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Crash Bandicoot: Warped
Text Review
If there’s anything to be learned from cartoons, movies and video games (and there really is), it’s that time-travel is fun. Seriously. And if there’s anything to be learned from the two previous installments of the Crash Bandicoot series, it’s that an anthropomorphic platformer based around time-travel is going to be awesome.
Those good old boys at Naughty Dog did not let us down. Crash Bandicoot: Warped is not only fun, it’s also ridiculously addictive. The game tells the story of our favorite mutated marsupial, hot on the heels of the mad scientist Dr. Cortex, who is making his way through various periods of time to collect power crystals.
Because each level is from a different era and location, the entire game becomes wonderfully diverse. One minute, you’re rushing through medieval villages, fighting off frogs that pounce on you for prince-restoring kisses, the next you’re fleeing for your life from enormous dinosaurs in Jurassic swamps. From Arabian rooftops and Egyptian tombs to futuristic cities and hot rod highways of the 1950’s, there is an entire spectrum of color contained within this game – with each level beautifully and painstakingly designed to suit its own little part of time.
Not only is there a great deal of variety in terms of visual style and aesthetic eye candy, but the gameplay mechanics in each level also differ, giving Warped a multitude of techniques and challenges to try out and overcome. Classic platform levels are played either through a side-scrolling format or by moving forwards with Crash’s back to the screen (in some cases towards the screen). Other levels include riding cute and cuddly tigers through ancient China, taking down enemy planes in the skies of World War II and jet-skiing your way through pirate-ridden seas in the 18th century. The vehicles and animals are welcome additions to the game’s structure, providing fun little changes to what easily becomes stale in platform games, too much running and jumping.
Thankfully, there are more goodies to combat this problem. As you progress, special abilities become available, such as the super body slam, tornado spin, and the most fun you’ll ever have with a personified bandicoot, a wumpa fruit-firing bazooka. These sexy new moves open up room for a lot more puzzles, a lot more challenges and a lot more frustration for perfectionists. Once you’ve completed the game (which is, sadly, far too short for its own good), you can go back to the beginning and play through levels again, in any order you wish. Aside from the main twenty-five power crystals, there are also gems to obtain through different tasks, such as opening all boxes, completing a level without dying and unlocking secret areas. You can also take part in Time Trials and finish levels as fast as you can in order to receive ankh-shaped “relics”.
There’s plenty of fun and games to keep you busy, even with the disappointingly short lengths in terms of level and overall gameplay. The time warps can grow rather tedious; however, as almost every level is repeated twice, if not more. A few levels, also, are immensely dull, especially the underwater swimming parts which move far too slowly.
With each “warp room” consisting of five levels that can be played in any order, you can always leave the boring ones until last. Luckily, Crash Bandicoot: Warped provides very few other moments of ennui to deal with. The game is fun, family-friendly and holds plenty of hidden little secrets to pull your hair out over. So set aside the DeLorean for a few hours, and let some fuzzy little bandicoots do the time travelling for you. When you’re riding on an adorably big-eyed tiger cub across the Great Wall of China, you’ll know it was worth the trip.
- Rachel Gosling
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Universal Interactive Studios
Platform(s): PlayStation 1
Those good old boys at Naughty Dog did not let us down. Crash Bandicoot: Warped is not only fun, it’s also ridiculously addictive. The game tells the story of our favorite mutated marsupial, hot on the heels of the mad scientist Dr. Cortex, who is making his way through various periods of time to collect power crystals.
Because each level is from a different era and location, the entire game becomes wonderfully diverse. One minute, you’re rushing through medieval villages, fighting off frogs that pounce on you for prince-restoring kisses, the next you’re fleeing for your life from enormous dinosaurs in Jurassic swamps. From Arabian rooftops and Egyptian tombs to futuristic cities and hot rod highways of the 1950’s, there is an entire spectrum of color contained within this game – with each level beautifully and painstakingly designed to suit its own little part of time.
Not only is there a great deal of variety in terms of visual style and aesthetic eye candy, but the gameplay mechanics in each level also differ, giving Warped a multitude of techniques and challenges to try out and overcome. Classic platform levels are played either through a side-scrolling format or by moving forwards with Crash’s back to the screen (in some cases towards the screen). Other levels include riding cute and cuddly tigers through ancient China, taking down enemy planes in the skies of World War II and jet-skiing your way through pirate-ridden seas in the 18th century. The vehicles and animals are welcome additions to the game’s structure, providing fun little changes to what easily becomes stale in platform games, too much running and jumping.
Thankfully, there are more goodies to combat this problem. As you progress, special abilities become available, such as the super body slam, tornado spin, and the most fun you’ll ever have with a personified bandicoot, a wumpa fruit-firing bazooka. These sexy new moves open up room for a lot more puzzles, a lot more challenges and a lot more frustration for perfectionists. Once you’ve completed the game (which is, sadly, far too short for its own good), you can go back to the beginning and play through levels again, in any order you wish. Aside from the main twenty-five power crystals, there are also gems to obtain through different tasks, such as opening all boxes, completing a level without dying and unlocking secret areas. You can also take part in Time Trials and finish levels as fast as you can in order to receive ankh-shaped “relics”.
There’s plenty of fun and games to keep you busy, even with the disappointingly short lengths in terms of level and overall gameplay. The time warps can grow rather tedious; however, as almost every level is repeated twice, if not more. A few levels, also, are immensely dull, especially the underwater swimming parts which move far too slowly.
With each “warp room” consisting of five levels that can be played in any order, you can always leave the boring ones until last. Luckily, Crash Bandicoot: Warped provides very few other moments of ennui to deal with. The game is fun, family-friendly and holds plenty of hidden little secrets to pull your hair out over. So set aside the DeLorean for a few hours, and let some fuzzy little bandicoots do the time travelling for you. When you’re riding on an adorably big-eyed tiger cub across the Great Wall of China, you’ll know it was worth the trip.
- Rachel Gosling
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Universal Interactive Studios
Platform(s): PlayStation 1
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