Crash Twinsanity

Having been a Crash Bandicoot fan since the early PlayStation titles, it’s hard for a fan to admit that the series was beginning to feel repetitive and finally dated.  After all, the recent crop of platform games has pushed the genre to exciting new heights (e.g. Ratchet and Clank, the Jax games and even Sly Cooper’s two great platform games).  On the Xbox, platform games have been coming in slow and having released two very mediocre Crash games, Crash Twinsanity hopes to change gamers’ minds.  Filled with humor and playable secondary characters, Twinsanity is a twisted ride and Crash’s best game to date.  

You’d think, from how the game starts, that this will be yet another Crash game that has our favorite Bandicoot chasing the wicked Dr. Neo Cortex around the island paradise that his Crash’s home.  Indeed, the sneaky Doctor has somehow thawed himself out of the block of ice and sneaks his way back into the island where he zaps Coco, kidnaps her and concocts a bad disguise (he dons a blonde Coco wig) that somehow fools our clueless hero.  Finally catching up to him, Crash and Dr. Cortex brawl their way into a cavern where what we think would turn out to be just another Crash versus Dr. Cortex story actually turns into a story of evil twins and a warped version of the island.  In order to get back to their reality, the two join forces in a partnership that propels an interesting and hilarious plot.

Much like Whiplash, a platform game that seems to have inspired the pairing of both characters, Crash uses (read: abuses) Dr. Cortex in various useful ways throughout the game.  The interaction between both characters begins the minute Crash defeats his first boss, a giant Mech-Bandicoot, and the two take to brawling.  The pair becomes a seemingly uncontrollable ball of fist-bashing fury as you maneuver them through various twists and turns in the cavern.  You’ll find when the pair always come to a massive disagreement, they’ll revert back to this rollerbrawl form.  But what really earns the chuckles is the way Crash uses Dr. Cortex.  He can jump on the Doctor’s back and use him like a skate to move along faster along the environment or use him like a weapon (e.g. Crash turns the Doctor into a human mallet of sorts).

The pairing, however, doesn’t mean that the two will be stuck together like the unlikely heroes in Whiplash.  Dr. Cortex is also a playable character in the game and gamers will take control of him in some areas that require Crash to work on his own in the background.  Also new to the series is Nina Cortex, the twisted Doctor’s niece (or perhaps his daughter?).  Although she’s a Goth girl that attended the Academy of Evil and possesses two bionic arms, Nina still shows a fondness for furry animals.  She’s an inventive character you get to control later in the game and I must say that she’s one of the many highlights this game has to offer.  Remember the NES action game, Bionic Commando?  Nina’s bionic hands allow her to reach higher places and allow her to swing her way to the other end of a platform.

These are all great new elements that add new depth to the Crash games and they’re welcome additions since this team up of characters makes for plenty of humorous situations.  Twinsanity is still very much a linear platform game that still has Crash breaking the same familiar crates and collecting vast amounts of fruit and diamonds.  The game also still pretty much suffers from past flaws such as the bad camera control that have you swinging the camera around for better view of the next platform. It’s not very groundbreaking in its design.  It hardly comes close to presenting something entirely different and, let’s face it; new platform games like Jax 2 on the PS2 and even Voodoo Vince on the Xbox are determined to take the platform genre into a whole new innovative realm.  Yet compared to the past Crash Bandicoot games, Twinsanity is a leap forward for the series.

Graphically speaking, Twinsanity is a far more visually impressive game than The Wrath of Cortex.  The game’s environments, for instance, are far more beautifully rendered and seem to come alive the very minute the game’s events start to unfold.  You’ll notice birds taking flight in the background and the foam at the end of a waterfall bubble a little.  The expressive characters show plenty of personality and this adds more to the sight gags.  It’s funny to see how totally clueless Crash is and it’s even funnier watching him bend Dr. Cortex into his own personal sled.  Even the animation runs smoothly during the game’s action and the cut scenes.

One of the game’s other major strengths is the wonderfully hysterical dialogue.  The biggest laughs, believe it or not, come from Doctor Neo Cortex who comes off as nutty in the best possible way.  He’s filled with witty observations and often pokes fun of his past encounters with Crash.  Even the music is quite enjoyable, although often times the music awkwardly loops causing a momentary pause before the music starts up again.  The soundtrack is composed of cool jazzy tunes and tropics-inspired beats and they fit perfectly with the game.  As for the sound effects, they’re true to the classic Crash Bandicoot games.

Crash Twinsanity rises above the game’s original roots to bring a game that’s both refreshingly humorous as well as downright enjoyable.  There are a number of things I wish the game handled better but considering the fact that the game’s levels are exciting and the new playable characters are a genuine treat to play, these pesky little details can be overlooked.  The Crash Bandicoot series has a long way to go before it can compete with the recent platform games that continue to push the envelope, but Twinsanity is a good start in the right direction. 

Gameplay: 8.0
When all is said and done, our furry little hero still controls very much like past games (well, with the exception of Crash Nitro Cart, of course) and that’s not such a bad thing considering the fact that it worked.  Still, it’s good to see that Vivendi Universal wasn’t content with bringing the same, tired formula.  The Crash-Cortex alliance makes for plenty of interesting changes and plenty of laughs.  The addition of Nina Cortex and her bionic arm just adds even more spice to this tasty dish.

Graphics: 7.5
Twinsanity’s graphics are a bit sharper and the animation a lot smoother, thus making this one the best-looking Crash game so far.  It’s a colorful-looking game with nicely rendered backgrounds and characters that express a lot of feeling during the game’s action and during cut scenes.  No Xbox exclusive graphical facelift for this one so do not expect it to look more amazing than the PS2 version.

Sound: 8.2
The sound effects and score are purely classic Crash but somehow I can’t get enough of the music.  It’s a wild mixture of different styles that range from cool jazz to tropical tunes of past Crash Bandicoot games.  We’ve heard the sound effects before and they work well enough, but it’s the voice acting--particularly when it comes to Dr. Cortex--that makes this game worth your every attention.  The twisted Doctor is one hilarious bloke and his dialogue just makes him all the more likeable.  Great work, indeed.

Difficulty: Medium
The usual Crash Bandicoot challenges are present and you’ll find just a few new challenges we haven’t seen before but the rest remains familiar territory.  Aside from the same dealings with explosive crates and platform jumping, Twinsanity has some challenging boss levels and just try to control the pair while they’re in rollerbrawl form.  

Concept: 7.5
Crash Bandicoot remains relatively the same but as the story progresses gamers will love how our favorite Bandicoot reacts to the alliance between his furry self and Doctor Cortex.  The fact that they’re forced to work together and clash often in true cartoon-like fashion makes for a charming game that won’t fail to make you laugh at least once.  And bionic Goth girl Nina Cortex is a very welcome addition to the series.   

Overall: 7.5
For those fans of the platform genre that had been disappointed by The Wrath of Cortex, Crash Twinsanity will remind you what made you love Crash Bandicoot in the first place.  It’s a fun platform game that doesn’t quite propel the series to groundbreaking new heights but its authentic humor and great playable characters make this one the Crash game worth owning.