WARNING: This review will not make any sense unless you're a Crash Bandicoot veteran.
Do you remember a time when the Crash Bandicoot video games were actually FUN? When, despite its lack of innovation, they had solid control, imaginative level design and great replay value? I remember spending hours and hours trying to get all the time relics, crystals and gems. Well, Crash's PlayStation days are over, and everyone's former favourite marsupial is making his second trip on the Game Boy Advance.
The story is very dumb, even by Crash standards. Uka Uka has abandoned Cortex in favour of N. Tropy (the clock guy from Crash 3). Tropy creates N-Trance, an automaton which brainwashes all of Crash's pals and, through a vortex warp of some kind, Evil Crash instead of the real one. I know, it makes no sense. But the story isn't what matters; it's the gameplay.
The first GBA Crash game, "The Huge Adventure", was based mainly on "Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back" for the PlayStation. In the same way, "N-Tranced" borrows mainly from "Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped" with some influence from "Wrath of Cortex" as well. This time there are even less zones - only lush jungle, prehistoric and Egypt, with the occasional level in space or on a beach. These zones repeat over and over again, with sloppy and confusing level design despite the levels' linear nature. To extend play time, you look for gem "shards" instead of the coloured gems, and then later in the game play "gem levels" in a certain colour once you've collected all the shards. The platforming controls are responsive, but it uses almost EXACTLY the same engine as "Huge Adventure". However, you start the game with the Super Body Slam and Double Jump to make way for two new useless power-ups - Super Slide and Rocket Jump, neither of which help you much on your journey. And also, as I said before, level design is shoddy and repetitive, bogging down the control. There also seems to be quite a bit of slowdown whenever I use the Super Slide.
The game's Achilles Heel is in the all-too-frequent levels where you don't platform. The Atlasphere from "Wrath of Cortex" is back, and all the worse for it. It controls horribly, with very questionable physics and no real sense of precise speed. The wake-boarding and carpet levels are okay design-wise, but control is very lacking. Perhaps the worst parts are the two space levels, which are nothing short of torturous. You need to play them to understand how bad they are. Time Trials are back, but thanks to the poor level design, they're much less fun than in "Huge Adventure".
Overall, this game is a textbook example of how to destroy a franchise. I don't recommend buying it, but download a ROM and use it as a guide for how NOT to make a game.
Do you remember a time when the Crash Bandicoot video games were actually FUN? When, despite its lack of innovation, they had solid control, imaginative level design and great replay value? I remember spending hours and hours trying to get all the time relics, crystals and gems. Well, Crash's PlayStation days are over, and everyone's former favourite marsupial is making his second trip on the Game Boy Advance.
The story is very dumb, even by Crash standards. Uka Uka has abandoned Cortex in favour of N. Tropy (the clock guy from Crash 3). Tropy creates N-Trance, an automaton which brainwashes all of Crash's pals and, through a vortex warp of some kind, Evil Crash instead of the real one. I know, it makes no sense. But the story isn't what matters; it's the gameplay.
The first GBA Crash game, "The Huge Adventure", was based mainly on "Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back" for the PlayStation. In the same way, "N-Tranced" borrows mainly from "Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped" with some influence from "Wrath of Cortex" as well. This time there are even less zones - only lush jungle, prehistoric and Egypt, with the occasional level in space or on a beach. These zones repeat over and over again, with sloppy and confusing level design despite the levels' linear nature. To extend play time, you look for gem "shards" instead of the coloured gems, and then later in the game play "gem levels" in a certain colour once you've collected all the shards. The platforming controls are responsive, but it uses almost EXACTLY the same engine as "Huge Adventure". However, you start the game with the Super Body Slam and Double Jump to make way for two new useless power-ups - Super Slide and Rocket Jump, neither of which help you much on your journey. And also, as I said before, level design is shoddy and repetitive, bogging down the control. There also seems to be quite a bit of slowdown whenever I use the Super Slide.
The game's Achilles Heel is in the all-too-frequent levels where you don't platform. The Atlasphere from "Wrath of Cortex" is back, and all the worse for it. It controls horribly, with very questionable physics and no real sense of precise speed. The wake-boarding and carpet levels are okay design-wise, but control is very lacking. Perhaps the worst parts are the two space levels, which are nothing short of torturous. You need to play them to understand how bad they are. Time Trials are back, but thanks to the poor level design, they're much less fun than in "Huge Adventure".
Overall, this game is a textbook example of how to destroy a franchise. I don't recommend buying it, but download a ROM and use it as a guide for how NOT to make a game.
