Rayman 2: The Great Escape
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)
October 29, 1999 (N64)
October 31, 1999 (PC) February 29, 2000 (DC) September 8, 2000 (PS) November 22, 2000 (PS2) Revolution version March 11, 2005 (DS)Rayman 2: The Great Escape is a platforming video game. 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, Game Boy Color, PC, Dreamcast, PlayStation and PlayStation 2, and was later ported to the Nintendo DS portable game system and named Rayman DS. It is Rayman's first outing in 3-D. The game has been mentioned on several "Best Games Of All Time" lists[5][6][7]. It has placed 99th on IGN's Top games of all time 2007.
Contents
[edit] Gameplay
Rayman 2 is a 3D platform game. The main character (Rayman) is shown in third-person view; the camera viewpoint is by default slightly behind and above Rayman, though depending on the current playing environment the camera adjusts itself.
[edit] Plot
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 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 guarded by a guardian, who needs to be defeated in order to acquire the mask.
[edit] Storyline
The events in the game take place after the events of Rayman, though they are largely unconnected. None of the characters from Rayman 2's predecessor play any significant role, though a character resembling the Moskito appears in the first few levels. It is however not possible to interact with him. Also, in the Playstation port, the small blue Antitoons from the first Rayman game appear in a few levels, despite them being henchman to Mr. Dark, Rayman's arch nemesis from the first game who does not appear in Rayman 2 at all.
An army of Robo-Pirates, led by Admiral Razorbeard and coming from outer space in a giant pirate ship-shaped space vessel, takes over and enslaves Rayman's world, holding the captured inhabitants in the pirates' prison ship, the Buccaneer.
While fighting against the pirates, Rayman is captured; Globox, who was with him, escapes and sets out to find Ly the Fairy, to get Rayman a silver lum. Eventually, Globox is captured too, though he manages to smuggle a silver lum into the prison ship, which gives back Rayman all his powers and enables him to escape the ship.
After escaping and not being able to find Globox, he meets the Teensies who have forgotten which one of them is the Teensie king and squabble over it. The Teensies show Rayman how to travel to different worlds to collect the Lums and find the masks. The masks are guarded by mystical warriors, the known as the Guardians, whose names are Axel, Umber and Foutch (the fourth Guardian is not seen however in Rayman Revolution the fourth Guardian is called Grolem 13). When Rayman finds all the 4 masks and gives them to Polokus in his dreamworld, Razorbeard kidnaps Globox using his new giant robot, the Grolgoth. Rayman comes to his rescue and he and Razorbeard partake in a final battle, Razorbeard in the Grolgoth. They are hurled underground into a lava pit, where Rayman uses a shell missile created by the Robo-Pirates to defeat Razorbeard. Razorbeard escapes the wrecked Grolgoth and pushes the self-destruct button, which ends up destroying the entire ship. When Rayman's foot is found, he is presumed dead, however he shows up at his own funeral walking on a crutch.
[edit] Versions
[edit] PC
This 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. Some PC versions of the game have a bug. At specific levels, the game will freeze and request the user to insert the disc. Other XP users have had a strange problem with the graphics, Textures and related don't work, making it look like the 3D was only halfway done. On most occasions, the uninstalling file is not copied, and thus it is impossible to remove the game completely. Patch files are available to solve this. The PC version's voice overs were not in English but in an amusing gibberish language.
[edit] Dreamcast & Nintendo 64
Both entitled Rayman 2: The Great Escape, these two versions are very similar. Several differences exist, for example the Dreamcast version has three minigames, and players need to collect crystals to unlock them. The Dreamcast version also supports multiplayer and features significantly improved graphics and soundtrack. The Dreamcast version has voice-overs in the game intro; however, the rest of the voices are in gibberish.
[edit] PlayStation and Playstation 2 Versions
The PlayStation version was developed by Ubisoft Shanghai, and it was the first one to have the characters speaking English 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 720 or more 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. Also having a Playstation 2 version, entitled Rayman 2: Revolution, this action-adventure 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. The Hall of Doors is replaced by a central hub in which to walk freely and discover the game. Another thing is that most 2-Dimensional objects featured in The Great Escape have been replaced with 3D models.
[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).
[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] 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[11], citing graphical flaws and camera problems[12]. While it did support controlling the game via the touchpad, this was regarded as sloppy and awkward[13]. These problems were partly caused by the game being a direct port of the Nintendo 64 version of the original[12].
