This afternoon we had the opportunity to go “hands on” with the latest adventure and had three levels at our disposal which showcased some of the new levels which will feature in the game. Levels are selected by going through a hub which introduces the level and gives a small back story, players walk through the vortex to enter the level and it loads in very quick time.
The first level we played was “Cavern Catastrophe.” Cavern Catastrophe is a level similar to the ball level in Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex. Neo Cortex and Crash get into an argument and end up in a ball. The player is charged with the task of keeping them alive, taking special care to avoid the Nitro boxes. Later on in the level Crash must throw Cortex so he can flick a switch so the path can be navigated. Cortex never looks very trustworthy so we are predicting that there will be a few twists and turns in the storyline.
The second level we played was “Totem Hokem.” This level returns Crash Bandicoot to a 2D setting as he struggles to clear the path for Cortex. This was quite complicated at times and was definitely the hardest of the three levels. It also required some pretty clever problem solving, this problem solving isn’t near the level of Prince of Persia but is a welcome change from the normally easy aspects in Crash’s previous outings.
The third level was “Jungle Bungle.” It was good to see that some of the classic Crash Bandicoot formula has been retained. This level places Crash in a 3D environment that looks remarkably similar to the beach from Jak and Daxter. It was a relatively dull level which wasn’t very detailed. We hope that Traveller’s Tales put a bit more effort into making this level look better.
When the demo finishes players are given a teaser of what is to come, and a new character is introduced into the franchise. Her name is Nina and she is the niece of Dr Cortex, unfortunately we didn’t get to play as her but she sounds like a welcome change. From what we could gather Crash Twinsanity looks like it might be more about the trouble Crash and Cortex cause for themselves, rather than dealing with the enemies they come across.
We finished playing the demo with a fairly open mind. It's clear that there's still a good few months of development required, and although it is certainly more varied than Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex, we're unsure if the Crash Bandicoot series will ever return to it's previous heights.
Crash Twinsanity is due out for the Playstation 2 and Xbox on October 28th, 2004. It will retail for $69.95, Stayed tuned to PALGN for a review as soon as it is released.
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