Games Played 06/14/2009

Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life - GameCube
Raiden Fighters Aces - X-Box 360
Sol Divide - SegaSaturn
World of Warcraft - PC

RANDOM GAME OF THE DAY:


Rayman Advance (2001)
Developer: Digital Eclipse Software
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Purchase Date: 06/17/2001


That was how I looked like when I saw the pixelated portions of the game.

I don't know how I missed buying the first Rayman game when it first arrived on the SegaSaturn and the PlayStation back in 1995. Admittedly, I was somewhat unorganized when it came to my video game buying back then. My mind was also predominantly focused on my undergraduate studies at that time even though playing video games came to a close second. So when this remake showed up for the Game Boy Advance, I was very thrilled. In this first Rayman adventure, your goal is to traverse colorful stages filled with classic platforming action in search for the missing "Electoons" who are held hostage by an evil Mr. Dark. You start the game with only the ability to duck and jump but as you progress through it, you will gain Rayman's attack and platforming maneuvers. The graphics are quite good for a GBA game but there are many sprites that look horribly pixelated. I thought that maybe this problem was present in the original game but I then found out that this game's graphics don't even come close to the visual splendors of the 32-bit versions. Even the soundtrack was changed into MIDI tunes so that it would fit into the cartridge. I was expecting too much from this version apparently so I ended up being disappointed. The digital copy of the original Rayman is currently available on the PlayStation Network Store for $5.99 and this reminds me that I need to buy it soon so that I can experience the real thing instead of this cheap imitation.

LIBRARY STATUS: 3 out of 5