Unless you have been living under a rock for the last several years you will know by now that Rayman originally made his debut shortly after the Playstation launch in September of 1995. At the time it was the first platformer available for the console and was also the first title that put Ubi Soft in the forefront of gaming design. The little known French developer and publisher had a real gem on their hands. Beautiful visuals, well balanced gameplay and a video game character full of humor.

Fast forward six years later and we are privileged to see Rayman return to the Playstation family after having successful outings on the N64 and Sega Dreamcast. Having played both previous versions of Rayman 2, my expectations were not so high. After all I assumed it would be the same version with a few visual enhancements. Pleasantly I was wrong. While Rayman 2 Revolution shares the same plot, it has been totally revamped to take advantage of the PS2's superior power. In addition, the game has new levels, a new hub system, and a greater emphasis on exploration than the previous incarnations.

Visually Rayman 2 Revolution is pure eye candy. While the PS2 can pump out even more splendor than is shown in the game, Ubi Soft has done an admirable job to use some of the PS2's advanced features. The graphics are crisp and most colorful. Character design and animation have been done well and move smoothly throughout the game. Level design is quite large and in many cases open ended. While this might cause some confusion for younger gamers, veterans will be intrigued with the ability to fully explore Rayman's world. As in the original game, Rayman's world looks like a real living cartoon. There is so much detail packed into each level that you will have to go back and take a moment to really enjoy the aesthetics. My only complaint with the visuals is that there is the occasional slowdown and the camera can be quite erratic at times. The visuals are nicely complimented by a very cute yet appropriate soundtrack. You can also choose among a number of languages for text and voices. The previous versions omitted real English voice overs so it was nice to finally here all of the characters speak for their first time.

Gameplay is also as equally impressive as the visuals. Control of Rayman is simple and effortless. Rayman simply walks, runs, jumps, swings, climbs, flies and shoots. Throughout his adventure, Rayman has to collect items and exchange them for power-ups. These range from new shooting abilities to new maneuvers. The creatively designed levels contain a well balanced mix of action, puzzles, exploration and mini-games. There are also a plethora of secrets to uncover spread throughout the game that will keep you playing for days on end.

The only reason the game is kept from getting from a perfect score is the fact that we have seen these elements and designs before. It is not a groundbreaking game for the Playstation 2 in terms of overall design but that should not deter those looking for a well crafted platformer.