Crash Team Racing

"A fun Kart Racer worthy of the CB name."

You know the whole story. Eventually, around the fourth or fifth iteration or so, the main mascot of a console is in some type of racing game of sorts. Mario went into a kart, and out came, well, Mario Kart. Then, Sonic became one of the first games where you have a romp on foot known as Sonic R. Well, Sony’s mascot is Crash Bandicoot, and finally, in 1999, his racer came out. It was a Kart racer, aptly named Crash Team Racing. Now, many people have complained about this game being a blatant Mario Kart ripoff. And, it is, I can admit that. But, it is probably the best, and maybe better than Mario itself, ripoff of a series ever.

Story: 7/10
According to the game, after Crash’s last romp against N. Cortex, everything in the world is very nice and happy. But, a dude name Nitrous Oxide comes to earth in his little space kart, and says that unless someone can beat him, he’s going to turn the entire world into a huge parking lot for him to race others on. So, Crash, Coco, and plenty of others, including N. Cortex, Tiny, and Dingodile, are ready to go against Oxide to save the world! It’s a good story for a platformer, but the part about turning the world into a parking lot is just plain cheesy, and not that good. At least the first part was good.

Graphics: 10/10!!!
It’s hard to find better graphics in a Kart Racer for the Playstation. First off, as you race by the environments, you begin to feel sort of immersed. That’s because some of the environments are just plain gorgeous. Another thing that is also a feat is that they still managed to keep that cartoony look to it that made the last 3 games fun to play as well. Crash and all of his friends are also kept in check, with just a few blocky chunks on some of them. But, there is still one thing that bogs this down, and that is Crash’s animations. Such as when he wins a race, each character celebrates differently. Well, I’m sorry, but they look just plain awful when they move around. They’re movements are blocky, very jagged, and then there’s this one person that always waves her hand at the end. Well, it just looks awful. But, more pluses include how they still keep the framerate in check, and there is no slowdown whatsoever. Even the track that you ride around in to get to the race tracks looks pretty good in it’s own right. The sky is also done very well, and the water effects, where they are in the game, are very clear, and the water almost seems tooClairvoyant in a video game. But, it’s nice to still see graphics of this quality after all these years. Okay, it’s only 4 years, but that’s still kind of long.

Control: 8/10
For the most part, this area is pretty smooth. For the most part, that is. You have your basic racing controls, forward, back, fire weapon. Well, the forward drive is pretty good, but when you drive backwards, the control you have over your vehicle decreases about 50%, putting in spinouts a lot of the time, and overall frustration. But, then again, why would you be driving backwards, unless you’re some dude who’s X Button was chewed off by your little brother or something? Now, another little gripe I have is after you hit a TNT box, your car will totally spin out and blow up. But, after the blast, your car will be pointed towards the wall always. Not good if your in a tight situation. The last small gripe I have is with the Power slide you use. Basically, it is very useful on curves, but using it more than once will almost always result in a spinout, no matter what course you’re on. Other than these gripes, the forward drive is good, and after you fire a weapon, the car doesn’t move over or something. Applause.

Sound and Music: 8/10
Well, I don’t think any Crash game’s music will ever match up to Crash 2’s again. This game basically just has a few midis that drone over and over again while you race. Now, just having a beat in a racing game is pretty good, because while you race, you don’t really pay attention to it. And, the music keeps in check with the game’s mood, as the midis sound very cartoony in most cases. But, there are a few tracks out there, one of them Tiny Arena, that just don’t measure up to the standards, and sound too serious for the game’s mood, a fun kart racer. For the sounds, the weapons sound clear, and so do the characters voices, except in a couple of cases. But, one thing that I don’t like is that the voice acting is piss-poor in my opinion. The cast just sounds like they came in for their 10 bucks and left.

Gameplay: 10/10!!!
There is just so much to describe here. First off, at the selection screen, you will have a few options. I’ll explain the adventure mode first. You select a racer that you want to race as through the entire mode. Who you pick will also depend on who will guide you through. If you’re a good guy, which are Crash, Coco, Pura, and the polar bear, you will get Aku Aku. If you’re a bad guy: Neo Cortex, Tiny Tiger, N. Gin, or Dingodile, you’ll get Uka Uka. Now, at first there are only 4 tracks open, but that will open up to 16, among around 9 special tracks. In order to advance from one track to the next, you need to place first and win trophies. After that, more options open up. You can gain a CTR token. These can be gained by collecting the letters C,T,R, in a race (Wonder where they got the name from), and finishing first. These coins are color coordinated, and if you get 4 of each color, you get to participate in something special! Now, you can also do a relic race. This is just a race with you only, and you need to race against the clock! You can win a sapphire relic, and then a gold, and platinum relic! Getting all of these relics will result in you gaining a special track called Olympic speedway. There are also 4 boss tracks, and 1 final boss.

Battle Mode
This mode is strictly multiplayer, unless you want to compete against the computer. You have 4 tracks at your disposal, and you can win more, but I’ll tell you about that later. Kind of like Mario Kart, you go against your friends in an all out battle royale. You pick the weapons, and then, go hunting! Very fun, even more than Mario Kart.

Cup Mode
This is the mode where you can win more tracks for the Battle Mode. What happens is you select a racer of your choice, and you enter in 4 cup races. The scoring in each of these races depends on how you finish. More points for top scorers! And, if you win all of these cups, you can win a new battle track! You win a new track for each difficulty level you defeat.

Time Trial
This mode is very basic. You select a track, and you try to beat your best time. But, wait! You can save your ghost, and race against him! And, you can also race against N. Tropy in all of these tracks. And, if you beat him in every one, you earn N. Tropy himself as a character to race as!

And, a little extra
Well, you know about those CTR coins? Well, you can race in a Gem cup, there is one for each color coin. If you win one of these gems, you can gain one of the bosses as a playable character! These include Ripper Roo, Papu Papu, Komodo Joe, and Pinstripe.

With all of this stuff to do, what more can you ask for in a game? Not much, if you ask me.

Challenge: 10/10!
The main thing that I liked about the challenge level in this game is that it is just right. The little kids will be able to beat it, but I do think some of the levels, like that cursed last one where the boss takes off before you, could have been a bit easier. Now, on the adult side, it’s a bit opposite. I also think some of the tracks could’ve been made harder, such as Coco Park. But, a game for everyone like this is bound to be like this, because you just can’t please everyone. But, even with these miniscule flaws, it’s all worthy of just having a fun time.

Fun Factor: 10/10!
Whether it be the regular game mode, or the Battle Mode, no matter what type of gamer you are, you’re bound to have at least a bit of fun. That’s just because of Crash’s heritage of having his games just be basic pick-up-and-play items, but still provide hours of challenge and fun ahead of them. Kids will love it, Adults will love it, what more can I say? It’s just plain fun.

Replay Value: 9/10
Well, like I have said in my reviews of the other Crash games, I find it amazing to have a game that provides so much ease, and has so much depth to get into once you beat it. After you beat it, you will no matter what try and get everything in the game, and even after that, there will still be all those other extras. But, like I also mentioned, after you beat these games, it’s pretty much done with. But, at least here they have the battle mode to keep you occupied.

It’s time for…Hmmmm…RECAP!!!!!

Story: 7/10
Graphics: 10/10
Control: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Challenge: 10/10
Fun Factor: 10/10
Replay: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

To Buy Or To Rent?

Well, if you like Kart Racers, or just plain racing or cartoony games in general, pick this up. For those of you who are anti-crash, don’t go near it. For those who are a bit weary, rent it first.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/27/01, Updated 01/27/01