Rayman 2: The Great Escape

In order to play in glorious 1920x1080p, do the following steps: 1. Open your game folder (e.g. GOG Galaxy/Games/Rayman 2) 2. Run configuration tool "nglide_config.exe" 3. Set Screen Resolution to 1920x1080 4. Set Aspect Ratio to "Preserve Original" (optional, but IMO necessary due to lack of proper Widescreen support) 5. Set 3Dfx logo splash screen to Off (again optonal, for a faster start-up) And... that's it! Enjoy Rayman 2 as you should!

When I first played the PS1 demo over 17 years ago, I knew Rayman 2 would etch itself onto the stone pillar that was my childhood. What surprises me as an adult, however, is just how much this game surpassed its competitors. I grew up with other games like Gex and Jersey Devil, yet Rayman 2 stands (or rather floats limbless) above all of them. It's not just the fun gameplay, or the unforgettable cast of characters, or even the sweet soundtrack. Everything in Rayman 2 adds up to the rare kind of 3D platformer that transcends the 1990s and provides a fun, timeless experience. Rayman 2 fits nicely in-between Super Mario 64's exploration and Crash Bandicoot's linearity. It never gets overwrought in its collect-a-thon mechanics, yet still boasts a level of freedom beyond merely jumping over pits. The iconic character design allows for an unprecedented level of fluidity and responsiveness in controls. Instead of awkwardly punching air, you shoot energy from your fists with an Ocarina of Time lock-on system to smash Robo-Pirates and swing from hoops. The repertoire is quite simple, but the designers have maximized the potential of each skill. You'll helicopter through air streams, jet ski off the back of a swamp monster, dodge cannonballs from flying pirate ships, use your fists to propel yourself on a piece of fruit over lava, and tackle many more exciting challenges throughout the 20 worlds. Overall, Rayman 2: The Great Escape is one GOG release you just can't miss. Few 3D platformers have reached the level of cohesion that this gem has. I'd even go as far as to say Super Mario Galaxy could've learned a few tricks from Michel Ansel! Outside of a few issues like no control mapping, unskippable cutscenes, and impossible bonus games at 60FPS, there's nothing truly bad I can say about this game. Only "Rayman Revolution" on PS2 can boast itself as superior. (Make sure you install the fan-made patches to fix the stretching on widescreen monitors and enable modern gamepads.)

Damn does this bring me back to my childhood! I just bought the Jak and Daxter collection for my ps3 and I decided to poke around some of my other favorite gaming websites to see if they had more of my childhood favorites--and I was so ecstatic to find Rayman 2 here! Now, I don't know if this is by memory, but I could have sworn there was voice acting when I played this game as a kid... yet the characters sound like they're speaking French? Unless it's like a 'gibberish' game language that I'm mistaking for French, and it's always been that way and my memory is just horrible haha. It's not enough to warrant me not playing the game, though. Unfortunately, what IS enough to keep me from fully enjoying this game is the controls. They're poorly mapped and at times extremely frustrating to use, which doesn't help with my already awful gaming skills (arrow keys to walk, Q, O, CTRL, and one other key for the camera, space is for shoot, A is for jump, J is to bring up your level progress and what you've collected, etc. it's all very weirdly mapped). For large gaps where I need to helicopter across, it takes me a good maybe 7 or 8 tries, and when I'm on thin ledges I ultimately end up flinging myself into dangerous waters by accident. I DO have a plug-in controller but unfortunately the game doesn't seem to recognize it :c I'll definitely continue playing it since I got the game for such a good price, but if I can't find a way to make the game playable due to the controls I might have to shelf it which I really don't want to do!

This Rayman game in the Rayman series will always be my absolute favourite game. I love the awesome graphics (which is very impressive from a game made in 1999, the graphics were really ahead of its time), the characters (for example, the teensies, they were lovable), the soundtrack is so memorable and nice, I love the gibberish in it, and that every level is different on its own. I love that the story is dark and deep, but simple for everyone to understand, and that while it is still dark, it manages to include some humor in it still. If you own a Sega Dreamcast, then I would definitely say buy it, since it's the definitive version of the game. But if you don't have one, or just don't have enough money to buy one, then you can buy the GOG version of the game for PC, from here, because if you do, you can download the included goodies for free, or the N64 version. Both of them are worth the money. If you are into platformers, then this is the game for you. But if you never played a platformer before, then you should definitely buy this game as your first platformer. Trust me, this game is definitely worth the money. Avoid the PS1 version though, since that version only includes half of the game. Overall, great game.

One could say the cliche saying "They don't make games like that anymore..." and as much as it is overused sometimes in this case it couldn't be more accurate. This game has everything to keep you over your keyboard for a long time. The world created there is magical with a climate so unique that it could upstage most of the modern overhyped games. For me the greatest quality of this game (as for many) is that it brings me back so many good memories from about 15 years ago :-) So in short if you're a fan of good games (adventure especially) this game is a MUST ;-) And I don't think I have to convince "old school" gamers to once again embark on the journey only this time you will not only help Rayman but also revisit some of your best childhood dreams... Also special thank you to GOG. You Guys are AMAZING!!! Making it possible to play the classics is a great gift for many of us gamers. Especially since for many otherwise it would not be possible. Keep up the great job! ;-)