Crash Bandicoot

Your goal is to traverse a series of hazards while smashing crates and defeating animals with well-timed spins and pounces. In most stages you run "into" the screen, but in a few you run "out" of the screen, and there are even some side-scrolling levels. From its shimmering water stages, to Indiana Jones-inspired giant rolling boulder stage, Crash Bandicoot's 3D world is loaded with fun surprises. If this isn't a Playstation classic, what is?

Pick it up again if it's in a corner collecting dust somewhere. Or maybe you sold it to help pay for some other game, there's plenty of used copies floating around. Or maybe you're like me and never had a PSone. Whatever your situation, there's a reason Crash Bandicoot has achieved classic status: it's a great game.

So here it is: Sony's hot mascot. The marsupial from down under that uses his hooked toe to clean the lice from his fur...er, is that a special move? I like Crash. It's not the best action game I've played, but it's a lot of fun. It's like the original Mario with some 3-D effect thrown in. Note that it is not a 3-D environment per se, but it does have certain 3-D elements. What's nice is that the game isn't always from the same viewpoint. Sometimes you play in a Side View Mode, other times you're behind Crash then other times CB is running at you. Crash himself is a very cool character and so are many of the enemies.

But the game's tasks — jumping over logs and pits, collecting apples, and battling cranky skunks and crabs — are mundane and derivative. Still, the vivid backgrounds (such as the realistic running water) and multi-perspective angles save it from mere mediocrity. Neither crash nor smash, Bandicoot is just a solid game that really is no match for Super Mario 64.

Cool perspectives aside, Crash really shines when it comes to the graphics. Gorgeous backgrounds and silky smooth animation make this one of the best-looking titles available for the PlayStation. The control is generally pretty good, though it is a little sluggish in some of the levels. Generally, though, Crash is a great game. Sure it can be a tough sometimes, but isn't that what platform games are all about? A must have.

Basically, I recommend... no, urge you to buy this game. Golf fans, this means you. Despite a lack of originality, it is fun to play, large enough to keep you occupied, and the best platformer out right now. Bottom line, this game is the beginning of a new character who will probably become a classic video game figure. It will also be the first in a series of Crash games and products. What was the first thing you did when Independence Day came out? Saw it. And when you saw the Chia pet commercial? Bought it. (just a joke--hee,hee). I think you get the point--now, go get the game.

Even with ten year-old graphics and game design, Crash Bandicoot is still worth a download (especially at six bucks). It doesn't have the originality or puzzle-solving that most of today's platformers do, but with a nice lineup of extras and more than 30 levels, impulsive gamers with a hint of nostalgia could do a lot worse than this.

Whether or not developers Naughty Dog secretly hoped Sony would take on Crash Bandicoot as their official mascot is open to debate. Sony themselves are officially denying taking on the antipodean rat as the popular face of corporate video gaming (probably until they see if it sells or not). Whether Sony are happy about it or not, Crash Bandicoot’s “interactive cartoon” pretensions and the fact that it’s the strongest character-lead game in the PlayStation’s roster during the Christmas season, mean it has been dragged, kicking and screaming into a three-way war with Sega’s NiGHTS and Nintendo’s much lauded Super Mario 64 this autumn.

For months, Sony insisted that Crash Bandicoot was NOT their new mascot. For months, Naughty Dog Software insisted that Crash Bandicoot isn't Sony's answer to Super Mario 64. For months they went so far as to say that the games are completely different and shouldn't be compared. But the comparison is irresistible. Crash may not offer the graphical smoothness or versatility of Mario's vast new world, but its brilliantly colorful and complex jungle environments boast true diversity of shape and texture - kind of a tiki room Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Look beyond the pretty pixels, however, and Crash weighs in at only slightly above average.

Crash Bandicoot war damals nett, heute ist es nicht mehr ganz so nett. Mehr aber eben nicht, mit einer solch lahmen Story, die auch im Spiel nicht fortgeführt wird, einem uninspirierten Gameplay und den frustigen Momenten ist mehr nicht drin und die Nachfolger sind wesentlich besser.