The Brazilian team behind 'Toren' really brings their own flavor to the proceedings, and it helps lend this game a great identity all it's own, even if the core here is obviously inspired by Ico. The premise is fairly simple, albeit filtered through an exotic lens. You play as the newest reincarnation of "The Moonchild", a girl born to climb a tower and destroy a dragon. Beyond that, the particulars are up to the player to discover. This tale is also sort of obtuse; very much inviting you to make of it what you will. While the story is mysterious, the storyTELLING here is very interesting. It's weaved into the platforming, puzzling & basic combat mostly through dream sequences in very stylized locations that are often stunning. Sometimes you'll be in some endless Desert, sometimes the air will be water, and sometimes in even more esoteric (and really cool) settings. It's also fairly interesting how they deal with The Moonchild's journey by letting you play as a baby up to her as an adult. The story really elevates the experience above a janky, indie, Ico-esque adventure, as it takes you through some really imaginative settings & moments. And the game IS janky - no doubt about that. It's just all a little too "mushy" feeling. The platforming is not as precise as I would've liked, and the Moonchild herself is a little 'sticky'. It's never a deal breaker, but it just doesn't feel great. They also use the same button to do context actions as they do attack, so grabbing blocks with your sword out is sketchy. But the puzzles here are pretty cool, particularly near the end where things like mirror images and lit torches get used. The final battle is a highlight, where puzzling and combat really come together. The music is great and the artwork is really, really cool. Particularly the 2D stuff in some cutscenes and during the credits. It's absolutely lovely stuff! As is the whole game. Especially for the price, this is a great little action-adventure. Recommended.
Man - talk about a "Great Old Game"! Rayman 2 is easily one of the best 3D platformers ever made. And thanks to it's stylized, cartoony visuals and fantastic design, it holds up well after it originally came out. It's not quite a perfect 3d translation of the original Rayman - it adds many new characters, Rayman now shoots energy instead of throws his hands, etc. - but it's all for the better. This is a must play game. The thing that makes it so good, besides it's excellent core game (the jump, hover, combat and other moves all just feel perfect - play this with a controller though) is it's variety. This is the Half-Life 2 of platformers for it's time; just a ton of disparate, unique moments that are constantly changing and are constantly fun. This is not a Mario 64-style game, where they just dump you in a 3D level and task you with gathering doodads. This is a level-by-level experience, and each level tasks you with something unique to do. There are races (atop animated rockets, no less), swimming challenges, boss battles, chases, puzzle sequences, levels with partner characters -- very little is ever repeated too. And while you'll get plenty of time to just explore levels, there are plenty unique, memorable moments to punctuate the levels. It's really quite brilliant, and is astounding to find a game that pulls it off so well before games like Half-Life 2, Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War; games that also put a premium on unique "moment-to-moment" single player flow. The visuals and controls are lovely, and the design is top-notch. The only thing that doesn't achieve greatness is the actual world itself. The robot pirates are fine enemies, but pretty much all of Rayman's friends are stupid. Globox is infamously one of the dumbest character designs ever made, but Ly the Fairy and the little dudes at the beginning aren't anything to write home about either. Still, compared to how bad Rayman has gotten (Rayman 3 is far worse, and Rayman Origins only looks to push the stupidity further), it's fine here in R2. The rest of the world - with that lush, European cartoon style - is charming enough to make up for it. This is a fantastic game and a must play for $6. Easily the highlight of the Rayman series, and - before the Mario Galaxies, Jak & Daxters and Sly Coopers of the world came out - the pinnacle of 3D platformers. Thank you GOG and Ubi Soft!
I played this on Xbox, and it's pretty disappointing as far as "cinematic action games" (fancy hack n' slashers, a la Devil May Cry and God of War) go. The action is very "soft". There's little connection between hitting a button and having your character hit dudes. It's more like hitting a button and watching your character play a "hit dudes" animation. Combos are floaty, there's little connection between hits and animations, and it's ultimately not that satisfying. That is, if you're like me and played Devil May Cry, Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks, and tons of other similar games at the time. On the PC, I don't think a lot of these games get released, so it's probably worth checking out if you're interested. Not like today, when tons of PC games are port-ups from the 360. It's more in-depth than your typical Diablo-esque hack n' slasher, that's for sure. And the production values, for the time, are top notch. I just think it should've, and could've, been a whole lot better.
