Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

"If you liked Crash Bandicoot, you'll love Crash Bandicoot 2!"

The original Crash Bandicoot was a great game. But Crash 2 is outstanding! The problems from the first game were fixed, and the game is even bigger than before!

In the original Crash game, most people complained about the weak save system, the bad storyline, and the insane difficulty. In Crash 2, the difficulty was decreased, the save system turned from bad to flawless, and the storyline is five times as good as before.

Gameplay

The gameplay could not be any better. There's 25 standard levels in the game, five secret levels, and five bosses. Throughout the game, you must collect 25 crystals and 42 gems. Crystals are placed on the main path of the levels. To get a gem, you have to either break all the boxes in a level, take a secret path, or finish the level very quickly. With so many items to collect, the game lasts a pretty long time and will keep you hooked. The level designs are flawless. Who else, other than Naughty Dog, would think of the main character flying around in a jet-pack. Flawless ideas in this game. Seriously.

Graphics

The graphics are basically the same as in the original game, but everything looks a bit more 3-D. The Crystals and Gems are 3-D too, which gives it an extra point.

Storyline

The storyline is almost broken. Throughout the game, you will receive messages from Dr. Cortex (Crash's nemesis), Coco Bandicoot (Crash's sister), and Dr. N-Brio (Cortex's old friend). I'm not going to spoil the ending. It's really good!

Save System

One of the best save systems I've ever seen. You can save whenever you want, which is nice. If you remember, in the first game, if you had 99 lives when you turned the game off, you would have 4 lives when you turn it back on. That was fixed in Crash 2. Now you keep the same amount of lives when you turn the game back on.

Replay Value

There's even more levels than the first game, and the level designs are even better. However, the levels can get a bit boring after a while, just like the first game.

++++++++ OVERALL ++++++++++

Gameplay - 10/10
Graphics - 8/10
Storyline - 10/10
Save System - 10/10
Replay Value - 9/10

Every single dedicated gamer should have this game. It is too underrated. Believe me when I say that this is one of the best games I've ever played. And I have played about 2000 games.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/29/09

Game Release: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (US, 10/31/97)