Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure

"In one word: Superb"

Review for those with short attention spans
This game rocks. One of the best. Really fun.

In depth review for those who want more...

In the past 10 years, the best selling systems each had a mascot of sorts. Of course for the SNES there was Mario (and Luigi and then the whole pantheon of Nintendo's supporting case); Sega of course had Sonic. The Playstation had Crash Bandicoot. While Crash was never quite as ''big'' as his Italian and animal counterparts, he still helped build a great deal of brand recognition for the Playstation. With a sequel that was much better than the original, Crash became somewhat of an institution. After Crash 2, I never really felt that any of the other Crash games lived up to the wonderful gameplay set forth in the first two (and I still think the map screen from Crash 1 is one of the coolest map screens ever created.)

This being said, I had very high expectations for Crash Bandicoot on the GBA. I can honestly say that not only was I not disappointed, I was also surprised. Crash Bandicoot - The Huge Adventure, is simply stunning.

The evil Dr. Cortex is back and wants to dominate the planet. Crash must adventure through 20 (or so) different levels in order to put a stop to Cortex's evil scheme. So how does the game play?

Menus, etc
From the minute you turn this game on, it simply oozes quality. From the cool little opening animation, to the opening cut scenes, this game does it right. The menus look great, and it is obvious that no corners were cut in order to make this game look great. Even while you are playing the levels, the appropriate information pops up when you need it, and then disappears so as not to clutter the screen. While the level select screens are nowhere as cool as Crash1 on the Playstation, they still get the job done.

Graphics
This is one of the most graphically beautiful games on the GBA, hands down. The character animation is top notch, but what really puts this game clearly ahead of anything else (including Mario Advance 2) is the gorgeous color palette of the game. Each of the worlds has a distinct graphical ''look'' and a corresponding color palette. This helps to give each level a very ''organic'' feel. The colors are very deep, and they just ''look'' right. I especially like the jungle levels, but the underwater levels come in a close second.

Just when I thought I'd seen it all in this game, along came a surprise - there are also some ''3D'' levels in the game, and they are pure delight. In each of snow levels (I should add that each level has a distinct name, some of them bordering on....well....one level is called ''Snow Job'' - interpret that however you'd like), the game switches perspective to 3D. You ride a little polar bear through a cavern when the abominable snowman (err snowperson maybe) chases you. If you remember the Indiana Jones ''Rock'' levels on Crash 1, these are very similar, and they make an excellent addition to the game. There are also flying levels in the game, which are a bit more conventional, but still a great deal of fun. These involve flying over a beautiful mode 7 sky while shooting planes, crates, and blimps out of the sky. Very, very cool.

Sound
In the GBA world, it seems like sound is often the largest liability for a game. There is only so much programmers can do with the GBA sound chip and speaker, but sound has gotten quite a bit of attention in this game. The music for each of the levels is appropriately themed, and actually kind of catchy. Where this game really shines is the sound effects. Anyone familiar with the earlier incarnations of Crash will instantly recognize most of the sound effects in this game. They sound just as great now as they did back then.

Control
This game controls like a charm...whether you are flying above the clouds, swimming underwater, riding on the back of a polar bear cub, or jumping through the jungle, the game control is dead on. The only time I ever have trouble is sometimes the double jump does not seem to register as quickly as I would like it to, but that is really just a minor little thing.....

Replay value? Rent or Buy
This is a gamer's game, meaning that it is certainly not easy, but with practice, things begin to fall into place. As you complete each set of 5 levels and then defeat the boss of those levels, you are rewarded with a new skill. These new skills can then be used to go back through earlier levels and find new things. This definitely lends to the replay value of the this game because in order to truly complete it, you have to find the gems on each level, and this can only be done by destroying all the boxes on each level. This is no easy task....on some levels all the boxes can be found the first time through, but on other levels, the boxes are a bit more...shall we say...elusive?

Crash also has a battery save!!!! Thank the developers for not taking the easy (and cheap) way out. This makes it very easy to save your game quickly. Also, if you have a link cable, you can trade saved games with your friends. No other multiplayer mode is included, so while this feature is not all that great, at least it is a nice addition.

Crash Bandicoot (the Huge Adventure) is a great addition to the GBA. Now that games are slowly moving into second generation territory, the bar is being set higher and higher for developers to push the power of the system. Crash Bandicoot certainly pushes the power of the system while providing solid, fun (although not terribly groundbreaking) gameplay. Definitely one of the best platformers out there.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/04/02, Updated 03/04/02