Crash of the Titans

Crash Bandicoot is to Sony what Mario is to Nintendo, a symbol and a trademark that accompanied each generation of consoles, from the first title back in 1996 to the twelfth installment, Crash of the Titans, for the PSP. The latest Crash title is available on many platforms, from the next-gen ones, like the Xbox 360, to the good old PS2, Game Boy Advance, Wii or Nintendo DS. Radical Entertainment's latest work manages to stay true to the original Crash games' legacy, although the design and gameplay have suffered many changes. For once, I didn't even recognize Crash Bandicoot, as he looks rejuvenated and more cheerful. We're dealing with a title that's got enough potential to bring back those fans who quit waiting for a miracle after Crash Bandicoot 3, which is still considered the best game in the series.

Story In such action-adventure/platforming games, the story is less important, unless you're a kid who has already played the previous Crash titles and you want some continuity. It all starts with the return of the evil genius, Doctor Neo Cortex, who once again arrives in his fancy airship. He manages to capture Coco and Aku Aku, while Crunch gets half-frozen and Crash manages to escape. The angry bandicoot throws Coco's gadget towards the airship, hitting Aku Aku's cage that falls in the nearby woods.

As Crash speeds up to help the critter, he'll encounter various mutants who have taken over the peaceful island where the bandicoot family and Aku Aku live. Of Course, Cortex and Uka Uka, Crash's biggest nemesis are up to their old tricks, stealing mojo from the Temple of Zoom and using it to create mutants by altering normal creatures. Nina Cortex, the evil genius' niece makes an entrance in the game, as one of the main antagonists, as she brainwashes Coco and uses her skills.

Concept "Crash of the Titans" was chosen as the name for the bandicoot's latest adventures, being a pun on the name of the famous movie, you might know as "Clash of the Titans". Radical Entertainment's action-adventure title manages to use the same recipe in order to re-create the original Crash experience, plus a couple of new features. The one that stands out the most is the ability to "jack" enemies, a new ability that allows you to control the mutants called Titans. Crash Bandicoot is, of course, the main character and his main sidekick is Aku Aku, that eternal colored and speaking mask, who'll use a shield, a guide and skateboard.

Like the previous games in the series, Crash of the Titans is not a difficult game, being ideal for any segment of the public and for gamers who are in for a long-lasting adventure or a quick peak at the bandicoots' universe. Crash starts with three lives and while at first I thought that he won't die no matter how many times I fall into a waterfall and drown, the bandicoot can perish, wasting one of these lives. He has a health meter, that eventually runs out, after a couple of hardcore battles against Titans, and once it's depleted you'll lose one of the above-mentioned lives. The bad thing is that you'll have to start the level all over again when you run out of lives, but at least health can be replenished by eating Wumpa Fruit, which are not the main collectible items any more. Instead you collect mojo and you'll get new abilities and even lives in case you gather tons of blue gems.

During the game's levels, you can find various bonus minigames, that involve a timed challenge. Usually, you'll have to collect as much mojo as you can, or hijack a Titan and destroy bombs or just finish the many foes around. Once a level ends, you'll receive a couple of awards, depending on how well you did. There's the bronze, silver or gold rank, each awarded according to the number of enemies you destroy, the total moves that you chain during a combo and various other criteria. Also, in case you want to check out some concept art galleries, there are hidden voodoo dolls in all the game's episodes that you should collect.

Crash Bandicoot has also evolved in the combat field, which is done in real time with the aid of two basic moves plus a decent number of combos. Crash can perform a light and a heavy attack, for starters, but he's no God of War, so you'll be surprised to see him throwing punches and kicking instead of just spinning around. However, the bandicoot can block the enemies' attacks, dodge them or break his foes' block through moves like the Norris Roundhouse or Triple Dragon. You'll unlock such cool combos by collecting mojo and upgrade them as you move on. Don't be sad, since the trademark spinning move was also included as an unlockable named "Old Skool".

Gameplay I've had the chance to play Crash of the Titans on the PSP, Xbox 360 and PS2, but the best version is definitely the PSP one. It's not at all different from the other two, but it's a portable title after all and still manages to look and feel the same, if not better, specially when compared to the PS2's graphics. As I've mentioned before, the main improvement of the combat system in Crash of the Titans is the "jacking", a feature that allows Crash to control the huge Titans, who will do whatever he says. Usually, those giant beasts only need a couple of kicks to fill their green star meter and once it's fully charged, they'll be stunned and vulnerable to your "jack attack". If a Titan gets stunned Crash can use Aku Aku as a mask for the critters and control their actions.

Then you'll have the complete control of the Titan, so you'll make him go left or right, attack other enemies or even other Titans, shoot projectiles, summon a field of spikes or just crush minor minions. Some Titans have a different control system, which makes use of the L and R buttons, used for sniper-like attacks. Of course, their health meter is thicker than Crash's and the Titans can take quite a beating, but nothing compares to the fun of stunning other beasts while riding one of them and jumping from one creature's back to another. Keep in mind that each beast you control has a purple meter that once it gets filled, can allow you to perform special attacks.

As unbelievable as it seems, there's a little bit of strategy to be used when battling larger Titans, as you'll have to jack smaller ones and use their powerful attacks to stun and control the big guy. Even if Crash of the Titans is a playable and replayable game, without the stress of constantly dying, the AI is decent to say the least. It relies on team work, rather than cunning attacks and the number is the only advantage for small minions and the lower ranked Titans. You should stay away from large groups of enemies though, because they shouldn't be underestimated. Just take one at a time to defeat them all... The PSP's controls suit the game perfectly and I was impressed to see how well Crash could pull out his spin as I used the analog to trigger it.

The environments have greatly changed from the past titles and now the bandicoot can swing on ropes, hang on edges of rocks and walls, stand on moving pillars while they change their position, use mushrooms as trampolines and God knows what else. In case you remember the older titles of the series, Crash could always use his spinning attack during a higher jump to gently float in the air and reach a distant platform. Now this move has been combined with some sort of Rayman-esque ability, which allows Crash to slowly rotate in the air with the aid of his arms, making him look like a brown cartoonish helicopter. Aside from that, the double jumps prove to be extremely useful, but I still miss those spins and I'm not satisfied with the punches and kicks, that tend to get laggy sometimes, in combats against many enemies.

Although you won't feel this at first, Crash of the Titans is still a game based on clever platforming action, dodging traps and the strategic use of your enemies. While in the previous Crash games you used an enemy as a trampoline, by jumping on its shell or head, now you'll tune into the creature's head and control it, gaining a considerable advantage. There's always a number of gamers who get confused when a gaming series changes its direction and approach, so that's probably the reason why the game includes a tutorial and some guiding runes, which will display various help messages when you press the circle button.

I might have forgotten a major factor that decides whether this is a good or bad title: the fun. Ask any Crash Bandicoot fan and he'll say that he plays the game for pure fun, for entertainment, for that stupid look on the main character's face, for the funny way he dies and for his combos and clever implementation of traps... Crash of the Titans doesn't manage to be as fun as the cult game predecessors, but it's still an experience that has to be present on your PSP, as I can't imagine a better portable title for a long journey by train or bus.

Video

Crash of the Titans doesn't impress anyone on the PS2 and Xbox 360, but manages to make a difference on the PSP surpassing out expectations. Textures tend to go crazy sometimes, after a couple of crazy jumps and the camera's not 100% focused on Crash the whole time, but these are minor flaws compared to the eye candy provided by the surrounding environments. They're also interactive, as Crash is allowed to destroy plants and boxes, hang on ledges or swing on ropes. This PSP title is a very colorful one and a pleasure for the gamer's eyes, specially thanks to that light blue mojo, one of the best-looking pickups from the Crash series, perhaps even better than the Wumpa fruit. The bandicoot moves naturally and he's extremely versatile, if you get to master most of his moves. Each foe is well drawn and animated, picturing a fantastic world that we'll love even when we're 80 and waiting for Crash part 30 to come out.

Sound Crash may be a silent protagonist, but his actions speak up louder than he could ever do... Meanwhile, the other characters' dialogs are not vital for the storyline, although they're funny enough to make you watch the cutscenes (which can't be skipped anyway, if I'm not mistaking). The background music is decent, not surprising in any way, while the number of lines that the foes use is impressive. You'll hear the minions saying the same thing twice rarely and that's a good thing, specially for an action-adventure/platforming game that tends to plague gamers with audio and video content redundancy.

Multiplayer Crash of the Titans' PSP version features a multiplayer mode that makes use of the consoles' WLAN feature. The game modes you can play are varied and fun, including challenges like the Titan Takedown, Crash Corral, Crate Crash, Jack-a-Mole or Barrel Defender. Each of these has a settings section that can be altered in order to increase or decrease the time limit or add a handicap. You can also select the level where you want the multiplayer challenge to take place, choosing between the Cave, Jungle, Factory, Ice or Desert arenas.

Conclusion Crash of the Titans in its PSP version makes the perfect Christmas gift for your little brother or sister and the perfect collectible title for the Crash fanatic. It's a decent experience for casual gamers and a must play title for platforming fans. It will please the action-adventure games fans for at least two or three hours and it will be a nice break for the Halo 3 fanatics. Crash Bandicoot's latest adventure suits all tastes and ages, breaking the barrier of public segments and simply providing enough content and fun to last and leave an impression even after the game's been 100% completed.