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> Rayman Advance
REVIEW -
Wow. When I first grabbed this game at Blockbuster and checked it out, that was the first thing that came to mind. The graphics
are amazing, they resemble the PSX/Saturn/Jaguar/PC game perfectly, without a glitch at all. The animations are still the
same as well. Rayman jumps and floats smoothly and punches without a missing frame. If that isn't the kit in your kaschnoodle, there's
more! This game is sporting up to 60 huge levels in 6 different worlds. If that isn't good enough for you, then I don't know
what the hell you're looking for.
The graphics are the first thing that got me, obviously, and you'll understand as soon as you try it. To give you an idea, I'll show
you a nice, big, juicy picture right now. Hold on, hold on... You're a loser.

If that doesn't have you positive that the graphics are great yet, I don't know what you're looking for. The characters are all well
animated and almost semi-3D (in the way that they turn and look around like the characters in Yoshi's Story). The backgrounds are lush
and brightly colored, and the scenes are always different and revolve around something different. Some are all about clouds, some about
pots and pans, and some are just jungle. It's a pretty good game with lots of different environments. And of course, the graphics are
amazing. They can take my cup of tea out for a stroll ANY day.
I didn't play too much of the game when I rented it, I was busy with packing for my 9 day canoe trip so I never really got much of a chance to play, but I did
get the last move, the Helicopter Glide, and had just arrived at the second boss when I took it back to Blockbuster. So, I didn't play too much,
but I got through as much as I could. But, just from this small amount of playing time, and reading other things, I can tell you, the game itself is humongous!
With 60 different levels in 6 different worlds, it's easy to realize how exactly big they all are. You can just run through the levels as quick as you please,
OR, you can collect all the Protoons as you go. You see, the game isn't over until every single one of those protoons is collected. And there's alot of protoons.
So, you'll be doing a lot of backtracking, especially when you get new moves, like the Helicopter Glide, that's when you'll be going back and collecting more of
the Protoons you missed. There's lots of levels, and of course, Digital Eclipse was smart and put in a saving system. I'm glad the didn't take the stupid route on the GBA (*cough*
Majesco's Earthworm Jim *splutter*) and put in none, because this game is huge. In every level there's a checkpoint, and it auto-saves when you beat a level and you're back
on the map. Hell yes!
I knew when I popped the cartridge in that the game was going to be amazing, but that's just because I used to play it on the PC when I was younger. Alot of you
poser kids will probably pop it in, try it out for about 3 minutes and shut it off. That's probably the first thing that I would have done, as well, if I was an unpatient
bastard. But, just keep playing. At first, Rayman can only run and jump. Exciting. But, just run through that level and you'll meet up with the fairy. She's the one that
always grants you the moves, and this time there's no exception. She'll give you the ability to punch. You can use this to knock out unsuspecting baddies to oblivion, or
punch these giant grape/purple tomato things off their vine into the water, to ride on, of course! Not long after, you'll run into the fairy again, and get the ability to hang off
cliffs. This way, you can jump at a cliff normally unreachable, and Rayman will hang on the edge until you pull him up. Pretty handy. Next comes the Hook Grab ability to cling onto
floating rings with your fist, so that you can swing across certain places. Finally, there's the Helicopter Glide, which I think speaks for itself, but... Rayman's hair spins around
and turns into a wild helicopteral blade which allows him to float with ease across canyons in a general malaise that I have, in the past, only seen Rayman possess. I told you the name spoke for itself. That's some great shit.
There's lots of different things that add to the game play in this game. For example,when you get the Magic Seed, it allows you to plant a lillypad/leaf thing which hovers in the air.
One level has you jumping from platform to platform, planting leafs on one to jump on and reach the next, while water raises underneath you. There's lots of other fun stuff, which include
sliding on your own feet down glossy downhill surfaces while avoiding spikes and baddies at the same time, sliding down snowy hills on a pan, and riding a former Mosquito boss through the air
while avoiding spiky balls. When you put it all together, there's atleast something like this in every world, so there's always a fun, original thing to do that will make you want to do it all
over again. Ever snowboarded with a pan? Huh? HUH? I didn't think so. By the way, the music is really annoying and tinny, so just keep the volume down when you grab this beauty from the store.
By Garett Barr
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