Taking control of the hundreds of mutants makes Crash: Mind Over Mutants a lot of fun
Visually it's not the most amazing game ever made, but it is vibrant and the creature design is awesome
As a kid I had dreams of
one day growing up to be smashed bandicoot.
Years
later I found out working at the docks that my colleagues didn't agree
with a carpet-wrapped teenager smashing boxes
with a crowbar in search for coloured fruit.
They said I was a danger in the
workplace and sent me packing after I crashed the forklift truck into a
butane tank. What would they know.
My
job at the fruit shop didn't go much better...
Until I found out
that Crash was coming out of retirement and that I no longer had to
curb my bandicoot craving's.
I could finally get on
with my life as a human rather than a bandicoot, because frankly the
whole wrapped in red carpet thing wasn't working.
So carpet suits
aside, the old town bike (Crash Bandicoot) is back in action for the
fifteenth time.
That's right peeps, it wasn't a
typo. Fif-teen.
What
do I mean town bike? Well everyone's had a ride on the
Crash Bandicoot series I guess.
Starting life on the original Sony
Playstation in 1996, Crash was first created by gaming company
Naughty
Dog and has since been passed through a number of developers
such as Traveller's Tales and Vicarious Visions to name a few. Big
names all of them, which says a lot about the franchise.
Currently
residing with Radical Entertainment, the latest installment Crash: Mind
Over Mutant comes with a lot of promise, but does it bring anything new
and fresh to the table? I'm gonna find out.
The
thing that upset me the most about this game was that it seems Crash is
no longer the
main attraction. The game's focus has been blurred and now you
can play as many different no-name monsters and friends of the
'Coot.
Now that may sound
good for some, but not a true fan like myself.
But
there is a good thing: the developers have brought back a number of
classic Crash villains for Mind Over
Mutant, including Dr. Neo Cortex and even Dr. Nitrus Brio, which is
kinda cool.
This is where the story begins:
the two
nutty professors Neo and Nitrus have devised new technology that allows
them to control the minds of anyone wearing their hi-tech goggles
(hence the multiple playable characters) and
it's up to our favourite Bandicoot to stop them and free his friends
from their evil grip.
Turns out that Crash is the
only one not affected by this new technology, so he sets out to explore
his home (better know as Wumpa Island) and the surrounding environments
for clues.
When stepping out of Crash's hut
you may think this is a
free-roaming game - it feels that way initially - but
you're wrong. Just wrong. There are set checkpoints for each
scene and
the whole game is every much scripted, following a set path.
This isn't
a bad thing, considering that many of the cut-scenes you are treated to
throughout the game are a breath of
fresh air, with excellent art work and an mixture of cool presentation
styles including a strong anime flavour.
Scattered
throughout the world are special items that give Crash special
abilities, such as the golden stopwatches that trigger a time-limited
nanogame that usually involves collecting objects or breaking things to
earn
bonuses or the "Quad Damage" power-up can be used by Crash to
temporarily multiply his attack power by four.
Throughout
the game Crash collects this stuff called Mojo. Be it via defeating
foes or smashing crates and objects, collect enough Mojo and you have
the option of upgrading his abilities, RPG-style.
In this 3rd-person
action-adventure game that could be considered a cross between Sonic
the Hedgehog and Banjo Kazooie, Crash has a light-powered attack and a
heavy-powered attack and he can also block, dodge or break an
enemy's block (which adds a nice challenge to combat).
Taking
me back to when I was a kid and donning my crazy homemade Crash suit
for the first time, I always remembered his trademark spin move as favorite of mine.
This cool move is back which is
great, and with a load of other moves
to master like for instance Crash can now double jump, charge
kick and engage enemies in combo-filled melee combat which is
music to my ears, because my old boss hasn't seen the last of me.
There are also some welcome new
skills including some
dodge moves, the ability to climb onto walls and a fun mechanic that
revolves around digging underneath obstacles in order to get past them.
I
think gamers will be surprised with the overall maneuverability of Crash
and his ability to explore his surroundings, making this platformer one
the the easiest to handle along with its
precise responsiveness.
Like any platformer there
are small to large foes in which you will encounter throughout the
game.
Smaller foes will only take a
single combo bashing, while larger
ones also know as “Titans” require more of a
beating and sometimes a bit of thought to conquer.
Aside
from the everyday run-of-the-mill Titans, there are unique giant
enemies that
possess a star meter that indicates how close they are to being
stunned.
When the meter is full, the Titan
is stunned and susceptible
to "jacking", meaning Crash can mount the creature and control it.
Once
you gain control of a Titan you will notice that the controls are much
tighter than when controlling Crash. These huge beasts can also shoot
projectiles
and perform special moves once a purple Titan meter is full.
Another
new and cool aspect about Crash: Mind Over Mutant is the ability to
store a Titan in your pocket, free to use whenever you want, however
any Mojo gained while in the Titan mode goes towards upgrading the
Titan rather than Crash himself.
But that makes sense and adds a
bit of a Pokemon feel to the game. Train up your chosen Titan, then
smash the crud out of your foes.
With the use of a
second controller a friend can join in on the fun at any stage of the
game, which is such a cool feature and makes the game seriously
enjoyable.
Joining mid-game will see the like
of Crash's sister, Coco
Bandicoot helping you in the quest of smash up everything in
sight.
You gotta appeal to the girls now
that they make up almost half of all gamers.
Co-op gaming is also
useful for gaining Mojo quickly and overpowering larger foes, and it's
just great to see so many games these days with co-op features. I think
developers are finally cluing in that many gamers don't just want
online multiplayer, but same-room multiplayer.
It's a hoot!
In all this is a pretty sweet
game, with very humorous cut-scenes and a story that is actually quite
compelling. Forget your average videogame story, this one actually has
a bit of substance and makes you want to keep playing to find out what
happens.
Crash: Mind Over Mutant has a
really creative graphical style and with the cool mutant powers and
enjoyable combo combat system there's entertaining mixture of gameplay
on offer.
It kind of looks like a kids game
but underneath the cartoony veneer is a solid little action adventure
game that includes some meaty challenges that are sure to keep
the most bizarrely repressed bandicoot mimicry at bay.
Game: Crash: Mind Over Mutant System: Xbox 360
Players: 1-2 Online: Yes Developer: Radical
Entertainment
Distributor: Activision
