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| | Title:
Crash Tag Team Racing
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System:
Xbox
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Genre:
Racing/Driving
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Publisher:
Vivendi Universal
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Developer:
Radical Entertainment
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Release:
10/18/2005
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
Rating Pending (RP)
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It seems like just yesterday, Sony was airing really funny commercials to advertise their Playstation, with Crash Bandicoot as their unofficial mascot. Crash has been around the block, sliced, beaten, blown up, flattened and has saved the world many times over on Sony’s watch. Considering that Crash has since seen multiple platforms—and been worked on by numerous development companies—it’s safe to say that he’s changed…but how much? And is it for the better?
Once I got Crash to finally run—I have the flakiest disc drive ever due to Iraqi sand taking up residence in my box’s internals—I was pleased to see the humorous and abstract atmosphere Crash is known for preserved in this game. Not only that, but you probably couldn’t tell from the presentation that Naughty Dog, the Crash creators, didn’t touch this title.
Platformers have to be something special to grab the attention of fans; they have to break from the mold that’s been passed down since Pitfall for Atari. Linear exploration doesn’t cut it, as that gets boring fast. You have to mix it up, which most platformers these days do a good job of executing. However, Crash does it better than most. Though the title of the game suggests pure racer, this game is a couple of different games melded together to create a fun experience. However, that value doesn’t last all that long.
Making a platformer fun for more than 30 minutes really takes talent. Radical Entertainment took previous the Crash games—with slapstick comedy intact—and melded them with what they know about destructive racing. And they know quite a bit, having made the critically acclaimed title The Simpsons: Hit & Run. It can be assumed that Crash: Tag Team Racing utilizes the same engine for the racing sequences, as there is quite a bit of devastation and environmental obstacles wreaking havoc on your senses, similar to what one would see in Hit & Run.
The “Tag Team” portion of the title refers to what is only one of the many fantastic gameplay elements this game provides. During the racing portions, you can hit the [Y] button and “Clash” with another car, and watch in awe as your car and the other racer’s transform into a single, devastating unit, complete with turrets, excessive exhaust pipes and never-ending ammunition. You can choose to use the turret on the back, or drive while the AI controls the firing. If you choose to fire, which is a heck of a lot more fun, you can hit the [A] button to fire a standard canon. Hit the [X] button and you can switch to another available piece of artillery and make it a bad day at the track for the opposition or the trackside environments as they are destructible…to an extent, of course.
Clashing really is the main focus of the racing. Hard mode makes it a necessity. When you break away from a clash, you’ll get a temporary speed boost, possibly allowing you to launch up to the next opponent and clash again. You’ll need to strategize a little and know when to blast opponents while clashed, boost ahead and maybe clash again to blast the guy behind you that you were previously clashed to. Also, there are weapon pick-ups scattered throughout the levels, much like in Mario Kart. The similarity doesn’t stop there, as there are homing chickens of doom (like the homing turtle shells in Mario Kart) and other objects you can use to make the other racers miserable. You can even throw a monkey at an opponent, which slows them down and makes keeping the kart going in a straight line a little more difficult. There isn’t just track racing, either. You can also do some destruction derby-type games (shooting instead of slamming) in a big, open arena where the first kart to ten kills wins. These are certainly fun elements, but take a lot away from the actual driving. It’s no Gran Turismo, that’s for sure.
But to race, you have to get to the track first. Crash has free-run of an amusement park, owned and operated by the vertically-challenged Von Clutch. There are five separate attractions in the park (or worlds, you could call them) for Crash to explore with the goal of finding crystals and restoring them to each of the worlds to gain control of the park. However, Crash isn’t the only one interested in the park. Dr. Nero Cortex also has his eye on the prize, and plans to win and be rid of the Bandicoots once and for all.
A handful of characters from the Crash world are available in the game. Coco, N-Gin, Crush, and Pasadena are some of those you can expect to take part of the vehicular melee. Each character also has his/her own vehicle that Crash can unlock and use in the races. The sound effects of the vehicles are actually pretty realistic, some having a purring motor like a Ferrari.
Beautifully rendered, this Crash game has an expansive polygonal display with rich colors in that crooked design found in all Crash games. The worlds feel large and bubbling with things to see and do, including some cool mini-games like shooting ducks and chickens with a roast chicken cannon. It’s an amusement park, remember?
The character models are smooth in motion, and look only slightly blocky. During the races, the framerate holds up extremely well, though this game is no F-Zero to necessitate a much more powerful rendering engine. There’s much to see during races, as a plethora of obstacles and visual effects scour the screen. You’ll even be able to unlock shortcuts in some tracks by finding hidden switches to further the experience.
Though things look great in the large 3-D world, Crash suffers a bit from camera issues, so sometimes trying to get at that ninja penguin kicking you in the shins is a tad on the frustrating side, but not as bad as some games can be. Fortunately, there’s a camera center (push in the right analog) and a manual camera view, controlled by the right thumbstick.
The sound in this game isn’t too shabby. The music is actually quite catchy, and adds to the quirky atmosphere of the game. With Dolby Digital Sound, this game certainly has a pleasing aural display your ears can feast on, and adds depth to the many things going on in the worlds and races. Better than that is the excellent voice acting. There’s rarely anything to read as all the characters talk to Crash instead of having tedious text boxes. The game makes excellent use of facial expressions to further enhance what the characters are saying. That said, there’s some darn funny dialogue with wacky happenings to go with it. I especially liked the two rooster commentators that are covering the “racing event” at the amusement park. It’s some humorous stuff, that’s for sure, but you can tell the appeal is directed a bit more to younger gamers.
The only reason this game doesn’t get a better score is simply because it didn’t do anything amazing, nor does it really appeal to the seasoned gamer due to its lack of difficulty—though hard mode can be, but really only in that “cheap” way. While it took a couple of genres and melded them extremely well while keeping the crazy Crash atmosphere intact, it didn’t do anything to make you say “whoa, that’s awesome!” like any game getting a score of 8 or better should do. However this game scores greatly for a title that should probably appeal mostly to the younger generation.
| The Core Score |
Overall
7.5 |
| Fun |
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7.5 |
| Gameplay |
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7.5 |
| Graphics |
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8 |
| Audio |
|
8 |
| Replay |
|
7 |
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