Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
29 Oct 2001
All releases
17 Sep 2002 - Nintendo GameCube
01 Nov 2002 - Nintendo GameCube
04 Dec 2003 - Nintendo GameCube
29 Oct 2001 - PlayStation 2
23 Nov 2001 - PlayStation 2
20 Dec 2001 - PlayStation 2
28 Mar 2003 - PlayStation 2
16 Apr 2002 - Xbox
26 Apr 2002 - Xbox
24 Oct 2002 - Xbox
04 Dec 2007 - Xbox 360
Tags
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is the fourth mainline series game and the first to feature Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation 2. It was later ported to the GameCube and Xbox, making it his first multiplatform appearance. The player controls Crash and his younger sister Coco who must gather 25 crystals and defeat the main antagonists of the story, Doctor Neo Cortex and his new super weapon Crunch Bandicoot. Much of the game takes place in a Virtual Reality Hub System created by Coco to help Crash gather the crystals. The gameplay is similar to the older games of the series.
The story is set sometime after Crash Bandicoot: Warped. Dr. Cortex wants revenge after being defeated by Crash, and 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. Crash Bandicoot and his sister Coco must travel the world and gather special Crystals that will return the Elementals to a hibernated state, and thwart Cortex's plans to use Crunch as a weapon for world domination.
| Audio | Subtitles | Interface | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | ✓ |
Sure that does brings it fair share of criticism, like how the entire game has technically only one boss and even its true ending feels kind of rushed, and even seeing some technical aspects you can tell that the game definitely needed an extra year, because certain slow downs and reusing of texture and of course the boss fight tells the story of a game not given its proper due time.
Still even though the game is a half-baked retred of Warped, the game is still half baked version of a masterpiece, so it is still pretty enjoyable and fun to play.
First of all, the transition of crash from a d-pad controlled character to an analog stick controlled character went more smoothly that I could have expected, in terms of controls, I seriously have no complains.
The environment is also beautiful looking, with the power of ps2 making crash's cartoony world pop out even more and the way the 3d models are constructed and structured does give a very unique vibe to this adventure, whether it be something as simple as a wooden bridge, or something complicated like a level consisting of several interconnecting pipes and platforms, to even something naturally serene like falling snow or splashing water, Wrath Of Cortex's aesthetics are definitely eye pleasing.
I have no complains when it comes to any of the crash levels, for traveller's tales did their homework from the first three games on how to make a good crash level/minigame. Sadly, same can't be said about Coco. For now I understand why all her levels in Warped were either tiger riding missions or jetski minigames....she basically suck as a platforming character. Her jump is weird, she feels floaty to control, her ground pound is pathetic, and all her chase sequences in comparison to Crash's edge of the seat sequences, are boring, asinine, and a slog to get through. In warped, I was waiting for the NEXT Coco level, and in wrath of cortex, I was dreading it. If there is one thing I definitely hate about this game, it is that they definitely almost ruined coco for me. she even like has the least detailed character model. A fucking fish in the asian level was more detailed than her.
With weird rant about the coco stuff out of the way, about the soundtrack. It is not Crash Team Racing but it gets the job done and sounds Crash Bandicooty, as it should. The credit song is kind of groovy, ngl.
The VA is fine, but I cannot say anything was a top notch performance. Still Cortex got a few chuckles out of me.
The warp room is definitely the worst in the series I have seen so far. My favorite warp room was Crash Bandicoot 2 and in my review of Warped, I had complained about the warp room being a step down from 2, and unfortunately, the one bad thing they carried over from warped was sadly the warp room. The weird mario style level selected menu in the first crash bandicoot had more personality than this.
I know it seems like I am annoyed by certain aspects of this game (which I am) but I still overall enjoyed my time with it, as it was a heavily flawed but still pleasing experience. I would reccomend not to give blindly into hate to this game, and try to make your own mind.
If you hate this game, then its fair.
If you love this game, then its fair.
If you are somewhere in middle like me, then its fair.
We can only wish for an alternate universe where traveler's tale was given more time to polish their ideas for the fourth (and now non-cannon) game, but what we got is still fairly competent product if you know how to keep your expectations in check.
One tip before I go: If you try to play this on pcsx2, make sure to download the patch and enable it through console cheat. There are some visual bugs that make things unplayable at times, and only by downloading the patch and enabling it through cheat menu, can you avoid a major headache.
