Crash Tag Team Racing

"Crash Tag Team Racing!"

Crash Tag Team Racing. This title doesn't seem right. This game should be called just Crash, as there is hardly any racing in this game. Of course, it has to have a name past that, so it should really be named Crash Run Around And Do A Whole Bunch Of Boring Things That Will Bore Your Bored Brains Out. And I'm serious. Really, really serious.

Before you are told anything more about this game, you might want to know the history of the Crash Bandicoot racing series (While I try to find something that might possibly be good.). The first racing title under the Crash Bandicoot name was Crash Team Racing for the original PlayStation console. It was the fourth game in the series, after three games that had pushed the power of the PlayStation to its limit. This game was doubtlessly the best in its' PlayStation 1 series. With great single player and multiplayer modes, graphics, game play, open worlds to drive and find races in, and an awesome power slide feature that will challenge the most experienced gamers, it is still one of the best games for the console.

Then there is Crash Nitro Kart. By now the Crash title has been bought and sold to and through six different companies. They have all tried their hand, lost the pot, and passed it on. Crash was losing its reputation, and depended on this game to revive it. This game was very similar to Crash Team Racing, except it seemed some of the superb controls and dynamics had been lost. Otherwise, it was a decent game (Still featured the power slide and boost challenge.), and was the stepping stone to bringing this game back.

Obviously with Crash Tag Team Racing, nobody called the landscapers. There are very few good things about it. I suppose cut scenes (What there are of them.) are nice, and three different cars for the eight different drivers look, well interesting (See them and you'll know what I mean.). Multiplayer is still interesting, as you can unlock things for multiplayer alone by winning races with friends and getting wumpa coins. It encourages multiplayer play, and the sad thing is, unlike the earlier games, there is a two player maximum. In a racing series that was originally designed for multiplayer play! Just strange…

Now for the bad. Let's start with the actual racing. It is extremely slow, there are only six main power-ups (One of the best parts of previous games.), and just dull and boring. The five game modes are not even close to as fun as the previous game's three. The new "clashing feature" where two cars become on supercar don't spice things up either. The great power slide and it's great challenge and advantage is no longer available either. Same as the open worlds, as they have been changed to an amusement park where you run around and do things as Crash himself, which is more of a hassle than is fun. Minigames are lame too. The big problem with this game and some interesting features were started, but is a mess, and never went to the point where it could be considered over entry level.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 02/05/09

Game Release: Crash Tag Team Racing (US, 10/19/05)