Rayman’s Back, But on a Smaller Screen

Introduction
Upon getting this video game, I looked at it and thought Oh cool, another Rayman game. Owning a previous Rayman game on Nintendo 64, I was ready to jump into a new story. Too bad it wasn’t true. I didn’t realize that this game for DS was just a copy of the old Nintendo DS game Rayman 2 the Great Escape. As upset as I was, I realized something different about the game. With a new and better picture and re mastered sounds I decided to try out this new game.
The story
Rayman’s friends have been captured by evil robot pirates, and he must use his powers to rescue them. Using powerful orbs he can shoot from his white palms and his long helicopter ears, he is more than just a strange creature who speaks a different language. Rayman must go through different levels using “The Hall of Doors.” The hall is a mystical passage that leads rayman through many different levels.
Controls
On your Nintendo DS, there are four action buttons. B, A, X and Y these buttons are used for making you character do things like jump and shoot orbs from his palms. Using the four directional buttons, you can control how your character moves. Forward, backward, left and right are the button used for moving Rayman.
Using your stylus you can also move Rayman about. On the bottom screen there is a picture of Rayman and his health bar (very important). Under those two things, is a circle with three directions and a blue sphere in the middle. Using that, you can touch and drag the blue sphere to one of the directions and that moves him as well. I find that that is a harder way to move him so I would say controls are the best choice.
Different buttons can make Rayman do different things. The B button can be pressed once or twice to make Rayman jump. If the B button is pressed twice, then rayman ill jump and then activate his helicopter ears that can make him hover a long distance. The A button makes Rayman shoot his orbs out of his fists. These orbs get more powerful throughout the game as Ly the Fairy gives him silver lums that make his power stronger.
Health
Whenever Rayman is attacked by the robot pirates found throughout numerous levels and is injured by them, his health bar decreases. If his health bar is empty Rayman dies, or passes out. If it is the first time he was killed then the screen will say try again and you will comeback to life at the beginning of the level, if you get three try agains, its game over for you. Rayman’s survival is very important to other characters in the game. Try not to die.
Lums
Throughout the levels, there are small floating spheres called lums. Most of them are yellow or orange. If you see a red lum, those are not collectible, they just heal you. Yellow and orange lums are the ones you must collect. In each level there are about 50 lums. If you collect them all, in the end of the level you will be able to unlock a bonus level.
Silver lums are used to give back some of Rayman’s power. Given to you by Ly, these are very important to rescuing your friends. Some of these friends are Globox, Ly, Carmen the Whale, and many more.
Enemies
Some of the evils enemies that you must face are the robot pirates, piranhas, robot buccaneers, and something I like to call floating chickens because that’s what they look like. All pirates and buccaneers fight the same way. They shoot you with orb blasters, and if you get too close to them, they can strike you with swords. The piranhas use their razor sharp teeth to bite at Rayman while he’s in water or trying to climb his way to another side of a large body of water. The floating chickens are very simple and are not much of a threat. They all simply float up to you and grab you. They don’t even take to much of your health when they do.
My Opinion
I like this game very much because it’s more challenging and takes a long period of time to beat. I think it is great that at certain times there are puzzles that challenge you mentally. You also need to have hand eye coordination and be able to press those buttons fast. Rayman DS is rated E for everyone with mild violence. You can buy it for 14.99 used at a local video game store.