Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure

"Crash in a new perspective, Too bad he's bland like always"

Crash Bandicoot is, IMO, a very, very bland series. It was a bit fun on the PSX but it turned out to be a repeated process. Crash Bandicoot 2 for PSX was just the same as the first, Warped was a nice addition but bland, Wrath of Cortex was also the same as the others; bland and boring. Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure has a different perspective but the gameplay is the same.

The graphics definitely rival the PSX version in animation and character design. You've got beautiful animation and textures. Crash looks and animates beautifully as the others do. Slowdowns and glitches are non-existent. The level designs are, though, are a bit bland and uninnovative. You've got jungle, ice, warehouse and underwater levels but we've seen them all before. None of the levels are highly innovative.

The gameplay is where the game just falls. It's handheld Crash. That's pretty much it. Finding apples for health and getting to the end of the level is basically all you do. No real special items except the TNT and Nitro boxes. The gameplay or items aren't as sophesticated as other platformers on GBA like Sonic Advance and Super Mario Advance 2. You have two attacks: jump and spin and we've seen these attacks before. They don't have any variety of attacks like Super Mario Bros. 3. Old Crash and nothing new describes the gameplay. Go play the PSX games for cheaper.

The sound is the basic music from Crash Bandicoot from the PSX. The spinning sound, Crash's voice, all the same. Nothing new in this department, like anything on GBA really is.

Replay Value is scarce, of course, because it's a platformer. Platformers might have some replay value with a lot of levels. Not so with Crash. Unlike Super Mario Advance 2, there is basically no secrets in the game. You might wanna play it again but it isn't worth it. No multiplayer :(

Overall, you might want to wait to spend $30 or $35 on it than $40. It's a decent game but with the PSX Crash games out for cheaper and better quality, there really is no point to get this game. Unless you like Crash, which I didn't. I got it because of the graphics. That just goes to show you about not knowing anything about the game through graphics.

Graphics- 9/10
Gameplay- 6/10
Sound- 6/10
Replay- 5/10

Buy/Rent- Buy if you like Crash. Other than that you rent it.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/13/02, Updated 03/13/02