"Sony's once lead character has drifted away from
the Playstation motif and is trying its hat on different platforms. The attempt
is just that, and attempt and fails to become a viable platformer."
Intro
Everyone knows that Crash Bandicoot was Sony's goto boy. Every console in the
past has had their mascot. Nintendo has Mario, Sega has Sonic, Sony has Crash
and Turbo Grafx has Bonk... ok, I had to throw in a reference to the big
headed caveman...
With that said, I never thought I would see the day when Crash would ever
would be played on a Nintendo console. But, I said the same thing when Sonic hit
the Gamecube. While I was optimistic in seeing another platformer on Little
Blue, the untimely release was just misplaced. Mario is the king of platformers,
and being released so close to Sunshine was just a huge mistake. Not only was
the timing bad, the porting was bad as well; for the XBOX version is
head-and-shoulders better than the NGC offering.
Band-Aid for the Bandicoot
Platformers have been around since the dawn of gaming, and trying to come up
with fresh ideas must be difficult for developers. This is probably why Mario
has always fared well with the genre. Mario games are always exciting and new,
yet unmistakably familiar.
With Crash entering the scene, I was curious on the "hook" that the series would
take. Well, after a few hours of gameplay I realized that there in fact
wasn't any hook and it was just a regurgitated copy of past Crash games. If
you think about it, Crash has seen its share of titles ranging from the original
Playstation to the GameBoy Advanced. Coming up with something unique would take
someone on Shigeru Miyamoto's level.
As far as platformers go, all of the basics are still here. Crash can jump,
sneak, run and strafe. No super moves or fantastic options, just your vanilla
laced control. One thing you have to give Sony and Universal Interactive is that
they have nailed down perfect control as far as moving the furry fox-like
creature. The Gamecubes controller perfectly fits (amazing I know) the
movements for Crash. The sensitivity level is ideal and had little problems with
camera angles. In fact, I have to say the overall control aspects of Wrath of
Cortex is one of the best ever.
Sadly, in this day and age control can't be everything. While it does provide
the foundation for a good game there has to be more... a lot more. The
bar has been raised for all platformers because of Sunshine Mario. The same goes
for FPS and Halo. Where Crash fails, other than the lack of anything fresh, is
the sheer linear gameplay which makes the game grey and dull. Again, with so
many great games out there, a player wants to feel a sense of freedom and
exploration. Cortex simply attempts to fool the gamer with cheap "draw distance"
tricks and shiny colors. When it comes down to it, there is little to no means
of straying from the path, thus pigeon holing any means of freedom.
The only real breath of fresh air comes when the monotonous platforming is
broken up with some nice unique "vehicle" levels. These levels allow you to
control anything from a hang glider to a groovy mech. Unfortunately, these
enjoyable levels are few and far between and still isn't enough to save the game
from uncertain shelve-dom.
For sadistic platform lovers, the good news is that the game sports some 30
levels and there are a handful of secret areas. And to mix it up
you can play as Crash's little sister Coco. Whoopee. My best guess would be
the game could be completed from start to finish in about 10 hours. Not too bad
for a platformer, but after the first dozen levels you are ready to head back to
Mario.
The best graphics on the N64 to date!
Probably the most dissatisfying area of play has to be the questionable
graphics. The XBOX version actually looks next-gen, while the Gamecube version
looks like a spiced up N64 title. Sure, Crash himself is done nicely and he
features some unique animation and humorous movements; but overall I was left
numb with the sub par graphics.
The linear gameplay comes on the field again, with shallow backgrounds that
never make you "feel" a sense of depth. Even with the scattered fog and lighting
effects, it doesn't impress. The graphics aren't bad, but they aren't
what you would expect, especially after playing the XBOX version. But, I still
give kudos to the developers for the use of color and animations...
yawn
With platformers, how can you go wrong with audio? I mean, throw in some perky
tunes and wacky sound effects and you have a solid base. Well, the classic
jungle beats from past Crash games are back as well as the light-hearted sound
effects. Overall, the audio was acceptable and generally fit the game as good as
you could expect. I was hoping for a few new "remixes" of the original, but I
have nothing to either complain about or give kudos.
66 Says:
Don't think this review as a "Crash Bash", but more of a "C'mon developers step
it up a bit" review. Developers have to realize that this isn't the 90's with no
real competition as far as consoles go. With software as well as hardware
fiercely competing for recognition, Crash falls far short of the mark and when
compared to others in the genre looks pathetic.
I'm not even saying this is a bad game, for it's not. But, with so many
other platformers out there, this is at the bottom of my list. The game fares
well as a rental, but not much more. Those looking to continue your Mario
platform adventures will be highly disappointed.
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Crash
Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
