Crash Bandicoot has been here with us for many years, and during that time we have been able to meet various approaches, but also several detours when it comes to the genre. Not long after the first platformers, Crash and others plunged into the whirlwind of racing in Crash Team Racing, but also in a joint rampage in the party title Crash Bash. Crash Team Rumble does it a little differently and brings something new to the series. Although I’m not sure how much fans of the series value these unconventional attempts, there’s no denying that the developers at Toys for Bob know what they’re doing when it comes to Crash itself.
Crash Team Rumble is a four-on-four multiplayer co-op game where teams try to be the first to collect enough wumpa fruits to win. Several of the iconic characters of the series participate in these races – currently there are eight of them in three groups – Crash, Tawna and newcomer Catbat are primarily responsible for collecting fruit and scoring, Dingodile, Dr. N. Brio and Dr. N. Tropes are best for blocking enemies and their prey, while Coco and Dr. Neo Cortex are ideal for boosting and supporting the team. Each of them has its fixed abilities, but also a special one, which can be chosen arbitrarily before each round and can be used by all characters, for example spitting plants, healing cabinets, falling garbage or bonus fruit wumpa.
Crash or Coco basically use their famous spinning and can knock the opponent to the ground, Tawna is equipped with kicks and a hook for faster movement, Catbat flies and throws healing burgers, Dingodile is a huge machine that repels everyone or sucks out the collected fruit, N .Tropy slashes and throws around, N. Brio can briefly transform into a powerful monster, and Cortex shoots, transforms enemies, or can throw a piano at them. However, their role doesn’t necessarily box them in, so with Cortex you can go on a frenzied pursuit of enemies, or with N.Tropy you can grab boost gems while eliminating intrusive opponents. What you sometimes don’t do yourself…
The basic premise and goal of the game sounds simple, maybe too much so. I admit that the tutorial, training matches with shoes, but then even the first competitive ones did not excite me too much and I lacked more meaning and depth. However, appearances are deceiving, as the maps are loaded with many gadgets that can really kick the game into high gear. And once the individual characters and their abilities are mastered, the matches are about something else, so I can’t deny that the title is a lot of fun. For example, the already mentioned boosting is one of the important parts of the game – on each map we find two or three groups of gems, by preventing which the whole team will receive a bonus to the wumpa fruit, which the individual members are going to hand over and count towards the total score. The bigger the boost, the better, of course, and so sometimes there are interesting skirmishes on the gems with the other team for bonuses, which in the finals can decide entire matches.
At the same time, relic storage stations are scattered across the locations, each offering a temporary advantage to the player who activated it, as well as to other team members. It differs from map to map, that is, somewhere we can turn into a ball or fit into a gear ball and torment opponents, in other places we can activate flamethrowers, fire jump, invisibility and much more. There is also one primary station on each map, which requires more relics, but its effect is also more pronounced – how about a huge bonsai full of wumpa fruit, dragons or a sandstorm? Correct timing of their use together with boosts is the goal to victory. In addition, the game looks clear and intuitive thanks to the HUD, icons and markings, so it is not difficult to play with your teammates and help each other when needed. The overall interface in terms of menus or statistics is also transparent.
One of the greatest strengths of the game, however, is that despite the change in genre, you can still feel the spirit of the good old Crash. The gameplay is addictive thanks to the excellent controls, and not only in the case of the protagonist of the series. Running, breaking crates, fighting enemies, blocking and of course jumping can all be mastered really quickly and are great fun after a while. Each character looks unique, the differences in gameplay are really noticeable, and everyone can find what suits them. For me personally, it was most often the rotation of Cortex, Crash, Coco and N.Tropa. In my eyes, all maps can boast of great design, both in terms of gameplay and in terms of artistic processing. In addition, they are just the right size and variety, so some will offer more of a vast plain, others are more vertical and full of platforms, which will undoubtedly be appreciated by every fan of the mainstream series, and everywhere we will find plenty of traps. In any case, you can see the care of the developers and their sense of imagination at every step or jump.
The graphic stylization firmly adheres to the ruts of the series, especially It’s About Time, and everything is brought out to the smallest detail. The individual effects are impressive, the design of the accessories does not deny the ubiquitous playfulness, and everything is simply a joy to look at. It is no different with the sound and movements in general, which are even unique for each accessory, and in terms of movement, surfaces or abilities, everything here is maximally refined. It is also worth mentioning the pleasant musical accompaniment, which is interwoven with motifs from older games, especially when someone destroys you. What can be done, respawn and rush back to action! I didn’t expect it myself, but after a few matches and a closer acquaintance with the game, I finally started to enjoy Crash Team Rumble incredibly. Experience increased, characters and abilities became available… A match can last like five to ten minutes, but I’ve already experienced twenty minutes, or on the contrary, a quick raid with a wumpa fruit that ended in victory in three minutes. But it cannot be determined in any general way.
As previously mentioned, the game currently features eight characters, but more are expected to join as part of the first season. The bigger problem, however, is only nine maps, which spin very quickly. Yes, each game is different, but once you get to know all the characters and unlock all the abilities, you somehow lose the desire to continue levelovat. Also, at the moment, the levels bring nothing but cosmetics and accessories for the characters. In this regard, the very principle of live service is generally unclear, and questions arise in connection with the future of the game, which I am quite skeptical about, even though the title won me over as such. Crash Team Rumble has supported cross-play since day one, but despite this, finding teammates and opponents is often a problem, which has left me waiting for two minutes for the next match many times. However, the truth is that the game takes an awfully long time to connect to the servers at launch, which could also have an effect. I don’t really have any other complaints, except perhaps for the overall statistics, which would summarize my performances since the beginning of playing, which are not in the game for an incomprehensible reason and I missed them very much.
Despite that, for me, Crash Team Rumble is a surprisingly fun game that doesn’t just parasitize on a well-known brand, because the developers definitely don’t they didn’t slack off. However, while jumping on platforms and breaking crates, I often thought to myself that maybe I’d rather play the classic Crash after all. I think that the $30 price tag might hold the game back, which would be a shame. Apart from the connection problems, however, the game runs beautifully, even on the PlayStation 4, on which I also played it a few times, it looks beautiful and the gameplay is fresh and well thought out. Ideally, however, it would like even more content. And very soon.
2023-07-03 11:06:16
#Recenze #Crash #Team #Rumble #Vortex
