FA+
Shop
REVIEW: Crash Bandicoot 2 (PSX/PSN)
13 years ago
CRASH BANDICOOT 2: CORTEX STRIKES BACK (PSX/PSN)
Genre: 3D Platformer
Developer: Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, Uncharted...)
Publisher: Sony
Players: 1
Played for: around 15 hours
Nowadays Naughty Dog is all about the super realistic games with cinematics and gun fights, but there was a time in wich Naughty Dog used to make...more colourful and innocent games...they're the makers of the first mascotte Sony ever had afterall: Crash Bandicoot! Recently I finished the second game in the series, so now I'm finally ready to review it for you ^^
Crash Bandicoot 2 takes place a short time after the first game, with Cortex finding out how that he needs the power of all the crystals on earth to activate the Cortex Vortex, his ultimate weapon against the planet. But since he was left without any allies or friends on earth he decides to get Crash to work for him, pretending he needs the crystals to spot an incoming menace that could destroy the entire planet. That's the main point of the game, get all the crystals, even though to get the real good ending the player will also need to find all the gems hidden in the levels or obtainable through specific tasks. Not an easy job for sure!
so, let's see how this game holds out after so many years!
GRAPHICS
it is known by now that at Naughty Dog they're geniuses in pulling off great graphics...with the first Crash Bandicoot they pretty much achieved polygonal effects that were supposed to be impossible on the first Playstation by "tricking" the system in a few ways. Crash Bandicoot 2 is slightly improved on the graphic front, still featuring over the top animations, colourful and peculiar 3d models and well-crafted environments featuring a distorted and peculiar art direction.
Everything seems to be oddly-shaped in Crash's world, characters and objects, wich makes for what I'd call a nice art direction as it makes the game recognizable at first sight, even without showing the main character and something the more modern, darker games of today seem to lack...ahem, beside that, yeah, Crash Bandicoot 2, despite the age, still shows a set of graphics that passes the test of time, resulting nice to the eyes, colourful and impressive knowing the technical limitations of the Playstation hardware
the levels are also varied enough in kind of environments and even if some repeated two or three times, they're always quite different in the level design, so that things never feel stale...but let's talk about that in the gameplay section ;3
GAMEPLAY
Not much has changed from the gameplay of the first game...quality-wise though the level design had a huge leap as the levels are planned in a much better way, alternating 2d sections to 3d ones, filled with enemies and traps to defeat and avoid. The level of challenge is just about right and, whilte the platforming jumps don't feel as tight as the ones in a mario or sonic game, it isn't bad enough to be frustrating, it just requires a certain level of attention and knowledge of the game mechanics.
The game also offers a few special levels like the "chase" levels in wich a huge menace goes after you, with the camera facing crash and the player having to be very careful to the obstacles that he has to avoid. Crash will also have levels in wich he has to go on a sort of water water skate avoiding mines or one where he rides an adorable polar bear cub. The game keeps itself varied, not following a "theme" for each "world" like so many other platformers and prefering to just keep offering different challenges every time, repeating a theme now and then without losing variety. Quite the peculiar approach, I'd say.
The boss fights though are a bit too simplistic and easy as, most of them aren't really requiring too much of an effort to beat, though at least a couple of them felt fun and challenging.
To clear the game normally you have to get all the crystals, but to get the real ending and 100% the game you'll have to find all the gems...the levels usually have at least one, or two, some of wich coloured (wich are mandatory to get the very last gem)...one gem is always obtainable by breaking every single crate (wich act like the "mario blocks" of the game pretty much) in the level, not always an easy task as you may imagine, without counting some levels also got alternative routes, linking certain levels between each other or offering secret ways and exits.
Unluckily, all of this is nearly impossible to find out without a guide as the game never gives you ANY hint on how to get the gems, beside the "breaking crates" ones. It is normal though as, when this game was made, it was the age of game magazines filled with tricks and walkthroughs, purposely released around the game release, so that people could fully complete the game...so yeah, don't plan to 100% the game without a guide as it'll already be very difficult to beat the challenges to get them, believe me...pure hardcore platforming there! XD
overall the gameplay is fun and keeps the player interested, showing a well-crafted level design and a good variety of situations and challenges, even though the boss fights are, for the most part a letdown.
STORY
well, don't expect much of a story, come on! it's a Crash Bandicoot game, you go through the levels, beat bad guys and go back home happily! :P
SOUNDTRACK
The game's soundtrack follows the philosophy of the first game, while also being a little more melodic and recognizable than in the first Crash Bandicoot, with a lot of percussion-themed tunes with quite a bit of tribal inspiration.
it's much better than the one in the first game, a nice improvement and I also liked the remix of Cortex's theme quite a lot...so yeah, nice tunes that, while not sticking in your mind, are very catchy and bouncy enough, following the spirit of the game :P
FINAL RATING
Crash bandicoot 2 is one of the best platformers on its age, not reaching the bigger scope and tightness in controls of Super Mario 64, but certainly being the best at what it does, with its linear levels, a very nice challenge curve, challenging and various levels and quite a lot to do before the game is done. The game only falls short in its boss fights, being way too obvious and easy, except for the two final ones.
The game features a very nice soundtrack, as well as a peculiar art direction and graphics that still look pleasant to the eyes after all those years...that's why I give this game a full...
9.0/10
one of the best offerings on the first playstation!
Genre: 3D Platformer
Developer: Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, Uncharted...)
Publisher: Sony
Players: 1
Played for: around 15 hours
Nowadays Naughty Dog is all about the super realistic games with cinematics and gun fights, but there was a time in wich Naughty Dog used to make...more colourful and innocent games...they're the makers of the first mascotte Sony ever had afterall: Crash Bandicoot! Recently I finished the second game in the series, so now I'm finally ready to review it for you ^^
Crash Bandicoot 2 takes place a short time after the first game, with Cortex finding out how that he needs the power of all the crystals on earth to activate the Cortex Vortex, his ultimate weapon against the planet. But since he was left without any allies or friends on earth he decides to get Crash to work for him, pretending he needs the crystals to spot an incoming menace that could destroy the entire planet. That's the main point of the game, get all the crystals, even though to get the real good ending the player will also need to find all the gems hidden in the levels or obtainable through specific tasks. Not an easy job for sure!
so, let's see how this game holds out after so many years!
GRAPHICS
it is known by now that at Naughty Dog they're geniuses in pulling off great graphics...with the first Crash Bandicoot they pretty much achieved polygonal effects that were supposed to be impossible on the first Playstation by "tricking" the system in a few ways. Crash Bandicoot 2 is slightly improved on the graphic front, still featuring over the top animations, colourful and peculiar 3d models and well-crafted environments featuring a distorted and peculiar art direction.
Everything seems to be oddly-shaped in Crash's world, characters and objects, wich makes for what I'd call a nice art direction as it makes the game recognizable at first sight, even without showing the main character and something the more modern, darker games of today seem to lack...ahem, beside that, yeah, Crash Bandicoot 2, despite the age, still shows a set of graphics that passes the test of time, resulting nice to the eyes, colourful and impressive knowing the technical limitations of the Playstation hardware
the levels are also varied enough in kind of environments and even if some repeated two or three times, they're always quite different in the level design, so that things never feel stale...but let's talk about that in the gameplay section ;3
GAMEPLAY
Not much has changed from the gameplay of the first game...quality-wise though the level design had a huge leap as the levels are planned in a much better way, alternating 2d sections to 3d ones, filled with enemies and traps to defeat and avoid. The level of challenge is just about right and, whilte the platforming jumps don't feel as tight as the ones in a mario or sonic game, it isn't bad enough to be frustrating, it just requires a certain level of attention and knowledge of the game mechanics.
The game also offers a few special levels like the "chase" levels in wich a huge menace goes after you, with the camera facing crash and the player having to be very careful to the obstacles that he has to avoid. Crash will also have levels in wich he has to go on a sort of water water skate avoiding mines or one where he rides an adorable polar bear cub. The game keeps itself varied, not following a "theme" for each "world" like so many other platformers and prefering to just keep offering different challenges every time, repeating a theme now and then without losing variety. Quite the peculiar approach, I'd say.
The boss fights though are a bit too simplistic and easy as, most of them aren't really requiring too much of an effort to beat, though at least a couple of them felt fun and challenging.
To clear the game normally you have to get all the crystals, but to get the real ending and 100% the game you'll have to find all the gems...the levels usually have at least one, or two, some of wich coloured (wich are mandatory to get the very last gem)...one gem is always obtainable by breaking every single crate (wich act like the "mario blocks" of the game pretty much) in the level, not always an easy task as you may imagine, without counting some levels also got alternative routes, linking certain levels between each other or offering secret ways and exits.
Unluckily, all of this is nearly impossible to find out without a guide as the game never gives you ANY hint on how to get the gems, beside the "breaking crates" ones. It is normal though as, when this game was made, it was the age of game magazines filled with tricks and walkthroughs, purposely released around the game release, so that people could fully complete the game...so yeah, don't plan to 100% the game without a guide as it'll already be very difficult to beat the challenges to get them, believe me...pure hardcore platforming there! XD
overall the gameplay is fun and keeps the player interested, showing a well-crafted level design and a good variety of situations and challenges, even though the boss fights are, for the most part a letdown.
STORY
well, don't expect much of a story, come on! it's a Crash Bandicoot game, you go through the levels, beat bad guys and go back home happily! :P
SOUNDTRACK
The game's soundtrack follows the philosophy of the first game, while also being a little more melodic and recognizable than in the first Crash Bandicoot, with a lot of percussion-themed tunes with quite a bit of tribal inspiration.
it's much better than the one in the first game, a nice improvement and I also liked the remix of Cortex's theme quite a lot...so yeah, nice tunes that, while not sticking in your mind, are very catchy and bouncy enough, following the spirit of the game :P
FINAL RATING
Crash bandicoot 2 is one of the best platformers on its age, not reaching the bigger scope and tightness in controls of Super Mario 64, but certainly being the best at what it does, with its linear levels, a very nice challenge curve, challenging and various levels and quite a lot to do before the game is done. The game only falls short in its boss fights, being way too obvious and easy, except for the two final ones.
The game features a very nice soundtrack, as well as a peculiar art direction and graphics that still look pleasant to the eyes after all those years...that's why I give this game a full...
9.0/10
one of the best offerings on the first playstation!
Collecting everything is a biiiiiiitch XD
but is funs
It truly is a great PS1 offering, and one of the few game series for which the third game felt as even more of an improvement.