Rayman Forever

Discount Price: $59.95

Accessories:
PC Gamer (1-year)	Games for Windows: The Official Magazine

Customer Reviews:

Amazing game and it still retains its classic platform style [Posted on 2000-09-29]
Rayman Forever is the game that would make you want to quit school, turn off the tv and fire up the pc. With it's amazing levels (some designed by other gamers) and superb playability it is the game that parents love to hate. However, no matter how much they complain when they see their kids playing it for hours on end you can still bet that as soon as the kiddies are safely in bed they'll be trying to work their way past level four always wondering why their kids are better than them at this? The reason: Rayman Forever is a kids game. But when I say that I don't mean it has little purple dinosaurs dancing around it, I mean it has the logic that only experienced gamers (ie kids) can wrap their minds around. The game is not just about logic though, it has some extremely well designed levels that you can only sit back in your chair and think "wow". But it doesn't stop there cause you can also build your own levels. You can make them as easy and as hard as your mind can contemplate. What more do you need? Well there is one more thing I must mention: I have to congratulate the programmers because in the age of Action/Strategy gaming they have not bowed to the pressure and they have produced a classic platformer of hidden, exciting, depths. If I have to find fault, and it would only be under extreme pressure, I would have to say that the level design can be tough but that can be mastered quite readily. I have one recommendation and one only, BUY IT!

Rayman Forever [Posted on 2004-01-11]
When I first got Rayman Forever, my kids loved it.It is a challenging game, but over time you beat the levels and earn new worlds.Even though I got the game for my kids I am typing about what happened.I got this game because we had friends that had it and their kids loved it so we bought it.This is an awsome game because you earn powers and you can fly with one of the powers you earn.My kids loved it so that is why you should get it and I'm pretty sure you will love it also.

Rayman: One of the definitive platformers of our generation [Posted on 2007-02-07]
Having grown up with platformers in "the golden age" of gaming, I have many fond memories of Rayman, and so decided to write a review on it. This review may seem a bit out of place as I am reviewing the Rayman game for all platforms, but basing it on my own experience with Rayman Gold for PC (very rare now, but definetely worth picking up a copy if you can find one). Debuting on the ill-fated Atari Jaguar, then being ported first to Sega Saturn, then to PSX, and finally to the PC, having been around so long, and having sequels appearing on nearly every available gaming platform speaks volumes for Rayman's overall quality, popularity, and staying power.

At first glance, you might be tempted to not take Rayman seriously as a platformer, expecting it to be overly simplistic, and aimed squarely at a very young gaming audience. But it would be a big mistake to allow yourself to be decieved by your initial impressions of it. There is a remarkably deep, challenging, and replayable game under the misleading "kiddy game" disguise. The plot is straightforward enough--Rayman must journey through his world, and free the imprisoned Electoons, and ultimately re-claim the great Protoon from the insidious Mr. Dark. Two of Rayman's best features has always been quirky level design, and zany, entertaining characters. And just as you'd expect, the levels are well thought out and designed, and very imaginitive with challenging objectives in each world (of which there are 6). Also included are 4 user-created levels, a level editor, and even a nifty Rayman fridge magnet (included with Rayman Forever). The graphics are bright, colorful, hand drawn, and have stood up well to the test of time--much better in fact than many other comparable platformers of the period. The sound is top notch, and the music too is very well done being moody, immersive, and very appropriate to each themed world.

Fans of mascot platform games are in for a true treat here (especially if you've never played Rayman, or any of his several sequels)as Rayman never fails to deliver challenges, laughs, and hours of replayable fun. Rayman acquires new powers as he progresses, and you will need every one of them to complete this surprisingly challenging game. Also pleasantly surprising, and completely un-typical of most mascot platformers, the controls are very tight, and refined. The game is packed with bonus levels, mini-games, 1-ups, and secondary objectives--many of which cannot be unlocked the first time through, thus giving you much incentive to re-play the game. From a game design standpoint, this is very clever, and helps extend the game's re-play value as few games actually give you a good reason other than trying to top your original high score to re-play after you've completed them, and in this way once again, Rayman sets himself apart from the half hearted "me too!" platform offerings with a decidedly unique style, look, and gameplay experience.

It is worth mentioning however that being the older game that it is, Rayman Gold is one of those oh-so-rare console ports that HAS to have Win95/98/ME or a compatibility fix to run correctly. Mercifully enough, there are user-created compatibility fixes posted on Ubi's forums which gets Rayman Gold running under WinXP. Although the readme for the patch says it doesn't support gamepads, mine works with it nonetheless. Rayman Forever is also a viable alternative to Rayman Gold as it has all the same content, but seems less rare, being available on amazon.com even at the time of this writing. The big drawback to Rayman Forever though is that unlike Rayman Gold, there have been no compatibility fixes (user-created or otherwise) that I've been able to find written for it, and it's sure to demand some tweaking to run on any OS newer than Win 95/98/ME. In my eyes, if you can't find Rayman Gold,or Rayman Forever either one, console versions are viable, but low preference alternatives as they lack Rayman Gold, and Rayman Forever's bonus content.

All in all, this is a complete package which even now remains comparable to modern platformers. An instant classic even when released, every fan of mascot platform games owes it to themselves to have Rayman in their collection. Rayman is a tremendously entertaining game that is easily worth your bargain bin pocket change to pick up.

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