Rayman Advance

The evil Mr. Dark has defeated Betilla the Fairy and stolen the Great Protoon (where do they get these names?), scattering Electoons all over the world. Rayman must free all the caged Electoons to restore his world. It's a hard job with 60 levels in 6 zany worlds. Fortunately Betilla is able to help Rayman with new powers as he progresses, like the ability to hang onto platforms or use helicopter blades. Friends also assist with temporary items like magic seeds and fireflies.

The graphics are gorgeous and the game has many levels to investigate. However, it takes a great deal of ingenuity and patience to explore Rayman's world, and can be quite frustrating since the game cannot be saved very often. This makes for a lot of repetition. My sons (11 and 13) usually do well at this sort of adventure, but got stuck on the first world in the Dream Forest. They did not make it into Band Land, never mind to the last world, Candy Chateau. They did find Betilla and obtained the Telescopic Fist, which can be extended with the B button to hit enemies. I enjoyed watching them whack piranhas and other bad guys with it. They climbed ropes, bounced on balls and floated across rivers. They also freed some Electoons.

This is a game for older kids (probably 12 and up), with good thumb skills and lots of patience ... and if it gets too frustrating there are always cheat codes to be found on the net, to open up powers and levels. My 11 year old had much more fun after he discovered them!