Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced

"Certainly not Naughty Dog, but not a bad runner up"

Graphics
Much better than The Huge Adventure/XS. Considering it was on the GBA (I'm spoiled by the PS2, I'll admit it), they were really quite good.
9/10

Sounds
Average. Has the usual crashes and such.... actually, when you're using the helipack, the sounds it makes are quite irritating. This constant, loud noise similar to a helicopter... Don't remember the music being either overly wonderful or annoying.
8/10

Story
There are cut scenes after you beat each boss (I'm pretty sure). There's some pretty funny parts, too! As Crash games go, this is most certainly up to the standard of story lines. It's not in depth, of course, but entertaining enough.:)
9/10

Controls
AHH! I felt like throwing the damn thing against the wall so many times because of this aspect. It cost me so many lives! It kept giving me the game over screen! I hate that screen!:mad: It's like, you stand still, and you're on a moving platform above lava, and you need to crouch under a nitro so you press crouch and what happens? He slides off the platform! Right into the burning lava! Time and time again.... fortunately, you can press down instead of the slide/crouch button and he won't slide off. But that isn't in the manual, and had to figure it out on my own... after dying 20 times, of course. And if you want him to slide, he won't. I had to try a good 3 times in several places to get him to slide. Ah, at least they don't make you use the bloody tornado spin in this one..... Then there's the fact that there's one button for all the special moves. Enhanced moves, if you will. You hold it down and he jumps higher, runs faster, slides farther. This can make time trial rather difficult, seeing how you make him run faster... and jump higher and slide farther! It seems to not always effect the other moves when you're using it for running, but it can be unpredictable. Blame it on my lack of expertise with the GBA if you want, but I can control Spyro perfectly fine. Oh yeah, the manual doesn't tell you all of the controls, and sometimes even tells you them wrong. I could go on and on, but I won't bore you with every last detail... suffice it to say they were frustrating and downright aggravating at many points.
3/10

Gameplay
Ah, the truly important portion of the game. There's a wide range of level types and, aside from the controls, all are quite enjoyable. The good ol' atlasphere (hamster ball) is back, along with the classic chase levels. You get the usual white gems for getting all the boxes, relics for beating the time, crystals for... just finding them... and then a new addition: gem shards. These are hidden away, and once you've collected all the shards of one color and have completed the gem, an extra level opens up. The boss fights are a nice challenge, although in the last one the pattern doesn't stay the same... and being unable to know what moves to perform can cause your demise. You'll figure it out eventually, though. All in all, I was quite please with the gameplay.
9/10

Length
It has more and longer levels than the last Crash on the GBA did, plus the gem shards to collect. Took me a few days to finish it through without all the gem shards, then a few more to collect the rest. I'm still missing some clear gems and the majority of the relics, so it would probably last you a week or two, maybe even longer depending on how much you play it. You have to keep in mind that when I get a new game I'll spend 10 hours a day playing it, so a week is longer than it sounds!
8/10

Replay Value
The same as the other recent Crash games... there's a few fun levels here and there worth playing over, but overall it might get boring since you've already figured it out.
5/10

Overall score: 8/10

Conclusion
A fun game, especially for those who love Crash and the GBA, and I'd recommend it to my friends. Go out and get it today! (After Ratchet and Clank, of course.;))[/color]

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/03, Updated 02/09/03