| Crash of the Titans |
| Posted on 30th November 2007 by Sean Evans |
A once valiant platformer, Crash Bandicoot has become a dying breed in the pedigree of popular video game franchises. Since the last days of the original Crash games on Playstation, without creators Naughty Dog at the helm, the series has never quite reached its once huge degree of fame in today’s competitive market as it once knew so well, being woefully cited into several spin-offs such as Mario Kart rip-off ‘Crash Team Racing’. Though his reputation may be in serious condition, Crash’s first “true” next-generation offering ‘Crash of the Titans’ somewhat returns to the game’s platforming nature and proves that Mr. Bandicoot is still trying his best to garter your starving attention. But does he succeed this time?
A lot of gamers may have fond memories of Crash Bandicoot from several years ago. Back in the Playstation days, the muttering little scamp was considered by many to be Sony’s answer to the elusive Mario. So it’s a fair point to make that a lot of people glancing at ‘Crash of the Titans’ on the store shelf will pick it up purely based on the nostalgia factor. This time round, Crash of the Titans has undertaken a slight gameplay procedure. The hook in the game is that, by wielding some sort of funky mask, Crash can jump on top of the more ferocious enemies in the level and plant said funky mask over their monstrous faces; thus allowing Crash to “jack” the monsters and take control of them. This is done by button mashing any bulky monster you encounter continuously and then pressing B when prompted to do so. Succeeding in doing so is necessary to get further in the game, where you will be required to use the monsters’ unique abilities and powers to overcome obstacles stopping you from going any further.
For instance, you can take control of large skunks who have the ability to fire smelly projectiles at pre-placed targets, gaining you access to the next part of the level when sniped. Being able to actually jack the monsters varies from being both expectedly simple to surprisingly difficult - the more enemies you have to deal with, the harder and more frustrating it becomes to be able to jack just a single monster. When you do, however, it gets a little easier as you can eliminate and jack the remaining monsters with the one you originally jacked. At points, you can also pick up a glowing gold power-up that gains Crash the power to crudely kick the monster in the nether-region and allows you to jack the monster straight away.
You are unable to control the monsters when you come across the more platforming sections of the game, which are really the most tedious. There is a strange omission of overly platform-based timed-jumping and the like, where instead the main focus on the game is bashing and jacking your way past monsters and minions. Despite its monotony, a little more complex platforming wouldn’t have gone a miss, as it seems the emphasis on jacking and fighting is a little over-empowering for a generally platform-based franchise. There are decent parts of the game, though, where your mask will double as a makeshift skateboard and you can shred it down linear tunnels and dodge oncoming barriers and foes. You can also use the mask as a shield to protect you against enemies attacks, but being able to use it coherently for such tasks is a little clunky and uneven.
Visually, Crash of the Titans isn’t very inspiring. A host of vibrant colours are used and the game flows with a nice sort of elemental pallet which can be pleasing to the eye. Some of the level designs, such as the standard volcano and fire stage, tend to look a little pallid but are still rich in colour. Technically, however, it does nothing to enhance the franchise graphically. This is a little disappointing, especially when considering how stunning Ratchet & Clank: Future on Playstation 3 looks, which still retains a similar platforming vibe to Crash Bandicoot. The Xbox 360 is also entirely capable of producing such good-looking games. The platformer genre itself is in desperate need of a visual overhaul and Crash of the Titans fails to jump the genre up a platform.
Crash Bandicoot games have never really been very story-driven, but there is a bright cast of both new and old characters carrying some kind of Saturday morning kids cartoon story along. Though such characters as the Mr. T bear knock-off can be oddly amusing, not all of them are completely cute and are beset by annoying visual stereotypes and whiney voice work. Still, children of a younger age may find enjoyment out of all this colourful craziness, but anyone at least in their teens won’t give a damn as to what’s happening (and, in turn, will probably even question why they’re even playing the game in the first place).
Taking this into account, by and large, it is clear that Crash of the Titans is aimed towards a younger audience. If you so wish to play alongside your little ‘un, there is an instantly joinable co-op mode, which sees a second player decorated as a differently-coloured version of Crash (read: the colour of puke) that can handily drop into the game at any time by pressing the Start button. Despite not being a hugely encouraged or developed component in the game, it doesn’t derive the game from being any less fun, thus proves as a pretty nifty add-on to the game that works reasonably well.
Is all this enough for Crash fans of yonder to get overly excited? Well, no. The tried and true formula of collecting gems and platforming is still here, but is ultimately superseded by the new jacking feature. It’s unlikely that you’ll find much pleasure out of playing Crash of the Titans on your lonesome, but on a console plagued with shooters and mature-themed games, it becomes a much more recommendable package to play with a younger sibling or friend. |
Single Player Score: 6/10
Multiplayer Score: 0/10
Overall Score: 6/10 |
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