PS1 - Crash Bandicoot

Haiku-Review:

a gem collecting,
box smashing cyclical route -
I missed a box? Damn!

Additional Comments:

When the Nintendo 64 first came out, I was completely unimpressed and miserably let down. Therefore, I decided to forgo the system and await the promising Sony Playstation, and still to this day, looking back, I'm glad I did. Now, I remember when I got the system, it came with a demo disc showcasing two to five minute demos of new and upcoming releases. One of the games showcased was Crash Bandicoot and from what little I was able to make of the game (a playthrough of the second level: Jungle Rollers, with gem intact - also happens to be one of my fave tunes) I was in awe. To date, it was the most impressive platformer I had ever seen. But sadly, I never came to own a copy of the game - and I don't really know why. The only reason I can possibly come up with is that I took full advantage of the fact that with the Playstation, there was finally a system that was worthy of the racing genre (which after platformers, is my second favorite gaming genre).

Anyways, here it is so many years later, and I finally got to play this game. Wow, this game is exactly what I always suspected it of being - a marvelous platformer which, despite it's interesting 3D perspectives, still contains the feel of a traditional 2D platformer. In fact, this is probably the only 3D (or technically quasi-3D) platformer that I've come across that still plays like a platformer should, without relying on tricky camera repositioning and having to put in the guesswork of lining up your character regarding strange perspective jumps - a lot of which really irked me in some of the N64 games. The levels are well designed, beautifully depicted (considering the age of the game), contain interesting gimmicks and the difficulty ramps at a nice even pace. However, everything echoes with an eerie similarity to a series I've played somewhere before. *coughDKCcough*

It's curious - when I first started up a new game I found myself looking at a map a bit reminiscent of Donkey Kong Country's map. At least, it was enough to invoke some questioning chin-rubbing. Let's investigate further, shall we: familiar jungle backdrops and rhythms, fruit collecting, hmm.... It felt as though I was playing Sony's answer to Rare's classic series. Of course, that's not to say the game can't hold its own - it certainly can, and does so in impeccable style.

I do have one question though. Why the heck is Crash tweaking so much? I'm beginning to suspect that Dr. Cortex is nothing more than a pusher running some sort of maniacal meth lab with his accomplice, Dr. Brio. No wonder Crash is so eager to get back into that castle. I don't think he was out to save Tawna after all, otherwise, why not just escape with her after a bonus round? Eh?

Rating: 4.5 boxes out of 5