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Ubi Soft took a Rayman, cult-favorite game, and gave it a massive following with a sequel, Rayman 2. Ubi Soft Montreal again works its magic with a brand new Rayman, Rayman 3.
A game with wonderful visuals, magical sounds, and above all, fun gameplay.
Rayman 3’s story is very simple yet fits the game so well. Rayman’s buddy, Globox, has swallowed a Hoodlum, a dark lum and it is your job to help Globox get rid of the Hoodlum and feel better. Throughout the game, Rayman 3 marvels you with its illustrious gameplay. There is rarely a dull movement between the hopping, punching, kicking and puzzles. Rayman has never taken itself too seriously and this is no different. The characters you find in the game are honestly funny and reach hilarious, at points.
The game’s humor is actually one of the things that make the game stand out the most. Rayman 3 and its characters never take themselves seriously and remind you of an older generation of gaming. Many recent games rely too much on realistic graphics, realistic scenarios and a realistic storyline. Luckily, this doesn’t. Instead, it relies on being a fun, light and enjoyable experience. You are made aware of this from the introduction to the first stage and well throughout the game, into the conclusion.
Platforming is a large part of the game, as is expected. The platforming parts aren’t very hard but remain interesting. As with most platforming games, you have to collect items and each item will raise your score points. Something about Rayman 3 though, makes it enjoyable and different from recent B-List platform games. It may be the wonderful environments or the game’s light feel, but platforming is enjoyable. If you gain enough points in a short period of time, Rayman will go into a bonus mode where he can get rid of enemies more easily. Points also allow you to earn bonuses, which are surprisingly good. Another major part of the game is boss battles. While the boss battles aren’t really difficult, they require some thinking involved. Most of the time, you’ll need to use your special abilities in order to successfully defeat the boss.
Earning enough points lets you play the game’s wonderful bonus levels. The bonus levels revolve around Rayman skidding down platforms. You need to jump in order to reach the next one and not make the stage end. The bonus stages share some similarity to Mario Sunshine’s bonus stages. If you own the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3, you can use it to earn bonus stages there too. If you have enough points, you can open up new stages in the handheld version.
Rayman 3 also features a bit of puzzles. The puzzles aren’t hard but then again, they aren’t supposed to. The emphasis in Rayman 3 is to remain fun and light and the puzzles, while adding some depth, keep this flow. Puzzles are basically there to teach you how to use your special abilities more precisely as each puzzle require you to “master” a special skill. These special skills only last a short while which makes the puzzles a little more exciting.
As with most Ubi Soft Montreal games, and more specifically recent Rayman games, Rayman 3 looks wonderful. Rayman 2 was a great looking game and Rayman 3 expands on it in almost every single way. The levels are made up of excellently designed landscapes with the great, crisp textures making them look even better. Each level stands out with its unique use of color, lighting and particle effects, all of which are featured heavily. Rayman’s world moves a solid sixty frames per second without a hint of slowdown.
Ubi Soft did an excellent job with the game’s soundtrack and sound effects as well, since the whole audio package is very strong. Regardless of where you are, the background music fits the stage and the mood of the game. The sound effects add to the sound package but aren’t really something you haven’t heard. Ubi Soft should be commended for the work they put into the script. The voice acting, itself, is good but the hilarious script makes it even more enjoyable. The overall sound package is just very good.
Rayman 3 is a great platform title. Rayman 3 is a great adventure title. Rayman 3 has splendid visuals. Rayman 3 has a stellar soundtrack. Rayman 3 is a must-have titles for anyone who is remotely interested in platform/adventure games. Rayman 3 for the PS2 doesn't have that GBA/GC connectivity, but is great nonetheless.
Check out the guide here. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Apr 8, 2003
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