User Review: Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
By: Doug
In 1996, Crash Bandicoot's mischievous smile spun its way into the platforming scene. In the four years following his debut, Crash exploded on the original PlayStation console, producing two impressive sequels, an addictive racing adventure, and a mini-game spin-off. Going so far as to challenge Nintendo on television commercials, the obnoxious orange marsupial was all but Sony's own mascot.
Then we got the news: due to company acquisitions and growing tensions, the next installment of the Crash Bandicoot series would be developed by a new studio, its creative father (Sonic the Hedgehog 2's Mark Cerny) would not be involved, and GASP! it would not be a Sony exclusive.
...and I curled up into a ball and cried about it for ten years.
Finally, after a decade, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex made its way onto my television screen, and ya know what? It wasn't the complete disaster I'd been dreading. Aside from a couple noticeable problems, the classic elements of the Crash series have been retained. We're still smashing crates, still collecting crystals, and as expected, we've still got a great view of Crash's furry orange rump as he attempts to foil the plans of the evil Dr. Neo Cortex.
Players familiar with the series will be able to jump right in as the controls are exactly the same as those before it (though I admittedly had to adjust to the GameCube controller for this one), and though this new installment's hub area gets an expected face lift, the structure is identical (five areas, each with five levels to choose from).
As far as classic level design goes, pros include the underwater levels, the added platforming element to Coco's levels, and "Gold Rush" (the only level I felt compelled to play multiple times over). Cons include difficult-to-operate vehicles, the largely irrelevant special abilities gained throughout the game, the lack of Pura and Polar (as well as a slew of other established characters), and above all, the awful racing level, "Smokey and the Bandicoot" (after Crash Team Racing, Traveller's Tales should have known better).
The few things about this game that are fresh fall short: Crunch Bandicoot manages to survive the series but is underwhelming here, the boss Elementals are a heapload wasted character and new gameplay potential, and new vehicles (such as the robot suit and the single-appearance jet-pack) are largely unnecessary.
Overall, The Wrath of Cortex fails to breathe new life into the series' first appearance on more powerful systems. The game could simply have done so much more. The graphics aren't by any means bad, but they are hardly an improvement. The sound is pretty much atrocious (at points I needed to turn my volume down, because certain levels were simply unbearable). Instead of helping Crash Bandicoot and his family grow and thrive in a new environment, Traveller's Tales simply settled for keeping our animated friends from down under alive.
If Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is your first foray into the world of crate-crashing, break-dancing, Wumpa-collecting goodness, welcome to the club - you'll definitely enjoy your stay. But for those of us who've been fans since the beginning, this game will certainly leave you wanting just a bit more.
Rating: 
