Did you know that the voice of Cortex is also the voice of Mr. Krabs? And the lead actor in Highlander?
Long weekends and traveling make TRO a dull reviewer, but here we go!
Crash 2, as mentioned in the last review, was the Playstation game I spent the most time playing with my friend at his house (total time spent award definitely goes to Final Fantasy VII, but I did that during the PS2 era, so it's not quite the same), so circling back around to it was a real walk down memory lane for me. I was very glad to finally check it off my list of games to beat, but a little sad to realize I probably won't play it again for some time.
Like its predecessor, Crash 2 is predominantly a 3D platformer with a few different genres mixed in. Crash 2 definitely has a bit more variety to it, with several levels featuring riding a baby bear, jetski levels, and jetpack levels.
Crash 2 changes up the controls slightly by adding in the ability to slide, crouch, and high jump in addition to the spinning and jumping from the first game. These skills are important to completing the game, and add a nice touch of variety to completing the levels.
Crash 2 is far more polished than the first game, with much better controls, improved graphics, and better hitboxes, making the game feel much fairer in its difficulty. That doesn't mean it's not difficult, however. It's definitely easier than the first game, but it's still quite a hard game. But a lot of the reduced difficulty simply comes from an improved save system (you can now save between every level) and the better control scheme, so this is still a definite improvement. There aren't as many lives in the levels to compensate, though, making it nicely balanced, just like in the first game.
They also changed up the system by which you can get gems at the end of the level, changing it so that you no longer need to complete the level with all boxes while not dying. Now you're free to die as much as you want, and as long you get all the boxes, you'll be rewarded with a gem. This feels more fair and encouraging of exploration, although it would have been more understandable to keep it since the difficulty isn't quite as crushing this time around.
The additions to the game all generally work very well, and make the sequel a much more enjoyable experience than the first game. The music is still excellent, as are the sound effects and varied death animations. Crash maintains his manic personality, which makes for a lot of comedy throughout the game.
While improved, the game still has a few weaknesses. The bosses are, like the first game, pretty boring and dull. This is particularly true of the end boss, which is one of the least enjoyable fights I can recall at the moment.
The 3D still struggles a bit to place Crash in space in a way that makes sense to the player. Sometimes you'll take a flying leap with no context just because the graphics aren't quite sophisticated enough to make it clear as to where you are, where the platform is, how much distance is between you and the platform, etc. This can be frustrating, but it is generally better done in the second game than in the first, as the graphics did improve a bit.
On the whole, however, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a clear improvement over the nice formula with flawed execution of the first game, and makes for a very fun adventure. I'd highly recommend it to any fans of 3D platformers as a "must play" in the genre. I'll give it a 8.8/10.
Next up, I'll be completing the trilogy of Crash Bandicoot games, and as I already finished it over the weekend, it will definitely be up tomorrow!
-TRO
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