Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Developer(s)	Traveller's Tales
Publisher(s)	Universal Interactive Studios
Distributor(s)	Konami
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Release date	PlayStation 2 NA October 29, 2001 PAL November 23, 2001 JPN December 20, 2001 Xbox NAApril 15, 2002 PAL April 26, 2002 JPN October 24, 2002 GameCube NA September 17, 2002 PAL November 1, 2002 JPN December 4, 2003
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E ELSPA: 3+ CERO: A OFLC: G
Media	CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, GameCube Optical Disc
Input methods	Controller

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is a platform game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube video game consoles. The PlayStation 2 version was released in North America on October 29, 2001, in Europe on November 23, 2001, and in Japan on December 20, 2001. The Xbox version was released in North America on April 15, 2002, in Europe on April 26, 2002, and in Japan on October 24, 2002. The GameCube version was released in North America on September 17, 2002, in Europe on November 1, 2002, and in Japan on December 4, 2003. It was also one of the launch titles for the Xbox Originals service on December 4, 2007. It is the first Crash platformer to not be developed by Naughty Dog.

The game is the sixth installment in the Crash Bandicoot series. The gameplay follows a very similar pattern to previous titles, par slight alterations in level design and move set (eg. vehicles). Crash can learn all his moves from Warped in addition to a new sneak move, which allows him to sneak over explosive Nitro Crates. Crash's sister, Coco, is also fully playable, and for the first time, has her own set of moves (though learns a more limited number of special attacks compared to Crash). There are many vehicles available, including a 4x4, a plane, and an Aliens-esque robot suit.

Synopsis

Plot

The story begins somewhere outside Earth's orbit, where we see Doctor Neo Cortex's evil space station base. Inside it, Uka Uka adds destructive masks with the power over Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. If they unleashed their destructive energy, they'll have enough power to bring Cortex's secret weapon to life. They would have a weapon capable of crushing mountains, demolishing entire cities, and wiping Crash Bandicoot off the face of the Earth forever.

Back on Earth, strange things begin to happen. Volcanoes are erupting, thunderclouds are forming, and tsunamis are devastating the coastlines. Aku Aku concludes that his evil twin brother Uka Uka is up to his no-good tricks again, and travels into outer space to find out what he is planning. There, he learns that Uka Uka and Doctor Neo Cortex have unleashed the Elementals, and tells Crash Bandicoot and Coco Bandicoot that they must find a way to stop them before they destroy the Earth and all of its inhabitants. He also tells them that the only way to subside their destructive nature is to imprison them with the use of ancient crystals. Each Elemental can be returned to their hibernation state with a total of 5 crystals. So Coco's new Portal Chamber is unveiled. The Portal Chamber is a device that allows the Bandicoots to travel to different parts of the Earth to gather the Crystals needed to halt the Elementals' reign of terror. "It is time to even the odds into our favor," Aku Aku proclaims.

Just before they start off, Cortex shows up via holographic display. He introduces his super weapon, a bandicoot named Crunch, who is more than eager to take on Crash. Cortex states that Crunch is everything Crash wasn't, and leaves telling Crash that "We all make mistakes". With that, Crash and Coco travel the world collecting the Crystals. Uka Uka's patience is already tested with the defeat of Rok-Ko, the Earth Elemental, but Cortex assures that Wa-Wa, the Water Elemental will make sure that Crash doesn't see the light of day. But with Wa-Wa's defeat, Crunch claims that he doesn't need a mask to help him, and that he can exterminate Crash all by himself, but Cortex insists that he and Py-Ro, the Fire Elemental will vanquish Crash and his annoying friends together. Cortex is already fed up with Crash making a mockery out of him and his minions. With Py-Ro defeated, Uka Uka questions the value of Cortex's "superweapon", and Crunch is becoming equally impatient, saying he can take out Crash with his metal arm tied behind his back. But Cortex somehow keeps his cool, telling Crunch not to be so silly, and assures Uka Uka that Crunch will use the Elemental masks, saying there's no need for him to lose any beauty sleep. Things are really getting desperate for Cortex, as he prepares an armada of space stations to strike Earth at one point. But thankfully, they're taken out by Coco. With Lo-Lo, the final Elemental mask defeated, Crunch's Elemental powers reach maximum capacity. The battle takes to Cortex's space station.

In the end, Crunch is defeated, and Uka Uka is prepared to kill Cortex, but in an attempt to blast Cortex with a fireball, he hits a vital part of the space station. All of a sudden, Crunch realizes that Dr. Cortex doesn't have control over him anymore, and decides to give him a piece of his mind, but Aku Aku insists that they escape instead, because Uka Uka's energy blast caused a slight chain reaction, resulting in the space station reaching a critical overload. Cortex believes that it might be wise if they do the same, and make their way to an escape pod. Uka Uka blames Cortex for this, and says that if he hadn't ducked out of the way, none of this would've happened. Crunch and Crash escape through Coco's spaceship. Back on Earth, Crunch thanks Crash, Coco and Aku Aku for believing in him, and if it wasn't for them, he would still be under the control of Doctor Cortex. Coco asks Aku-Aku if this is the last they'll see of Doctor Cortex. He says that that's what he'd like to believe, but somehow, he doubts that very seriously. Meanwhile, somewhere off the coast of Antarctica, Uka Uka is once again mad at Cortex for stranding the two of them "in the middle of nowhere", and proceeds to pursue Cortex around a small island. Cortex yells into the sky: "I'll get my revenge, Crash Bandicoot! Just you wait!"

Characters

Numerous characters from the previous Crash Bandicoot trilogy make an appearance in Wrath of Cortex. Two newcoming characters include Crunch Bandicoot, who would go on to appear in other installments of the series, and the Elementals, who have not made an appearance since this game.

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Development

The Wrath of Cortex went through a large amount of development changes before the final product. The original title was in fact to involve more free-roaming gameplay with large, wide-open areas in comparison to the earlier games' linear gameplay, a setup that would eventually be used in Crash Twinsanity. A more conventional gameplay was ultimately used in fear of messing with the original Crash formula (ironically, the game was criticized for overly similar gameplay aspects). An example of this decision was the scrapped concept of Elemental crates, which would reveal a secret area or unlock a hidden boss when broken. Other cut concepts included Coco following Crash in earlier levels (a la Tails in the Sonic the Hedgehog series), a scene where Coco is kidnapped by a large gorilla and prepared as a sacrifice to a volcano, and increased opportunities to use the jeep.

The game's score was composed by Swallow Studios, made up of Andy Blythe and Marten Joustra. The game's score mostly consists of electronic dance music, most noticeably in the boss battles and the ending credits. A techno remix of the Warped theme is used in the title screen and warp room. Early versions of the game had sound glitches which prevented the music tracks from looping properly.

The Wrath of Cortex is the first Crash game to be released outside a Sony console. Because of its multiplatform release, the quality of each version also varied. The PlayStation 2 version was praised for smooth graphics and shading textures but had significantly long load times which was the game's major complaint. The loading times for entering and exiting a level would run for nearly a full minute. Reviews of the PS2 version commented on the presence of a wumpa fruit minigame that played during load times, but it was removed in the final version due to a copyright infringement. The Greatest Hits/Platinum release had improved loading times. The Xbox version fixes the loading problem with drastically shortened load times (implemented in a somewhat more dynamic loading screen), in addition to enhanced lighting and visible character fur. The Nintendo GameCube version had more or less fixed load times than that of the PS2 version. This version also had GC to GBA connectivity, offering a target shooting game, 'Crash Blast' that can be played on the Game Boy Advance. Additionally, when playing the PS2 version on a PS3, loading times are reduced to around 10 seconds. The Xbox Originals version also significantly improved the loading times.

Reception

Computerandvideogames.com

Game1

GameSpot

Neoseeker

PS2Action

The game was mainly criticized by critics for offering nothing new to the series, featuring linear gameplay almost identical to Warped that didn't push the newer console's power, unlike Naughty Dog's next game Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. The PlayStation 2 version received an aggregate score of 66% on Metacritic, and 70% on GameRankings. Despite these merely average reviews, the game was a slow burner, and went on to sell an estimated 1.7 million copies. Although this didn't quite match the sales of previous Crash Bandicoot titles, it did however make it one of the most commercially successful games of the early 21st century. The lower-than-expected sales of the game were later lampooned in Crash Twinsanity, in which Cortex blames a minion's bounced cheque on the game's sales.

References

1. ^ Deleted features from The Wrath of Cortex. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
2. ^ The PlayStation 2 version of The Wrath of Cortex on Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
3. ^ The PlayStation 2 version of The Wrath of Cortex on GameRankings. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
4. ^ ^{a b} Colin Campbell & Joe Keiser (2006-07-26). The top 100 games of the 21st century. Nextgen.biz. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.

External links

• Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex on GameFAQs.
• Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex on IMDb.