as Rayman 2 Forever and the Nintendo DS as Rayman DS. It is Rayman's first outing in 3D. The game has been mentioned on several "Best Games Of All Time" lists^[5][6][7].

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Setting

The game centers on the invasion of the world where the game takes place (the Glade of Dreams^[8]) by robot pirates from outer space. In order to repair the damage to the world and defeat the invasion force, Rayman has to collect 1000 pieces (800 in the PS1 version) of the world's core (called Lums) and reunite four magical masks which will awaken Polokus, the world's spirit. Polokus has gone into hiding a long time ago, however as he is the creator of "all that is and will be"[9] he is the only hope of destroying the invaders. The quest for the four masks leads Rayman through a number of different environments; each mask is protected by a guardian, who needs to be defeated in order to acquire the mask.

[edit] Plot

Rayman 2 takes place in a world called The Glade of Dreams. An army of Robot Pirates, led by Admiral Razorbeard, invades this world and destroys the Heart of the World, the world core. This greatly weakens the resistance's power and disables Rayman's powers, leading to his capture^[9].

Globox, a friend of Rayman, is later also captured and put in the same cell as Rayman aboard the Pirates' prison ship. Globox restores one of his powers through a silver lum given to him by Ly, a fairy. Rayman escapes the prison ship, and is separated from Globox again. He learns that in order to stand a chance against the Pirates, he needs to find 4 ancient, magic masks to awaken Polokus, the spirit of the world^[10]. He travels through the Glade of Dreams via the Hall of Doors, a magical place linked to various locations in the world, controlled by the ancient Teensies^[10].

In the course of the game, Rayman frees Globox who had been captured again, and they continue together for a short while until Globox departs again to go find his family. Later, Rayman finds Globox's wife Uglette and learns that he has been imprisoned on the Prison Ship. Rayman also encounters his friend Clark, a strongman who has stomach problems due to eating rusty pirates; to continue through the level, Rayman has to cure Clark by means of an elixir.

Eventually Rayman recovers the four masks and awakens Polokus, who makes quick work of the pirates on land. In the air however, he has no power, and Rayman is tasked to dispose of the Pirates' Prison Ship, where Admiral Razorbeard also has his headquarters. In a final battle Rayman fights Razorbeard, who is controlling a giant robot, the Grolgoth. Eventually Rayman destroys the robot and while Razorbeard escapes in a small escape pod, the Prison Ship explodes. Rayman is presumed dead and only one of his shoes is found, but during his funeral he appears again, walking on a crutch.

Screenshot of the Fairy Glade, the second level of the game

[edit] Narrative

The game is played from a third person perspective and the player has control over the camera, though in some situations this control is limited to only certain angles. At several points in the game the player loses control during cut scenes, which typically show dialogue between characters. The gameplay is also interrupted by a cut scene taking place in Admiral Razorbeards room aboard the prison ship several times. During these scenes, Rayman is not present.

By collecting lums, the player unlocks more information about the game world and its backstory, which can be read by standing still and pressing a specific button for some time. Some back story is also obtained through (optional) instructions from Murfy, a "flying encyclopedia^[11]" who provides explanations on all kinds of gameplay elements.

[edit] Gameplay

In contrast to its predecessor, which was a traditional 2D Platformer, Rayman 2 is a 3D game, though it is still in most aspects a platform game. The player navigates through a mostly linear sequence of levels, fighting enemy Robo-Pirates, solving puzzles and collecting lums. Collecting enough lums gains the player access to new parts of the world^[12]. Part of the lums are hidden in small cages, in which other freedom fighters or Teensies are imprisoned, and can be obtained by breaking the cages.

In addition to the main, story-based level sequence, there are also several levels in which the player can gain bonuses in a time trial. Though these levels have no connection to the story, they are visually similar to the rest of the game and feature several characters and items also found in the "normal" levels. Additionally, by collecting all lums and breaking all cages in a level, the player unlocks a bonus level in which one of Globox's children races against a robot pirate; when the player, controlling the child, wins the race, he gains full health.

The main weapon available in the game is Rayman's fist, with which energy orbs can be shot. The orbs can be charged before shooting them, making them more powerful. At some points powder kegs are found, which can be carried and thrown at enemies or structures to destroy them. At various points throughout the game a big, purple plum can be obtained which can be used to immobilize certain enemies, and to ride on surfaces which can otherwise not be touched by Rayman. When riding a plum, the normal controls are not available and the player needs to give Rayman direction by shooting in the opposite direction of the one he wants to go to.

In addition to the plum, the player can also ride robot shells which need to be tamed first, after which they will allow the player to sit on their back and indicate the direction. During such sequences the player can not shoot. In some levels, Rayman gains the ability to fly; in one level by use of his helicopter hair, in another by holding on to a flying gunpowder barrel.

Music sample

[edit] Versions

Rayman 2 was released on a wide variety of platforms. There are several differences between the versions.

[edit] PC

The main menu of the PC version

The PC version, entitled Rayman 2: The Great Escape, features the sharpest graphics due to semi-high resolution support, compared to the Nintendo 64 and the Dreamcast versions of the product. It is compatible with computers ranging from around the year of 1999 to the present day, although it can sometimes be hard to get the game to run on Windows XP or Vista. Fan-made patches have been released to correct some of the problems that occur on more recent configurations^[13].

[edit] Dreamcast, Nintendo 64

Entitled Rayman 2: The Great Escape, these two versions are very similar. A few of the differences are: The Dreamcast version has several mini-games and numerous changes have been made to the world map and final battle between these versions. Additionally, unlike the Nintendo 64 version, to unlock the mini-games in the Dreamcast version you have to collect hidden crystals within the game, which then you can trade in the Globox Village (hidden in the Woods of Light level) that you can access once you learn the ability to swing on purple lums. Three of these mini-games have been included in the Playstation 2 version, as one of the mini-games/challenges that you play from Ly's locations, they are named 'Grab Challenge' ('LIF' in the Dreamcast version) and 'Trampoline Challenge' ('WEBLUMS' in the Dreamcast verison). The other mini-game can be bought after buying all of the upgrades from the Magic Wells in the Playstation 2 version, this game being 'The Disc' mini-game from the Dreamcast version.

[edit] PlayStation

The PlayStation version was developed by Ubisoft Shanghai, and it was the first one to have the characters speaking real languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Italian) instead of gibberish. Numerous level design changes were made, and some levels were just removed altogether. A good example of this is the entrance to The Cave of Bad Dreams, which is no longer in The Marshes of Awakening, but instead in The Menhir Hills, in front of Clark. There are only 800 Yellow Lums in this version and the number remains the same all through the game (the scene with Razorbeard eating one of the Yellow Lums was changed so that he would eat a Red one instead). Some exclusive characters are present in this version, such as Colossus and Ninjaws (which, in turn, make up for exclusive cutscenes as well). It is no longer possible to choose between the treasure and the elixir in The Cave of Bad Dreams, since the player is given no interaction in the respective cutscene, and Rayman automatically chooses the elixir. Additionally, this version features an exclusive mini-game for players who collect 90% of the Yellow Lums, which is thought to be a very old beta version of Rayman 2, showing a playable 2D level in the same style as Rayman 1. Rayman 2 was later released as a PSOne Classic on PlayStation Network on December 18, 2008 in North America.

[edit] PlayStation 2

Titled Rayman: Revolution (Rayman 2: Revolution in North America), this version of Rayman 2 was released a year after The Great Escape. The PS2 release of the game featured some enhancements and some level revisions (including new levels and lum redistribution). The Hall of Doors is replaced by a central hub in which to walk freely and discover the game. Also, this is the only version that flat-out gives you the 1,000th yellow lum as opposed to making it a super-secret hidden lum in the Tomb of the Ancients as in previous versions. Instead, the player achieves the 1,000th lum the minute they get the Lums Radar (a gadget that helps the player find any yellow lums that they missed and is also an exclusive to the PS2 version), which is obtained after beating Clark in the Tomb of the Ancients. It is unknown if the last lum was extracted from Razorbeard using the radar or if he spat it out after eating it, seeing that the game never shows either happening.

The major upgrade was that most 2-dimensional objects featured in The Great Escape have been replaced with 3D models. The real languages also return, but they are all optional in this version so the player can choose between the gibberish present in most versions of the game or the real languages. However, the frame rate is also far lower than the smooth 60 frames per second rate of the Sega Dreamcast version.

[edit] Game Boy Color

Titled Rayman 2 Forever (Rayman 2 in North America), this version is a 2D side scroller. Released in June 2001 in North America and December 2001 in Europe.

[edit] Nintendo DS

The game was ported to the Nintendo DS under the title Rayman DS. Very few changes have been made to the game, though the touch screen is used for control. The DS version is very similar to the N64 one and is almost a direct port (with the addition of the touch screen capabilities, mainly a touchscreen analog stick). Unfortunately, the more conventional D-Pad control scheme (Instead of the touch-analog) was very laggy, making the game harder than anticipated.

[edit] Development

Very early into the development of Rayman 2, it was a 2-D game for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. This was later scrapped for the 3D game that Rayman 2 became. Pictures of the 2D version and concept art (a green villain with a chainsaw) and mentions of powers such as the platform fist were published in gaming magazines such as EGM.

[edit] Voice cast

David Gasman as Rayman, Polokus

Jack Black^{[citation needed]} as Globox

Pierre-Alain de Garrigues as Clark, Tennsies, Robo-Pirates, Ninjaws

Carolie Martin as Ly the Fairy, Babies Globoxes

Matthew Géczy as Admiral Razorbeard

[edit] Music

Original soundtrack by French composer Eric Chevalier.

[edit] Reception

Rayman 2 was received very well by critics and fans alike. It was lauded in most aspects: gameplay, audio, graphics and controls alike. Reviews praised the colorful, vibrant world and the varied soundtrack and varied gameplay^[1][2].

The reception for the Nintendo DS version (dubbed "Rayman DS") was mixed^[15], citing graphical flaws and camera problems^[16]. While it did support controlling the game via the touchpad, this was regarded as sloppy and awkward^[17]. These problems were partly caused by the game being a direct port of the Nintendo 64 version of the original^[16].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Rayman 2: The Great Escape at MobyGames