Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex

aka: CB: WoC, Crash Bandicoot 4: Sakuretsu! Majin Power, Crash Bandicoot: De Wraak van Cortex, Crash Bandicoot: Der Zorn des Cortex, Crash Bandicoot: L'Ira di Cortex, Crash Bandicoot: La Venganza de Cortex, Crash Bandicoot: La Vengeance de Cortex
Moby ID: 5531
PlayStation 2 Specs
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Description official descriptions

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is the first Crash Bandicoot game for a system other than the original PlayStation. The story is set sometime after Warped: Dr. Cortex wants revenge after being defeated by Crash (again). For this purpose, he creates Crunch, a super-bandicoot who can destroy everything that crosses his way. Crunch's power source is a set of magical masks known as the Elementals, each representing a different element, including Earth, Water, Fire, and Ice. The warp room splits levels into their respective elements, with the boss of each section being a battle against Crunch influenced by the Elemental mask of said section.

The game is a typical jump and run, with some other action passages, like air combat and a sequence where Crash is trapped inside a giant sphere rolling around in some sort of rollercoaster. All graphics are in 3D, and the sound is typical for cartoon games like this. The whole game is pretty straightforward in design, getting stuck on a puzzle is not really possible.

Spellings

  • クラッシγƒ₯・バンディクー4 γ•γγ‚Œγ€οΌι­”η₯žγƒ‘γƒ―γƒΌ - Japanese spelling
  • ν¬λž˜μ‰¬ λ°΄λ””μΏ³ λ§ˆμ™€μ˜ λΆ€ν™œ - Korean spelling (Hangul)

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Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

163 People (122 developers, 41 thanks) · View all

Executive Producer
Internal Producer
Game And Level Design
Lead Game Programmer
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Lead Animator
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[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 70% (based on 45 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 70 ratings with 3 reviews)

Nothing really Original about it

The Good
There are more levels were most fun ways of gameplay like last one did. The graphics are nice but not really detailed but not to be. The game introduces a new character to the series to fight named "Crunch". I did like the boss battles being more original.

The Bad
I miss the simple difficulty that makes it fun to pick and play. The levels have areas were you can just die of cheap death. The first power-up you get is just lame as you only walk on Nitro boxes. The loading times are so long every time were you can just use the bathroom or drink to past the time, it can take up almost 2 minutes, however I never own the re-release version of the game were the load times are quicker. There is really no nothing new like last time were it just the same game.

The Bottom Line
This is just really an upgraded version of "Crash 3" as it has the same elements in it. This game is only for Crash fans only and not really other player that is not into platform games. As a positive note, I do think this the last game to be good in the series as Universal ditched making the games.

PlayStation 2 · by Mario Duenaz (19) · 2010

Not as good as Warped

The Good
Well, Crash is back. While not the best game in the series, if you're looking for more platforming and crystal collecting, it is perfectly serviceable. The new "hamster ball" levels are well-done, and Coco's levels are a return to classic platforming, before you got all those powerups, and give a rather different feel than Crash's levels.

The Bad
First, it doesn't look all that good. On a technical level, it looks about the same as Warped, which is a bit of a downer when Warped is a PS1 game. On an artistic level, while I can't point to anything specific, the game feels less interesting. While the main platforming controls are alright, there are some rather annoying platforms with beveled edges, which allows you to land on the edge, then fall off... The vehicle controls are somewhat uneven, going from acceptable to horrible depending on the vehicle in question.

The Bottom Line
Well, it's like Crash Bandicoot: Warped, but not as good.

PlayStation 2 · by qwertyuiop (49996) · 2008

Not as lackluster as everyone says it is!!!!

The Good
The thing is, Crash Bandicoot Wrath of Cortex is almost exactly like the last 3 games in the series. This is why it got the average reviews, but this is how a Crash game should play in my view. Crash Twinsanity was OKAY, at best. The newest games in the series are awful. Curse you Sierra! The graphics are pretty good for this generation of systems. It is also Crash's XBOX and GAMECUBE debut and it was a great start. This game has the best character look in the series. The story is typical for a Crash game. Dr. Cortex wants to take over the world but Crash, Coco, and Aku Aku have to stop him. This is also the first game that Crunch was in. The music is the best soundtrack in the whole series. It seems that Travellers Tales always makes good music. (Sonic R, Sonic 3D Blast, Crash Twinsanity all have great music) Also, the XBOX and GAMECUBE version of this game have WAY shorter load times then in the PS2 version. Big improvement.



The Bad
This was the first Crash game developed by a studio other then Naughty Dog, the mother of Crash. I think ND could've done a slightly better job with this game. This game was made by Travellers Tales. However, it was published by Universal Interactive, the publishers of the other Crash games before this one.

The Bottom Line
If you love Crash Bandicoot like I do, BUY THIS GAME NOW!! You will pay only a few bucks for it and it's worth every penny. Get it on XBOX or PS2.

 Weston- Age 12

Xbox · by Weston Sharpensteen (13) · 2012

Trivia

PlayStation 2 version

The PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits version has quicker load times than the original release.

References to the game

The game didn't sell as well as Universal expected: Eventually the company would reference this in Crash Twinsanity when Dr Cortex confronts a hoard of angry penguins and says "It's been a difficult couple of years Wrath of Cortex didn't sell as well as we'd hope and....Fish?" This is followed by one of the penguins firing a laser gun at Cortex.

Development

The game was originally to be designed by Mark Cerny, who had designed all the previous Crash games and intended the game to be a free-roaming title similar to Crash Twinsanity. However, after handing development of the game over to Traveller's Tales and granting Konami the right to publish the game in Japan, the developers were given only a year to complete the game, resulting in the design change to a standard Crash game.

Voice Cast

The game has a lineup of celebrity voice talent, including Mark Hamill, the voice of Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, and Clancy Brown, the voice of Mr Krabs from SpongeBob.

Comedic Elements

The game, whilst not strictly having a comedic narrative, does feature some comedic elements; for example, the character Uka Uka, who is nearly always seen screaming at Dr Cortex and never talks "normally". This is emphasised almost immediately as the first cutscene for the game begins with him yelling "Imbeciles! Fools! Nincompoops! Can't you idiots do anything right?!" at Cortex and his henchman.

Konami

All versions of the game were published by Konami in Japan and Universal Interactive elsewhere. The PlayStation 2 version erroneously displays the Konami logo both in-game and on the cover in regions outside of Japan. This was fixed in the Xbox and GameCube versions.

Regional differences

The game has a different title theme in the Japanese version, which uses a light-hearted, lyrical song; this can be compared to all other versions of the game, which use the warp room song.

Loading Screen

The game has a different loading screen on different versions; the GameCube version had the word "LOADING" on a plain black background, the Xbox version has Crash falling through a green, 3D space and the PS2 version has Crash falling through a purple space whilst facing the camera.

Awards

  • 4Players
    • 2002 – #2 Best Xbox Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed by Chris Chidester

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by phlux.

GameCube added by Famine3h. Xbox added by Kartanym. Xbox 360 added by samsam12.

Additional contributors: Bahz, Corn Popper, karttu, Xoleras, DreinIX, colm52, Zaibatsu, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto, Flapco, Deleted.

Game added December 17, 2001. Last modified May 29, 2023.