Crash Twinsanity
Author: admin
Crash Bandicoot, that rabid rapscallion of a PlayStation mascot, has fallen on hard times. His last major platformer, The Wrath of Cortex, met with a tepid critical reception, and the less said about Crash Nitro Kart, the better. A lesser mascot might have been carted off to Glover-land, but Vivendi is giving this bandicoot one more shot at the platformer bigtime. And to shake things up a bit, it’s teaming Crash with Dr. Cortex, his arch-nemesis of, wow, eight years now. Is this the start of a glorious new lineage of Bandicoot-starring platformers? It’s not the time to say, but this peculiar pairing certainly opens up some interesting new gameplay avenues.As you’d imagine, the circumstances must be pretty dire for Crash and Cortex to team up so readily, and indeed they are. A pair of loathesome extra-dimenisonal invaders have landed on Crash’s island paradise, and neither Crash nor Cortex seem to stand a chance against them. At least, that is, not alone. While fleeing, an unfortunate circumstance sends them both flying into a subterranean cavern, and only then does it dawn on them that a little teamwork might be in order.Buddy SystemWell, teamwork’s a strong word, because in actuality Crash and Cortex start out by going for each others’ throats in a cartoon scuffle that’s straight out of Looney Tunes. The resultant ball of fighting, a rollerbrawl if you would, proves to be the perfect form with which to roll through the cavern’s oddly complex system of rollercoaster-like hills and rotating waterwheels. In effect, the classic Crash platforming is thus transformed into a pretty decent take on Super Monkey Ball. No kidding!Once past the initial rollcapades, the unlikely duo cease their incessant scuffling just long enough for you, as Crash, to fight a squad of robotic ants that emerges from the ground in a huge drilling machine. Once accomplished, running up to Dr. Cortex and performing a spinning attack will initiate the next major gameplay mode, which we’ll go ahead and call ICOstyle. (Sorry, we thought of it first.)No comment.True to its name, ICOstyle sees Crash dragging Cortex along to wherever he needs him. The ball-and-chain that is Cortex puts a damper on Crash’s jumping ability, but Crash can toss him away at any time to return to his normal moveset. In fact, tossing Cortex is just one of several ways in which he can actually help you. For example, at one point there’s a long pit, with a switch on the other side. And … well, I’m sure you solved that one before you even finished the last sentence. Crash can also use Cortex’s massive cranium as a hammer, turn him into a makeshift snowboard, and several other “wacky” variations. Bandicoots are funny!Later in the game you’ll get the opportunity to play as both Cortex, alone, and his neice, one Nina Cortex. Despite all this newfangled tomfoolery, Crash fans (there are some Crash fans left, right?) shouldn’t fear, as there’s still plenty of the Crash-only platforming that presumably made the series popular in the first place. It’s just interspersed with creativity, now. Not a bad idea!Rock the Crashbah?The Crash series is in sore need of some TLC, and the creative and varied play mechanics of Crash: Twinsanity look like a step in the right direction. The game is due out in a little over a month, so soon we’ll be able to judge the final version and see if the Crash fad has any chance of revival. Best of luck to Vivendi in this tricky endeavor.
Article Source: www.gamespy.com.
