I would of put "Cortex strikes back" but it's long enough as it is. You know which game I'm talking about. This is the second game of the Crash Bandicoot series and it's (in my opinion) a better game than it's aging brother because of *insert heavenly music* Analog. Bless the mighty lord! Analog has come down and touched my heart. Oh, and polar bears are cute or something.. CRASH BANDICOOT..!
Oooh.. Naughty Dog was making games out it's own rectum. This game got it's original release in 1997. Only 2 years after the first game was made. It was also re-released in 1998 for the Sony greatest hits and the Best for family line-up. Naughty Dog knew what they were doing with this series and they worked hard to give us this game in only 2 years.
And even better? The game is set a moment after the crash (get it?) and fall of the final boss of the last game. Set in the Wumpa islands; Cortex kidnaps Crash and tricks him into thinking that he wants Crash to work with him to gain the power crystals from all the different levels to stop the world from being destroyed. You are joined with Crash's smart sister called Coco, who is skeptical of Cortex's plans and also Nitrus Brio, whom tries to persuade Crash into collecting gems, so either way; You're someone's bitch.
It's a good thing that the game works into the last game's plot, although it doesn't stop new gamers from picking it up and playing with out being that confused with it, as the story doesn't revolve around Crash and his girlfriend anymore and is even placed in a "hub world" which actually lets you save when you feel like it.
The game was given a new engine by Andy Gavin. The"Game-Oriented Object LISP 2"(GOOL 2) was created to be three times faster than the one previously and could handle ten times the animation frames and twice the amount of polygon count, making the visuals more smoother to the naked eye and it was so beautiful. The jungle levels were originally to have featured ground fog, but this was abandoned when magazines and the public began to criticize other developers for using fog to hide polygon count. Sunlight and depth accentuation was experimented with for these levels. Naughty Dog created the sewer levels as a way to work some "dirty" locations in the game. Color contrast was added to the levels to show depth and break up the repetitive monotony of the endless sewer pipes. This game was given amazing new things to make the visuals more appealing and upgrade from the old, primal image the old game possessed. The soundtrack was written by Josh Mancell from Mutato Muzika, who was also responsible for the music in the old game which you do see the similar sounds and music, but there is a slight change to make it more fresh and different.
The goal of this game (unlike the old game) is to gather 25 crystals for Cortex. The game takes place in a series of "Warp Rooms", which act as the hub areas of the game. Each Warp Room contains five doors leading to a level and YOU CAN SAVE AT ANY TIME. This was such a big difference from the old game and I'm so glad that I don't have to deal with the saving frustration anymore. I want no part in it. You can Spin and jump like the older game, and you fight bosses too. Although, the bosses in this game seem fairly easy and not much of a challenge but that's just me, maybe they were hard for other people and I'm just too fucking good at gaming?. Crash can also body slam boxes and enemies and also use the power slide to slide across the ground. All of these techniques can be used as offensive measures against most enemies, which serve to deter Crash's progress. Enemies with deadly topsides cannot be jumped on, while enemies that attack from the front or have side spikes must be jumped on or undergo a body slam. This various was slimly added to the old game but was limited due to the lack of attacks that Crash could do, but I'm glad that there is a purpose for the moves added in this game. The boxes make a return, giving wumpa fruit, extra lives and Aku Aku masks to help you on your adventure, but there are also Bonus Paths, which are used to get more extra lives and wumpa fruit.
This game was better, not the best, but better. It kept to it's roots but made sure to create something that is a new experience. The hub world was a great installment although I did enjoy the map view that the old game had. This game can be beaten fairly quick if you know what you're doing so it's a good game to pass the time or have a gaming night with friends. Just don't forget this PS1 classic because it really shows you how gaming as a whole has changed and evolved.
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