Though you probably know me for my love of Sonic, Mario, and other, bigger game series, behind the posts, I am also a Crash Bandicoot fan. While I was kind of late to the party (I got the first game in 2000, at the end of the PS1’s heyday and by the time my dad had gotten a PS2), I enjoyed the game, and later on ended up with Crash 2 and Crash: Wrath of Cortex, although it was quite a while afterward that I ended up with Crash 3, Crash Twinsanity, and, of course, Crash of the Titans.
But how did I end up with Crash of the Titans? Ahh, good question. Well, Mom had dragged us into Wal-Mart, of course, and me, my father, and my sister headed straight for the electronics section. Now, you may or may not know, but I busted my finger a while ago. Emma always gets a toy when she gets sick, so my dad thought that I should get a game since I got injured. I came in wanting Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, but came out with Elebits (upcoming review) since Wario Ware was thirty bucks. And yet, I ended up with more…
You see, my little sister has an upcoming birthday, and Dad decided to get her a present she wanted early. This just so happened to be Crash of the Titans, as she was a Crash fan, too. Unfortunately, when she figured out that she wasn’t going to have ALL of her birthday money at once, she threw a fit, and decided she wouldn’t even open the game until her actual birthday so she could have all her money at once. This made no sense to me and my parents, and I wanted to play the game myself. Thankfully, it’s a family tradition to give the sibling of the birthday boy-or-girl some money, too. So, I just happened to have 20 dollars in hand, and that was what the game cost. And then it became mine.
Since Emma had claimed the Wii as soon as we got home, I started playing Crash of the Titans first thing. From the start, it was evident that it wasn’t the same Crash Bandicoot. The gameplay was fun, but it simply was NOT my Crash Bandicoot.
Now, the game has nothing to do with any other game in the series. The game features real time combat. While I’m fine with that, they should have at least made it FEEL like Crash. I mean, Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity weren’t exactly as good as the PS1 trilogy, but I still felt like I was playing Crash Bandicoot. Also, the Spin Attack is kind of hard to do in this game and completely falls out of your use.
Instead of using Aku Aku for health, you use the occasional Wumpa Fruit to refill your Health Bar. So then what do you collect in crates? Blue Mojo, which fills up a bar at the top of the screen. After it fills up completely, you learn a new move. This is an interesting concept, but again, I would rather have Wumpa Fruit appear in crates as a means of getting an extra life…and have crates appear more often. But as for the health bar…nice touch. You can also get Blue Mojo from defeating enemies, but whatever.
All the challenge from the past games is gone. The Health Bar, while a nice touch, makes the game far too easy. All of the secrets are lying in plain sight—no exploration necessary, unlike in Crash Twinsanity. There are no more Gems, or Relics, or Power Crystals—all you collect is voodoo dolls. The only cool collectable items are the skins. The game is also way, way, WAY too short. There are only twenty episodes, and the last few are the shortest of all.
That, and the changed design and personality of the characters just points to the fact that this game was intended for younger kids. For instance, Coco is just…stupid now. Nina is no longer kindhearted—she’s evil, just like her uncle (of course, then again, she might have learned something at Madame Amberly’s Academy of Evil). Aku Aku and Uka Uka both sport stupid designs. At least Aku Aku is voiced by the same actor who did the voice of Grim in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy…
Thankfully, if you are able to get past the aspects of the game that have been messed with and, therefore, ruined (as you should easily be able to do, since it’s not really a big deal), then there is a good deal of fun to be had with the game. Now, rather than being a platformer, Crash of the Titans is a brawler akin to Streets of Rage (except for being 3-D, of course), and Crash is given a set of melee attacks, guard-breakers, and the like. There are also more complicated moves like the Old School (the spin attack, unfortunately), guard-breaking combos, and more. Rather than having a double jump, Crash now floats if you repeatedly press X, making platforming segments easier, and allowing you to make bigger jumps. Crash is even giving a snowboard-ish thing that allows him to slide down slopes and even makes other areas of the game more fun since you can do it anywhere.
But the biggest gameplay change is the ability to jack monsters. You see, there are several mutated animals, which you can use Aku Aku to jack if you knock them out (these monsters are the “titans” the title refers to), and then you can use their abilities to your advantage. Many are similar, but each one has its own moveset. There are several types: huge powerhouses that let you mow down anything in your path (like Scorporilla), sharpshooters that are often used for puzzles involving shooting targets (like Stench), and smaller ones that can easily get destroyed by larger ones (like Ratcicle), but all of them are fun to control. This is also an aspect that makes the bosses special; you can jack them, too! This usually involves a puzzle necessary to beat the boss. Unfortunately, these jack-able monsters bring in problems. They often guard, and you have to break it before their health regenerates. You have to charge the guard-breaker up near them, and you’ll usually get hit before you can break it.
One of my favorite aspects of Crash Twinsanity was the whacky, cartoony humor style, and I’m very happy to see that reiterated in this game. The story is that Dr. Cortex and Uka Uka have discovered Mojo on the Wumpa Islands, and they are harvesting it to make new mutants without the Evolvo Ray that didn’t work (which are the titans you jack throughout the game), and Cortex is also planning on using it to power a giant robot called the Doominator to destroy the Wumpa Islands. While it’s a funny story in itself, it’s topped off with dialogue that you can listen to as you approach minions! Unfortunately, a lot of the episode titles are just plain stupid (i.e. Life’s a Beach, or especially Don’t Eat the Yellow Brick Load), but otherwise, the game is just plain hilarious.
Well, that’s my review, pretty much. Now, in my opinion, renting is a crime against humanity. Why? Because when I buy a game, it’s going to stay in my possession unless I truly dislike it (I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of person who replays games). Thus, as short and easy as this game is (not to mention the low replay value due to crappy unlockables), I don’t recommend you rent it. Sure, Crash has been changed for the worst, but it’s better than mediocre. In fact, if it wasn’t for everything wrong with it, I’d give it the “Awesome” Word, as fun as it is. So, yeah, if you’ve liked previous Crash games, I think you should by this one.
This Game’s Word: Pretty Good. It’s too short, too easy, the unlockables aren’t great, and the character designs and personalities have been changed for the worse, but it’s at least fun and worth playing.
But how did I end up with Crash of the Titans? Ahh, good question. Well, Mom had dragged us into Wal-Mart, of course, and me, my father, and my sister headed straight for the electronics section. Now, you may or may not know, but I busted my finger a while ago. Emma always gets a toy when she gets sick, so my dad thought that I should get a game since I got injured. I came in wanting Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, but came out with Elebits (upcoming review) since Wario Ware was thirty bucks. And yet, I ended up with more…
You see, my little sister has an upcoming birthday, and Dad decided to get her a present she wanted early. This just so happened to be Crash of the Titans, as she was a Crash fan, too. Unfortunately, when she figured out that she wasn’t going to have ALL of her birthday money at once, she threw a fit, and decided she wouldn’t even open the game until her actual birthday so she could have all her money at once. This made no sense to me and my parents, and I wanted to play the game myself. Thankfully, it’s a family tradition to give the sibling of the birthday boy-or-girl some money, too. So, I just happened to have 20 dollars in hand, and that was what the game cost. And then it became mine.
Since Emma had claimed the Wii as soon as we got home, I started playing Crash of the Titans first thing. From the start, it was evident that it wasn’t the same Crash Bandicoot. The gameplay was fun, but it simply was NOT my Crash Bandicoot.
Now, the game has nothing to do with any other game in the series. The game features real time combat. While I’m fine with that, they should have at least made it FEEL like Crash. I mean, Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity weren’t exactly as good as the PS1 trilogy, but I still felt like I was playing Crash Bandicoot. Also, the Spin Attack is kind of hard to do in this game and completely falls out of your use.
Instead of using Aku Aku for health, you use the occasional Wumpa Fruit to refill your Health Bar. So then what do you collect in crates? Blue Mojo, which fills up a bar at the top of the screen. After it fills up completely, you learn a new move. This is an interesting concept, but again, I would rather have Wumpa Fruit appear in crates as a means of getting an extra life…and have crates appear more often. But as for the health bar…nice touch. You can also get Blue Mojo from defeating enemies, but whatever.
All the challenge from the past games is gone. The Health Bar, while a nice touch, makes the game far too easy. All of the secrets are lying in plain sight—no exploration necessary, unlike in Crash Twinsanity. There are no more Gems, or Relics, or Power Crystals—all you collect is voodoo dolls. The only cool collectable items are the skins. The game is also way, way, WAY too short. There are only twenty episodes, and the last few are the shortest of all.
That, and the changed design and personality of the characters just points to the fact that this game was intended for younger kids. For instance, Coco is just…stupid now. Nina is no longer kindhearted—she’s evil, just like her uncle (of course, then again, she might have learned something at Madame Amberly’s Academy of Evil). Aku Aku and Uka Uka both sport stupid designs. At least Aku Aku is voiced by the same actor who did the voice of Grim in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy…
Thankfully, if you are able to get past the aspects of the game that have been messed with and, therefore, ruined (as you should easily be able to do, since it’s not really a big deal), then there is a good deal of fun to be had with the game. Now, rather than being a platformer, Crash of the Titans is a brawler akin to Streets of Rage (except for being 3-D, of course), and Crash is given a set of melee attacks, guard-breakers, and the like. There are also more complicated moves like the Old School (the spin attack, unfortunately), guard-breaking combos, and more. Rather than having a double jump, Crash now floats if you repeatedly press X, making platforming segments easier, and allowing you to make bigger jumps. Crash is even giving a snowboard-ish thing that allows him to slide down slopes and even makes other areas of the game more fun since you can do it anywhere.
But the biggest gameplay change is the ability to jack monsters. You see, there are several mutated animals, which you can use Aku Aku to jack if you knock them out (these monsters are the “titans” the title refers to), and then you can use their abilities to your advantage. Many are similar, but each one has its own moveset. There are several types: huge powerhouses that let you mow down anything in your path (like Scorporilla), sharpshooters that are often used for puzzles involving shooting targets (like Stench), and smaller ones that can easily get destroyed by larger ones (like Ratcicle), but all of them are fun to control. This is also an aspect that makes the bosses special; you can jack them, too! This usually involves a puzzle necessary to beat the boss. Unfortunately, these jack-able monsters bring in problems. They often guard, and you have to break it before their health regenerates. You have to charge the guard-breaker up near them, and you’ll usually get hit before you can break it.
One of my favorite aspects of Crash Twinsanity was the whacky, cartoony humor style, and I’m very happy to see that reiterated in this game. The story is that Dr. Cortex and Uka Uka have discovered Mojo on the Wumpa Islands, and they are harvesting it to make new mutants without the Evolvo Ray that didn’t work (which are the titans you jack throughout the game), and Cortex is also planning on using it to power a giant robot called the Doominator to destroy the Wumpa Islands. While it’s a funny story in itself, it’s topped off with dialogue that you can listen to as you approach minions! Unfortunately, a lot of the episode titles are just plain stupid (i.e. Life’s a Beach, or especially Don’t Eat the Yellow Brick Load), but otherwise, the game is just plain hilarious.
Well, that’s my review, pretty much. Now, in my opinion, renting is a crime against humanity. Why? Because when I buy a game, it’s going to stay in my possession unless I truly dislike it (I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of person who replays games). Thus, as short and easy as this game is (not to mention the low replay value due to crappy unlockables), I don’t recommend you rent it. Sure, Crash has been changed for the worst, but it’s better than mediocre. In fact, if it wasn’t for everything wrong with it, I’d give it the “Awesome” Word, as fun as it is. So, yeah, if you’ve liked previous Crash games, I think you should by this one.
This Game’s Word: Pretty Good. It’s too short, too easy, the unlockables aren’t great, and the character designs and personalities have been changed for the worse, but it’s at least fun and worth playing.
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