Sony Crashes into Nintendo's original idea and works a miracle
Written: Aug 21 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Perpetual lasting factor amongst a brilliant gameplay variety
Cons: Some strenuous load times can irritate to a certain degree
The Bottom Line: Now for $19, there is absolutely no reason why a game as brilliant as CTR shouldn't be an entry to your Playstation collection
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| NMD85's Full Review: Crash Team Racing for PlayStation 1 |
It's not very uncommon to see billions of foolish little kart clones on systems these days. Smurfs, Looney Tunes, Wacky Racers, the list of blundering failure goes on and on. It all started in the early 90's, a legendary game called Super Mario Kart, a Mode-7 scrolling legend with Mario and his friends racing in go-karts. A brilliant concept, of course originated by Nintendo. In 1999, SCEA (Sony Computer Entertainment America) and Naughty Dog came up with a kart racing concept with Crash Bandicoot and his friends. Like many others, Crash Team Racing was another mimick of Super Mario Kart, but unlike many others it had been done right. Blending excellent graphics, animation, and a working formula all with a smashing fun factor, Crash Team Racing is one of the only clones to work as good as the original that started it all.
GRAPHICS: A
Naughty Dog has supremely outdone themselves creating an excellent graphical universe that the Sony Playstation is usually deprived of. Creating brilliant and smooth animations give each character in Crash Team Racing a lively feel so many past kart racers never had. The graphics are lively filled with excess enthusiasm and personality that match each character's style in the Crash Bandicoot universe. Most importantly, in all scenarios, the framerates are solid at steady paces with no slowdown including the multiplayer modes. The only thing to complain about is the somewhat harsh loading times in between every race and menu (almost) that can irritate to some degree.
SOUND: B+
Although the music in Crash Team Racing is nothing to buy a soundtrack over, it's still passible music. Most of the soundtracks are of typical "Crash Bandicoot" caliber, whether you like it or not it fits with the foregrounds. The voice-overs used in Crash Team Racing are brilliantly and clearly recorded to match each character's personality. Most of voice-overs will at random pop out of nowhere, and some of them are very amusing. No doubt you won't get a kick out of some of the comments by the other racers. To sum it up, the game is not lively without the sound Naughty Dog has "blessed" it with... I suppose. One more thing, why does Crash sound like they gave him three entirely different voice-overs?
CONTROL: A
Like all kart racing games, you can expect Mario Kart-style control complete with hopping, powersliding, and boost tricks. It's all here, and chances are pretty good if you've played Mario Kart 64 or any other kart racer that follows the formula, you and Crash Team Racing will be your pal. Choose from eight automatically playable balanced racers from the Crash universe like Coco, N.Gin, Dingodile, and the masterful Cortex amongst other hidden characters. What really makes this game work as a kart racer is the weapons and how they relate to the games on Playstation. The game has it's own vast array of dangerous arsenal like heat-seaking missiles, nitro boosts, TNT crates directly from the Crash adventure games. Plus a special feature that sort of borrowed the idea from Diddy Kong Racing, by collecting ten "Wumpa" fruits, characters can have enhanced-powered weapons that can help you win easier. No matter how you look at it this game has some interesting features for being unoriginal.
LASTING RATE: A+
One thing this game does not fail to perform is the ability to play it again and again. Crash Team Racing features a very addicting style of play, like Mario Kart 64 did and still does. Although it's not fair compare this game to likes of Mario Kart 64, Crash Team Racing does an excellent job of being a trait of what Gamecube's Mario Kart needs to do to makes things better. What makes this game virtually greater than any past kart racing frenzy is the ability to unlock so many things with the Diddy Kong Racing inspired "Adventure" mode. In this mode you have the ability to unlock trophies, special relics, and keys to excel you to the final race against Nitrous Oxide. Or you can play the "Arcade" mode, where you can play individual tracks, or even race for one of the four Mario Kart 64-inspired trophy races. Also don't forget the four-player modes where you and three other pals can race the CPU racers, in cup, tracks, and battle modes that follow in Mario Kart's tiretracks. Without a doubt, Crash Team Racing is a solid entry to your Playstation library.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
NMD85
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Member: Nick M. DiMaio
Location: Connecticut
Reviews written: 183
Trusted by: 17 members
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