Reader Reviews

Crash Bandicoot and the Wrath of Cortex (PS2)

by Stefan Haselsteiner

Having played some wonderful new platformers for the PS2 (Sly Raccoon, ICO, Klonoa 2: Lunteas Veil) and NGC (Starfox Adventures), I thought it fitting to return to one of Playstations old stalwarts - Crash Bandicoot. At the height of the original Playstation experience, he had become one of its unofficial mascots. Today we find him looking for a home not only on PS2 but the Gamecube and Xbox. However, with his latest offering, I seriously doubt any exclusive contracts will be drawn up anytime soon.

With original developers Naughty Dog having moved onto greater things, it was left to UK-based Traveller's Tales to take a stab at the old platform classic and update it for the 128 bit era. Now... I have always been a fan of the little orange bugger but this game made me seriously think whether it's time to jump ship myself. Once the series was a 3D platformer leader but this latest offering is simply platforming fun by the numbers. Traveller's Tales have stuck so rigidly to the formula, adhering to the "if it aint broke, don't fix it" development mentality that the latest Crash comes off as nothing more than a carbon copy of previous episodes and to add insult to injury it's a bit of a lacklustre episode to boot.

My biggest problem with this latest instalment is that it's dead boring. Except for the odd level or two where Traveller's Tales show some inspiration, most levels become repetitive rather quickly. Again the age-old platform blueprint is hauled out, as we find five hubs which each contain five stages and then the requisite end-of-level boss. Now, while I don't mind going from hub to hub, I do have a problem that it takes almost a minute to load each new level within each hub. Having to sit though the "loading" screen is at times almost unbearable and during later levels when things do become a little trickier you may find your patience completely fried. The graphics, while colourful, look no better than what was produced on the PSone a while back. The textures are of a slightly higher resolution but don't pin your hopes on this game in the event that it will show you why you actually bought your PS2.