Crash Twinsanity

"Twinsanity insanity."

Introduction:
Crash Bandicoot is back for an eleventh outing. So, what haven't we seen before in the previous games on Game Boy Advance, Playstation and Playstation 2? The main thing is a change for the good, a free-roaming environment, much like the Jak And Daxter games, what has caused this is unknown, it's most probably the change in publisher, AGAIN, the series has gone from Naughty Dog to Konami to Vivendi to Sierra. What else? nearly every character from the past is back, the game is now in full 3D and there's a lot of laughter to be found.

Storyline:
This section is still typically Crash, not much of a storyline, the story starts where The Wrath Of Cortex finished, Cortex is back after three years frozen solid and he wants to get even with Crash, but Crash wins, then the two's home island is threatened with destruction by two evil twins, Crash and Cortex them team up.

Graphics:
Pretty crisp, not much change from last years Crash Nitro Kart, but there was nothing wrong with those graphics at all. The backgrounds are bold, colorful, bright and warm, the attention to detail is also absolutely stunning, notably the detail that has been put into the characters whilst the menus are good, if cheesy. All in all, the games graphics leave a superb first impression on a game that didn't have high hopes at all, result!

Sound:
Why do they never improve in this area? If anything, this is the section that knocks pieces out of the game, if you want a one word summary, repetitive. The voices have been improved, although there are a few actor changes, whereas the music you're hearing for the majority of the time has gotten worse, even more repetitive than usual and very annoying, a contrast that doesn't gel well. The menu music isn't much different than usual either, that said, the menu only gets a couple of minutes visiting time each playing session, which is made shorter by this category, which is abysmal.

Gameplay:
This is where the game really becomes impressive, it's completely brilliant! Three playable characters, and loads of cool moves to master, there's loads of levels in all different environments to make the game more varied and enjoyable and don't even get me started on collectibles, Crystals that do nothing, and six gems in every level, each of which unlocks something in the Extras section of the pause menu. The controls are great and easy to master and remember. It's a shame there's no multiplayer or online play, as that would of made this category the bee's knee's. Finally, I was hoping to see trading cards and mini-games in the style of the recent Crash Fusion game on the Game Boy Advance, sadly that was not to be but it doesn't stop gameplay being magnificent.

Lifespan:
Being very challenging, a long while and for perfectionists even longer. Replayability is something to look forward to after you've seen those credits roll, it's like a whole new game.

Extras:
The rewards for collecting gems, a huge scrapbook and some other stuff here and there, not bad at all.

Final Recommendation:
A game worthy of a place on anyone's shelf, for all ages this is a superb game in surprise packaging, definetley one for your Christmas list.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/04