Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

"The best of the best"

Being an experienced Crash Bandicoot player, I have had hard times deciding which Crash games were truly king. Even though Warped was highly acclaimed, and Wrath of Cortex had better graphics, no Crash game I have ever played can beat the sheer beauty that is Crash Bandicoot 2.

Storyline:9/10
Simple storyline. Cortex falls from the hoverboard from facing Crash from the first game (Yelling like a little girl) and crash lands and somehow, manages to survive despite falling like, 20,000 feet from the sky. Cortex lights a match and finds a crystal and chuckles evilly to see himself seeing as how he can use them. The cave must be getting to him. Okay, a year passes by and we see this somehow cool, yet ugly space station. N.Gin(Who could stand to loose a few pounds) said 25 crystals are needed in order to power up the Cortex Vortex. Being awfully lazy, Cortex gets Crash to do it. Meanwhile, the equally lazy Coco gets her sleepy brother to get her to fetch her some batteries. Crash does and ends up in a mysterious warp room by Cortex who sends him off on his fetching quest. Good storyline, but not the best. It's still one of the better Crash story, the other being Wrath of Cortex.

Gameplay: 10/10
Good thing this plays as well as it looks or otherwise, my veins would pop from getting through a certain part of the level. Seriously, you will be backtracking on certain levels. As easy as Crash 2 is, it's still hard on some places and you will have the urges to toss your controller to the TV...mulitple times, but it's not overly impossible. The beauty of Crash is that, lives are extremely easy to get. By the time you are in the third level,you might already have 10 in total...provided, you get lots of boxes. The controls are smooth and cleverly planned out to fit Crash's many moves. From high jumps to body slam, Crash has it all...oh, no Fruit Bazooka! That's in the other game!

Graphics: 10/10
It was 1997 back then, but even now, the graphics are still some of the best I've seen! Have you seen the crystals and Gems, my God, the Gems are near perfect in terms of graphics! It's so realistic, it'll make children cry! Crash, Coco, Cortex...they each have a lot of movements ranging from Crash's running to Coco's running mouth, to when Crash looks back in horror when a boulder is aiming his way, to him being flung off by the polar bear at the end of the level, everything fits perfectly. The characters themselves look great as well. Crash looks..well, like Crash. Although he's a bandicoot, he looks dingo in appearance. Kinda makes you wonder if Cortex stuffed Crash with dingo traits from the first game. Well, I like dingos, so whatever. I especially adore Coco' anime style eye. Too bad it isn't in other games of Crash.

Sound/Music: 10/10
The sounds of Crash are simply perfect for a cartoon game. Crates breaks when Crash spins which makes whooshing noises, Laser Beams does that whole ZZZT sound, the typing of Coco's computer, the wumpa fruits being gather, it's wonderful!
The music is where Crash 2 REALLY shines. Rivaled with Wrath of Cortex, Crash 2 is the best Crash Bandicoot music of the PSone. The sewer levels have the clanking pipe noises that tie in with the music, the ruins have that certain mystical, yet rythimic music, the polar bear levels are bouncy and cute, the jetpack level, my God, the Jetpack level. You have to play to enjoy the music!

Overall:10/10
Man, it's a sin not to own this game! They have certain elements that other Crash games just don't have! Animations that other Crash games don't have, but wish it did, a superb storyline, and....other stuffs! So, get your lazy butt from that couch you've been in for the past 4 hours and buy the game and spend even more hours on the couch! I guarantee, it's the best you ever experienced and you deserve the best!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/18/02, Updated 06/18/02