Rayman 1 - Full Review (MS-DOS and PS1 game)

The original Rayman game is a devilishly tricky but wonderfully clever little game with bucket loads of likability factor in its colourful and comical world that will have you engaged for hours. This side scrolling platformer was released in 1995 and was also one of the first games to be released for the PlayStation though it also came out on the PC and Atari Jaguar too. The game was an instant hit, becoming the most sold game on the PS1 of all time, and it’s easy to see why; gloriously detailed levels, hours upon hours of content all set an idyllic fantasy land that is both memorable and imaginative. Challenging, quirky and deeply immersive you’ll soon appreciate why this is the game that set off an incredibly successful series enjoyed by generations of gamers.

Gameplay and plot

The game follows Rayman, our lazy and limbless hero, as he tries to restore balance and harmony to the land after a certain ‘Mr Dark’ has stolen the Great Protoon. Without it, chaos has beset the usually peaceful land causing Electoons to be scattered and nasty, unnatural creatures to appear everywhere.  Rayman must rescue the Electoons and defeat Mr Dark to restore order and tranquillity to the land. If you’re familiar with ‘Rayman Origins’ and ‘Rayman Legends’ you’ll instantly recognize certain features like the style of the map, the inclusion of Electoons and of course Rayman but you’ll likely be surprised at how much slower and how much more difficult it is. 

Gameplay consists of navigating through the side scrolling levels to reach a signpost with an “!” on it which completes that level.  The levels tend to consist of lots of platforms and parts of the environment that you can interact with to gain access to otherwise out of reach areas such as bouncing purple fruit that can be used as a makeshift boat. Depending on the level they’ll be different obstacles and environments so it’s not all walking and jumping and quite often you’ll be sliding at top speed, hovering precariously or bouncing off and between objects. Each level is littered with enemies and also the poor, crying caged Electoons which you must release by smashing open their cages open with your fists. There are six caged Electoons on each level and you have to free all of them if you wish to complete the game as only then will you be able to reach and confront Mr Dark in the epic finale. This sounds easy enough, after all you can revisit the levels from the world map, but the Electoons tend to be tricky to find and even more tricky to access. With limited lives, you’re going to have your work cut out for you.

To help you through the game you gain additional abilities from Betilla the Fairy as you progress. The very first abilities you learn allow you to hang from ledges and to throw your fists which is your primary means of killing enemies. The other abilities are all generally very standard and nothing particularly unusual, except one, the helicopter ability. This power utilizes Rayman’s hair as a means of flying and this allows you to travel short distances or to save yourself from what would be otherwise fatal falls. Without the bolstered speed and agility from the more recent Rayman instalments like 'Rayman Origins' and 'Rayman Legends' you’re going to find yourself having to rely on your own accuracy and luck to get through this classic, making these abilities are utterly crucial to your success. 

Beneath its cute and colourful exterior lies a game that is punishingly difficult and infinitely frustrating. It really does make me wonder who this game is aimed at; children or adults as though on the surface it clearly looks like a children’s game it is just too incredibly challenging for that to be so. You’re probably wondering what could be so damn hard about this game that I keep mentioning how challenging it is, well, lots of things make it difficult. To begin with, you have a very limited amount of lives and acquiring additional lives is a huge challenge as it requires you to collect 100 blue orbs called Tings. When you die, you lose all your Tings collected so far which can leave you in a never ending loop of dying, being unable to get another life, and dying again. To make matters worse the chances to save the game are few and far between. Once you’ve started a level you have to complete it to be able to save again, there is no saving from the menu and there is no auto save feature. I can genuinely guarantee that, even with the one checkpoint they kindly throw in your general direction, you’ll be replaying certain parts of this game over and over until you want to crush the controller between your palms. 

For those of us who don’t mind a bit of gaming masochism, or employing cheat codes, there’s a staggering 70 levels to shoulder through that are either beautifully designed or, in the very least, pretty to play through. There are six different worlds that are divided into two categories, ‘natural’ and ‘imaginary’. The natural worlds take place in a forest, mountains and caves whereas the imaginary levels are set in worlds that are significantly more dreamlike and unusual. There’s a fair bit of freedom regarding which order you play through the levels in but, since the difficulty scales across the worlds, it’s a lot easier to play the game in the intended way.  At the end of each level you’ll have to defeat a boss enemy and the bosses are pretty interesting creatures, which is much appreciated since up until that point you’ve only been fighting one or two variations of enemy. Fighting enemies is purely to get them out the way so you don’t die and there’s no reward for killing them. To make things harder not all enemies are immediately visible. Instead, enemies tend to pop into existence once you’ve stepped foot in their little ‘area’ of the map such as some narrow platforms above dangerous water. What this usually results in is you being knocked back and taking away some life, knocked into some form of trap such as the water or surviving and still being unable to kill them due to the tiny platform you’re teetering on. Rayman can only take three hits before he dies so you need to be extremely careful when traversing the levels as danger can quite literally appear out of nowhere.

Graphics and audio

This game truly does push the PS1 console to its full capabilities as environmentally the game looks fantastic and it has genuinely aged extremely well, even if everything is 2D. I remember playing through Rayman 3 which was in full on 3D graphics and quite frankly, it looked absolutely dire. I probably enjoyed the game because I was extremely young and very forgiving when it came to games but Rayman feels very much like Oddworld in that, despite being 2D, that’s the best thing for it as it allows much more detail and much better graphics. The music of the game is quite lovely, very satisfying and exists as a great background addition that draws you fully into Rayman’s adventure. The soundtrack is a bit quirky but has a strong retro feel that manages to bring you right back to the 90s in an instant. For me, it was an instant reminder of all the times I’d played this game when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it. 

Although everything is quite cartoony ‘Rayman’ has a very clear identity that sets it apart from typical animated games so, rather than it coming across as childlike, it instead manages to portray itself as a mature, yet fun, platforming game. The levels are incredibly varied and though the distinct worlds mean that some levels have the same theme there is a clear difference in the way you get through the level. Rayman is incredibly animated as well and the humour really does make itself quite pronounced through his animation and his own audio. Sit away from the controller for five goddamn seconds and he’s coughing, trying to get your attention to make him move. I genuinely miss that in games and it was quite a common feature to have your character get a little pissed off if you ignored them for a bit, but Rayman does do it so politely. Apart from his impatience he has a wide range of facial expressions, utter terror being the most hilarious of course. Rayman will quite physically chew on his knuckles at the sight of a monstrous enemy and will appear, genuinely, to have his life flashing before his eyes as he teeters over a ledge. All in all, he’s designed and animated very well and he’s incredibly likable whilst his idle animations and emotions really do bring him to life.

Overall

Rayman is an incredibly memorable experience for me and really is the best 2D game that is on the PS1. As a platformer it’s of incredibly good standard whilst the levels are fun and inventive with plenty in them to maintain your interest. It’s very difficult to get back into due to how punishing it is but, and I’m ashamed to admit it, an infinite lives cheat really does ease the way into the game if you just want to play the thing without murdering everybody around you. The controls are so easy and simple to get used to though the lack of analog sticks is a bit of a pain. Though the game does feel much slower and clunkier than the latest instalments it’s still great fun and a whole different game to the Mario inspired 'Rayman Origins' and 'Rayman Legends' you’ll see today, though they are fantastic too.

Score: 9/10

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I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - Full Review (PC, MS-DOS game)

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is a point and click adventure game from 1995. It’s based on a short story by Harlan Ellison published in 1967 though differs in plotline to the original book. The game is set in the, hopefully distant, future where the Earth has been taken over by supercomputers that have enslaved/eliminated the human race. It’s a very conventional backstory for a very unconventional game. In this story our murderous supercomputer is called AM; short for Allied Mastercomputer and is voiced by Ellison who flawlessly pulls off the disturbed persona as only somebody who truly understood AM could. AM was one of three super-computers tasked with the running of a violent world war to minimize human causalities. Unfortunately, this plan backfired as much as a plan can backfire and, upon becoming self-aware, AM conducted a mass genocide of the human race. Only five people were left alive by the machine who, if we can call it a who, by now has subsequently lost his mind shortly after discovering it. AM is a calm, collected and cruel being with bouts of manic but twisted teasing. He taunts, jibes and mocks with abandon and his discourse often slips into the grotesque. AM’s five captives have been made practically immortal and AM tortures and torments them endlessly for 109 years. This is where our story picks up as AM, inventive as he is, has come up with a new way to aggravate his disgruntled prisoners. 

The pillar of love, courtesy of AM, just one of many affectionate displays.

Gameplay and characters

The game essentially has five separate episodes as you take control of each individual prisoner then a final, sixth scene at the end that wraps it all together and determines the ending. The ending of the game is open-ended and may result in four conclusions, three of which aren't exactly optimal and the last being rather positive.The stories of each of the five characters are varying in length and quality with some good puzzles but other quite easy, simplistic ones. The gameplay itself is nothing particularly special and it’s fairly typical but the plot is enough reason to stick around and play it. Some may find the game too dark and depressing due to the seriousness of the topic, after all we’re in post-cold-war apocalyptic times so you can expect things to get a little gloomy. The narrative of AM is consistently good quality though the five prisoners are fairly unbothered by their eternal torment. There’s a dash of fear and disturbed reactions from the characters but mostly they’re just kind of irritated and bit fed up of their taunting host. If they’re not disturbed though, you certainly will be, as the game manages to strike deep into places that games rarely venture. There are plenty of sensitive topics that aren’t exactly tip-toed around though luckily the game reins it in visually on some of those particular issues.
 

Ted may look a little skinny back there but the detail of the room is beautiful.

The controls are your very standard point and click style in which you have several actions at the bottom such as ‘pick up’, ‘open’ ‘look at’ and so on reminiscent of LucasArts SCUMM gameplay like my beloved Monkey Island games. You’ll generally need to click and use on things in your inventory or on the environment to advance through puzzles. Some things like can be a little frustrating at first. For instance, you must manually pick ‘open’ to get through a door else you’ll bump around it until you realize what you’re doing wrong. There are no hotkeys for the different actions so it’s all mouse guided. Cutscenes are very easy to accidentally skip as if you press any button or click the mouse then it will automatically go to the end of it, this is very noticeably in the first, long opening scene which is essential for storyline.

Gorrister hanging in the public restroom of Little Chef, the poor guy.

Each character has a defined personality and it’s not simply a measure of sticking a new face on and going in a new area. You’ll instantly notice the shift in tone and temperament as you move from one character to the next and it’s a refreshing aspect that helps to keep things interesting. All of the characters have their own, secret past that you’ll learn about from their stories though each share’s something in common. They all need to face their past and learn to move on with it. Your role will be to help them come to terms with what they have each been through. There’s an unusual mechanism in the game called a ‘Karma meter’ that surrounds the character’s face; this will lighten or darken depending on their mood. Certain actions will cheer them up and others will bring them down into deep depression or anxiety. Part of the gameplay is to not do what AM expects you to do; the options generally bounce between doing something positive or honourable and doing something cowardly or destructive. With this in mind, it’s usually fairly obvious to work out what to do in each moral scenario.

Graphics and environment

Despite the fact that this game was released in 90s it's still greatly detailed and quite gory when the story calls for it. Generally the environments are dark, gloom y and macabre but that doesn't mean the game is limited to dull browns and greys. Some areas are lush and green with vibrant and almost scenic settings and the transition from the murky depths of a concentration camp to a lush, though somwhat dingy, tropical island is fantastic. The variation in environments is very apparant as each character has an entirely different setting than the last which makes it feel as though you're getting 5 very short games in one.
 

There are plenty of subtle little bits; like how that tree looks almost mechanical in nature.

The expression on characters faces are vivid and detailed especially due to the close up shot at the bottom of the screen. Objects that you're meant to pick up are blended well into the surroudning scenery and, as is common with point and clicks, it's not always apparent what you're supposed to be grabbing.There’s nothing plain or bare about the graphics and each area is rich in detail; pots and pans in the kitchen, twisted vines around headstones, colourful cave paintings and finely carved patterns at the end of a bed are just a few of the environmental additions that are to be enjoyed in the settings of this game. Admittedly, there are a few slight graphicsl issues like the colour goes a little manic or the screen fuzzes during a cutscene but that's more likely due to trying to play a 90s game on Windows 7.

Another completely different and finely detailed environment, Ellen looks tired though.

Audio

The audio is fairly well done and, if nothing else, is atmospheric.  The music is jarring and disturbing in parts but not loud enough to distract you or interfere with what you’re doing and contributes nicely to the overall feel of the game. As I’ve mentioned the voice of AM is particularly well acted but the five main characters are also satisfactory with their own strengths and weaknesses. Ellen is particularly annoying due to her sarcastic, off the cuff comment when apparently she suffers from anxiety. Ellen tends to come across more as a disgruntled housewife than a victim of torture which is rather mood-breaking. Everything has a sound, there’s nothing left untouched, so you can pick and prod at everything that can be interacted with without being disappointed. 

Overall

I Have No Mouth and I MustScream is definitely worth a play through if you enjoy point and click games, and even if you don’t, then you should play it for the storyline. If you’re squeamish of psychological horrors however then you should definitely give this game a miss as once you’re in there, you won’t be getting back out again. The game explores recesses that few games dare to enter; this isn’t a murder mystery game, you won’t find soldiers full of bullet holes or serial killers dragging entrails across the walls. When you finish the game you’ll have journeyed through an environment of unsettling madness of apocalyptic proportions. Whilst this may not sound like a barrel of laughs and fun for all this game entertains in a way that’s almost forgotten in modern games. If you’re looking for something a little different, then you should definitely give this a go.

Score: 9/10 

To discover more of my old PC game reviews, check out this page here.

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