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Early Impressions: Crash - Mind Over Mutant On Wii
Posted by Leigh Alexander at 10:30 AM on June 12, 2008
While I was at Sierra's preview event today, I got to see the latest Bandicoot title, Crash: Mind Over Mutant for Wii - it's also hitting Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, DS and PSP in the spring.
In this title, seminal antagonists Dr. Neo Cortex and N. Brio have invented some kind of technological device that has turned everyone into zombie-like obsessives, and Crash is the only one unaffected. To stop the evil scientists, Crash will have to liberate the area's mutants - not unselfishly, of course. The core mechanic relies on using the unique abilities of the beasties you save to fight other monsters, navigate areas and solve puzzles.
I watched the rep use Crash to knock some sense into a big, knuckle-dragging brute, and then ride on his back - once jacked onto one of the creatures, the player can use that creature's special ability - in this case, the player slowed down time enough to get through a fast-chomping skull obstacle safely (think God of War 2's Amulet of the Fates).
I actually haven't played a Crash Bandicoot game since the first PlayStation, so it was interesting to see what's changed - and what hasn't.
Even though, like I said, it's been a long time since I saw Crash, I noted many of his classic mechanics, like spinning around in a fluid rush to smash open boxes, are still intact, and you wiggle the Wii remote quickly to accomplish this move. Another thing I thought seemed promising was the drop-in-and-out two-player co-op; your friend can pick up a second Wii remote and try being Crash's friend Coco, and when your friend is finished playing, they can simply put it down and you can go back to your game.
Interestingly, though, the characters can be carried not only by monsters, but by one another. So let's say you and your friend are playing co-op and you want to get up to get a drink - you can hop on your buddy's back and they'll simply carry you through the level until you return.
The Wii visuals were decent and colourful, and the gameplay looked like it would be fun to try. When my colleague Flynn saw the Xbox 360 version a few months back, he thought it was a little "more of the same" in terms of the platforming and free-roaming, and suggested it might appeal to kids a little bit more.
Kids definitely are into it - one feature I saw was Crash's house, where you can try on skins for Crash from the monsters you've beaten and page through a concept art notebook. The rep told me that 6 kids were chosen from a big concept art contest to have their drawings appear in the game, and that they were very excited. Aww.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
conrad
Posted July 6, 2008 6:43 PM
this game would have been more fun if it was on the ps3 and if u got to ride cars and have bazookas like in crash bandicoot 3
Sandbox_Emperor
Posted 10:55 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: LMAO. I can't un-see it :O
Sandbox_Emperor
endaround
Posted 10:55 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine:
I'm going with yes and yes
endaround
xpoomasterx
Posted 10:54 AM 12/6/08
aw I wanted it for PS3
O well I'll just get it for Wii. It'll probably be more fun!
xpoomasterx
dh4645
Posted 10:54 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine:
wow, just wow.
definitely a dirty mind
dh4645
merebito
Posted 10:50 AM 12/6/08
Jeff, you do have a dirty mind, and that's not a good thing IMHO.
I can't wait for this game. I hope this is the 360's answer to Ratchet and Clank TOD since that was my favorite PS3 game (make that next gen game to date)
No level was exactly the same, the gameplay frequently evolved; and it never got repetetive. Unlike games like Mass Effect, Assassins Creed, and most other games.
merebito
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Posted 10:48 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: My god...its mounting it
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Solid_hedgehog
Posted 10:48 AM 12/6/08
Those kids need psychonauts ASAP.
Solid_hedgehog
Herodito
Posted 10:46 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: @Jeff Paine:
You have a dirty mind :P
Herodito
KingGorilla
Posted 10:45 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: Not just you. That tree is totally wailing on that house's "backdoor".
KingGorilla
braagh
Posted 10:40 AM 12/6/08
The only Crash game I played was Crash Bandicoot 2.
Oh, and his racing game. I think I still have them both...
CTR was fun, obviously a rip off, but it was fun.
@Jeff Paine: O_o
braagh
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
Posted 10:37 AM 12/6/08
Is that screenshot in-engine from the Wii version? Because if not, it's a pretty poor choice.
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
Jeff Paine
Posted 10:34 AM 12/6/08
Do I just have a dirty mind, or is that tree fucking the house?
Jeff Paine
ChemicalWedding
Posted 10:33 AM 12/6/08
It's weird how this franchise used to be thought of as Sony's mascot.
ChemicalWedding
Hopanoe
Posted 11:32 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: Relax...it's just one of the kids' "concept arts"
Hopanoe
Thorax
Posted 11:20 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: Oh dear lord, it's demolishing that poor house. What man would want it now...
I've only played the original games. Guess I'll pick it up if it gets decent reviews.
Thorax
Ecks
Posted 11:11 AM 12/6/08
I don't understand why PS3 is being left out - I thought it was bad LAST year they didn't release Crash for PS3, but this year seems inexcusable.
Ecks
munchausen
Posted 11:11 AM 12/6/08
i think you need to add that it will also be for the PS3; otherwise, people need some backwards compatability in their PS3's.
munchausen
(俗・ ) Grey Gecko
Posted 11:09 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: ...This will probably go to A week in comments
(俗・ ) Grey Gecko
CockroachMan
Posted 11:05 AM 12/6/08
"I noted many of his classic mechanics, like spinning around in a fluid rush to smash open boxes, are still intact, and you wiggle the Wii remote quickly to accomplish this move. Another thing I thought seemed promising was the drop-in-and-out two-player co-op; your friend can pick up a second Wii remote and try being Crash's friend Coco, and when your friend is finished playing, they can simply put it down and you can go back to your game."
So.. it's Super Mario Galaxy?
CockroachMan
Whyspir
Posted 11:01 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine:
Totally. Right up over the shoulder too. I thought that before I even saw your comment, I went back and looked and it just got dirtier.
Sir, I salute you.
Whyspir
kumuasata
Posted 12:24 PM 12/6/08
Oops that was meant at @Jeff Paine: not Herodito :P
kumuasata
kumuasata
Posted 12:23 PM 12/6/08
@Herodito:
LMAO, you sir just made my week better than it already is, and I didn't think it was possible either xD
kumuasata
RavenGT
Posted 12:12 PM 12/6/08
Can we get Naughty Dog on a sequel to CB: Warped? jesus I am tired of these idiotic Crash games. Oh wait, Naughty Dog is busy on other stuff.
RavenGT
Kenny
Posted 12:08 PM 12/6/08
I'm guessing this isn't developed by Naughty Dog seeing as how Sierra is publishing...
No Naughty Dog = no buy.
Oh Crash and Spyro, how great you were in the days of yore.
Kenny
Ichidou
Posted 12:05 PM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: Nearly every comment here is for you.
Even this one.
Ichidou
TheSmile
Posted 11:55 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: Wow, I'm pretty sure 4chan did this to you...
TheSmile
ivan225
Posted 11:53 AM 12/6/08
@ChemicalWedding: look at the tree putting his arm down by the window for extra support,therefore gaining more thrust. lo l
ivan225
wild homes 5: treyarch attacks!
Posted 11:49 AM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: Nicely done, sir. That tree is indisputably a backdoor man.
And the Crash series is so middling to me. I played the 360 version, and it did a lot of things right, but only local co-op? Why is this so hard to get right? Online co-op should be mandatory on every title that offers local co-op. It's ridiculous how many otherwise mediocre games I've played just for the thrill of online co-op.
wild homes 5: treyarch attacks!
Polite Society
Posted 12:43 PM 12/6/08
@CockroachMan: If it's as good as galaxy, then consider me sold.
I doubt it though.
Polite Society
Milzo
Posted 12:41 PM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: The tree's got wood.
Milzo
karasu is my homeboy
Posted 12:29 PM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: holy shit I swear to God I thought the same thing. It has to be intentional. The tree is positioned so specifically.
I don't care about Crash anymore. Crash of the Titans was just ok, but I really didn't like the premise of riding your enemies (wow these developers are so dirty!)
This is Crash of the Titans part two, with deeper mechanics on riding and managing your enemies. No thanks. RIP Crash.
karasu is my homeboy
Soleyu
Posted 1:16 PM 12/6/08
@Solid_hedgehog: Everyone needs more psychonauts! hell Im gonna go play it now.
@Milzo: @Jeff Paine: LOL, and now I can unsee it.
Soleyu
2JSC
Posted 2:16 PM 12/6/08
I've read on a number of other sites that this is indeed coming to the PS3 this fall as well...
2JSC
peAr nectAr
Posted 2:25 PM 12/6/08
@ChemicalWedding: It is weird. The original Crash Bandicoot was the first game I had on the PS1, and I thought the style and moves that Crash had were totally original (not to mention the Indiana Jones-esque boulder chases). The two sequels Naughty Dog made were fun, and retained the Crash-ness that I loved about the first one. And I actually enjoyed Crash Team Racing more than Mario Kart. But I think when Naughty Dog let him go, and then Sony did, and it become another multiplat game, something was lost. Sad how marketing and business ruins my childhood gaming memories.
peAr nectAr
Zim
Posted 4:19 PM 12/6/08
I just checked gamefaqs and seemingly it isn't coming to PS3. That is insanely weird. Crash was basically the PS1's mascot like mario was the n64's.
Tbh I think people have always underestimated crash. The 2nd and 3rd games both sold over 7million copies and the first nearly 7mill. That is halo and final fantasy territory. Even wrath of cortex on the ps2 sold nearly 5million copies. It's only extremely recently the games popularity has fallen, which I would guess was due to falling quality. And now it isn't even releasing on the ps3? Wow that is a pretty massive thing.
I mean there are are least 7million people that were seemingly fans of the game (all first 3 sold around 7million) that is a pretty massive audience they could recapture.
I think not buying up crash was one of sony's biggest mistakes ever. If they kept it they could easily have turned it into their mario/halo, I mean the sales were definetly there. They just needed to keep the quality high.
Zim
Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.
Posted 5:08 PM 12/6/08
@Zim: The devs dropped Crash for Ratchet and Clank, play that if you want a similar feeling.
Still, I'd rather Spyro had stayed good...
Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.
Combichristoffersen
Posted 8:54 PM 12/6/08
@braagh:
CTR was actually better than Mario Kart IMO (yes, I said it!).
Anyway, I played Crash of the Titans, and although it wasn't really bad, it was nowhere near the quality of the Naughty Dog-developed Crash games. Crash 3 still stands as one of the best platformers I've ever played.
Combichristoffersen
jpneiswi
Posted 11:37 PM 12/6/08
@Combichristoffersen: Amen, brother. Crash 1 was the first game i got for the PS1 and it was pretty tough for a 10-year old, I still haven't beaten it ;-). But Crash 2 and 3 were awesome platform games. Crash 3 was definitely the best of the three with all the motorcycle/plane/jet ski levels. My wife wanted some sort of "marioesque" game, so we got crash of the titans and I gotta say, sierra has nothing on Naughty Dog - it was almost like Kirby when you get the ability of the guys you capture, but quite boring. The coop was ok (better than Mario galaxy because you actually get to run around instead of point at the screen), but overall not nearly as good as the first 3. I love CTR and wish they would make one for the ps3 that was as good as the original. It was comparable to mariokart, but I liked the battles better on CTR. As long as Naughty Dog keeps putting out sweet games like Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank, I'll be fine, but it truly is sad to see crash go these last few years.
jpneiswi
pasquinelli
Posted 11:37 PM 12/6/08
i was pleasantly surprised by crash: twinsanity. i had a lot of fun with that when i rented it and then went out and bought it. also the soundtrack is amazing. i hope they get spiralmouth to do the new one.
pasquinelli
Anguirel
Posted 7:26 AM 13/6/08
@Zim: No PS3, but a PS2 version is in the works that sounds like it'll be essentially the same game as the Wii and 360 versions. I guess they're going for the larger install base and hoping there's neough backwards compatability in the original PS3 to make it work for those.
Anguirel
gentlejones
Posted 9:46 PM 12/6/08
i played crash of the titans on the wii and thought it was fun as hell. one of the few games i actually played through until the end.
one thing that was cool about that title was you could use the mask like a skateboard and surf around every level and do little airs, it was a nice break from just running and jumping. some of the levels were designed to use the "skate" function but it was a neat challenge to try using it in areas that were not at all built for it. took some good timing to hop across some of the hairier levels.
also, that tree is totally a house fucker.
gentlejones
xinic5
Posted 4:53 PM 12/6/08
@Jeff Paine: Oh no did they hire some artist from disney?
xinic5
GabrielMosquito
Posted 3:04 PM 12/6/08
@Ecks:
The reason it isn't online is...well.. this is clearly targetted towards younger players. Considering how retarded Xbox Live users are, you think they want kids going online with that? And besides... some games are just a LOT funner with a friend next to you on the couch. There's no need for online co-op in this game. Anyways, I'm glad they're building this technologically FOR WII. And then porting up and down for 360 and PS2. With that in mind, Crash of the Titans was actually pretty solid, especially in co-op. Considering this one, they're fixing some of the issues like the inability to take a Titan with you etc., and also making it an open-world game, I think this could be quite rad. _________________________________________________________________
GabrielMosquito
JapJay
Posted 10:41 AM 12/6/08
"Awwww...", indeed!
JapJay