Crash Twinsanity

"Snowboarding AND Platforming? Has the World Gone Topsy-Turvy?!"

One of the biggest complaints with Wrath of Cortex was how uninspired it was. There was technically nothing wrong with the gameplay, but it just felt like more of the same, except with slightly better graphics. Thankfully, the latest 3D platform game in the series, Crash Twinsanity, successfully combines the tride-and-true gameplay that Crash fans love with plenty of new styles and twists. Heck, you can even play as other characters!

1) Story: Two smart, mutated birds threaten to conquer the world, and it's up to Cortex and Crash to reluctantly band together to find them. Truthfully, the story in this game is weak, and almost feels like an afterthought at times.

2) Graphics: The framerate stays at a constant 60 fps, and as such the visuals are nice and fast. There was only one instance of slowdown in the entire game, and thankfully it didn't last very long. Animations are full and fluid, and are appropriately cartoony. In fact, there are plenty of squash-and-stretch moments that classic cartoon lovers will certainly appreciate.

3) Sound: Most of the stock Crash sound FX are back, though a few (such as getting an extra life) are new. Voice acting, as has been the tradition of Crash games since Crash 2, sounds great. In fact, the absence of Clancy Brown as Neo Cortex isn't that noticeable; the replacement (Lex Lang) does a great job at impersonating him, and it's fairly certain that most gamers won't even be able to tell the difference.

And now we come to the most controversial change in this game: The music. You see, instead of using the traditional Mark Mothersbaugh BGM like most of the former Crash games, all the music in Twinsanity is performed by Spiralmouth, and the majority of the tunes are primarily vocal-driven acapella. That means that instead of musical instruments playing the melodies/harmonies, you'll hear voices doing the same thing. Yes, that includes percussion.

To be honest, I didn't have a problem with the music. I've read some reviews where they absolutely detest the unorthodox BGM choice, but Spiralmouth's vocals really do a great job at the goofy mood of the game and the wide range of moods these six are able to perform with their voices is just astounding. Truthfully, some of the tunes in the game repeat a little too quickly, but it's still fun to listen to, and much of the music stayed in my head after playing.

4) Controls: Controls are the same as any previous Crash game; there are movement buttons, a jump button, a slide button, a spin attack button, and other moves like double jump and belly flop. Sadly, there's no run button like in Crash 3, so traversing lots of land can get tiresome. Also, the slide/jump combo is harder to time correctly than previous games, and you have little control over Crash once he's gone into the slide/jump. So if you make a mistake, you can't correct it.

You can also play as two other characters, Cortex and Nina, Cortex's niece. Cortex can fire his laser gun, and Nina can use a grapple rope to grab hooks and jump to the top. Both control just fine, though they are a bit slower running than Crash. In addition, Nina occassionally has troubles with jumping from hook to hook.

5) Gameplay: Unlike previous Crash games, with a central hub and all levels accessible in one area, Twinsanity utilizes are more open-ended world with interconnected levels. The good news is, this sort of approach allows for zero in-game loading times, since the game can load new territory on the fly. Also, with this style of "one big quest" can make the game quite addicting, since you'll want to keep venturing forward to discover what lies next. The bad news is, the large world makes it very difficult to retrace your steps to replay certain levels you've already beaten.

If you've played one Crash game, you know what to expect: Smash crates, collect Wumpa fruit, spin-attack baddies into oblivion, obtain gems and crystals, defeat bosses, rinse, repeat. Luckily the game doesn't only consist of that, because like I said earlier, there are lots of new gameplay styles that seamlessly meld with the normal gameplay.

For example, there are sections where you have to protect Cortex, who is blindly running on a background plane of land. Think Lemmings meets the puppy level from Earthworm Jim. Then there are snowboarding-esque levels where Crash rides Cortex's body down a mountain. Then there are "rolling ball" levels (reminiscent of the ones in Wrath of Cortex) where Cortex and Crash are fighting in a cartoony "brawl cloud" which creates an impromptu rolling ball. There are Metal Gear Solid-esque areas where you must hide behind walls or bushes to avoid being seen by the enemy. And of course, the usual "run towards the screen to escape a huge menace" is back as well.

What really struck me with the gameplay was how solid the level design was, and how all these styles (and more) managed to interconnect effortlessly. Each area has its own unique set of objectives to continue, and the game mixes them fairly often to prevent you from getting bored with one style for too long. Even the boss fights are fun, and each requires a new method of defeating them.

Unfortunately, there are a few flaws with the game, and that's what drags the score down a bit. None of them are serious flaws, but they are enough to show that the testing/coding could have been more fine-tuned. For example, there are certain long-winded in-game cinemas that you can't skip. Even if you die and come back to it, you'll have to watch the cinema again. There should've been an option to skip in-game cinemas like the FMV ones. In addition, there are little bugs here and there, like occassional lack of voices in cinemas or the odd lack of sound FX in the same cinemas (just watch N. Gin fall on a TNT crate to see what I mean; that scene desperately needed something to add audial punch!).

Finally, the saving system is fickle and uneven; you can only save at certain points in the game, which are usually at the start of new worlds. At face value, this seems fine, but if you get game over before reaching the next area, you have to restart all the way back at the start of the section. It can be frustrating.

How challenging is Twinsanity? The game has its spurts of difficult areas, but for the most part it's only moderate difficulty. If your only goal is to play through the game without collecting all the gems, seasoned platform fans can beat it in three days or less. However, if you want 100%, it may take you a bit longer. And there is a big motivation in going for that, because this time around, collecting gems unlocks bonus material such as FMV sequences and character/level art.

6) Overall: Before I draw this review to a close, I should also state that Twinsanity has some of the funniest jokes from any Crash game. The cinemas really feel like a cartoon, and the humor is decidedly hip, self-referential, and full of cameos (look for Spyro near the end!).

Overall, if you can handle a few bugs here and there (such as in-game cinemas occassionally not having sound), and don't mind the rather short length or relative inability to replay some areas you've beaten, Crash Twinsanity is a very fun 3D platformer which is a step above the rather bland Wrath of Cortex. Its multiple gameplay styles merge to form an addictive title with plenty of humor to spare.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/21/05