Reviewed: October 19, 2008
Reviewed by: Brian Wylie
Publisher
Activision
Developer
Radical Entertainment
Released: October 7, 2008
Genre: Platformer
Players: 1
7
7
10
6
7.6
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Their back!!!!! No there is no poltergeist here; it is your favorite bandicoots of all time!! It is time to take control of Crash Bandicoot and help save the day yet again in Crash: Mind Over Mutant. Dr. Cortex and his Evil Mojo are back, but this time they have a new friend that is going to help them take over the world, Embryo.
Dr. Cortex has created, or in the world of Embryo “stolen”, a new device. This device is called the ENVY. The Envy is a headset that allows you to search the web and text anyone anytime. The best part about the Envy is that it is free. What every unsuspecting recipient doesn’t know is that the disguised Dr. Cortex is going to use these headsets to create all its wearers to turn into Mutants and help him take over the world. So know it is up to you to help Crash and save the world from Dr. Cortex and his new mutant army.
I have to admit that after playing the last Crash game, Crash of the Titans. I wasn’t all that impressed with the controls for the Wii system. Not in this game though. There is a complete remodeling of the controls and the sensor picks up your movements so much better. When you are dealing with Crash not a lot has changed, just subtle changes here and there. Where you are going to see the most change is with the combos you can use.
Some examples are the when you need to jump really high you must first shake the remote to spin into your famous helicopter attack and then hit the A button to jump. Another cool feature that was added in this game for Crash is his digging. There are holes in the terrain that have smoke coming up out of them. While you are playing as Crash, get on top of this mound and shake the remote and you will spin underground. While you are underground you must dig around to find mojo and other things. To dig underground you need to press the A or B button.
Another cool new feature with Crash is his ability to hang onto ledges and move around. When you want to get down from a ledge you can press the Z button and you will drop. Other than using the B button for attacks there is nothing different from the old game and this one. But you will have to play to find out all the cool new combos you can perform to take out enemies.
Just like Crash of the Titans, Crash has the ability to take control of defeated monsters throughout the game. The best part about this is that you can now pocket the monsters instead of leaving them to disappear. Also, in this version of Crash you can jump as well as attack with your newfound helper. The controls have changed so much from Titans that you will find that you want to play as the monsters more than before. They are faster moving than the older version and they have combos that are upgradable.
That's right, you can upgrade your monsters to give them ridiculous powers. They have special moves and combos that can inflect major damage. One example is with the first monster that you pick up. By raising the remote you get him to perform a freeze attack that sends waves to enemies and freezes them to make for an easier target. In your first of 5 possible upgrades you receive the ability to send out multiple waves. If you find that you have a body of water in your way that is no problem either. Just raise the nunchuck and you will sneeze the water frozen so you can run across or jump it.
When dealing with upgrades you have to pay attention to which character you are playing as. If you are playing as Crash all you mojo you collect with go to his upgrades. If you play as the monster your mojo goes to him. As I said before, you can upgrade your monster 5 times. With Crash you have 32 upgrades. Some of these upgrades deal with jumping, strength, and longer spins. Unfortunately you do not get to choose which on you want to upgrade first, they are just awarded.
The biggest problems I have with this game, which one isn’t that big of a problem, is that there is no co-op mode on the game and the camera angles. Nowhere while setting up a game with both of my controllers on did I see a spot for a co-op. I personally wouldn’t want to play this game with another if it is going to be anything like playing with one in Crash of the Titans. Too much waiting and you are forced to have a lot of patience.
Now lets talk about a big issue with this game. The camera angles are horrible. Some spots you have to jump across thing to areas you can’t see, others you have to jump and get things but you are behind them forcing you to backtrack. It just got annoying with some of the things that you shouldn’t have to worry about.
This score is based solely on the fact that I know that the Wii isn’t made to have ultimate real to life graphics. This score is based on the fact that while moving throughout the levels there are no major glitches anywhere. Movement is smooth and flawless. You see every color during every move and nothing ever disappears unexpectedly.
However, it is hard to play this game after playing my PS3 for so long. The jagged lines around most of the characters bothered me and on a bigger television it really shows. There are a lot of blind walls that just show up out of nowhere and keep you from exploring open level design in some areas of the game. Finally, the cut scenes jump around too much. You have cartoon drawings to animated to black and white drawings; I wish they had stuck with one or the other.
Sound was perfect. You have great background theme music that really makes you feel like you were in certain situations. The happy go lucky for just strolling around and finding mojo, to the uptight get the blood flowing for those big boss fights. And you have great voice acting and the voices are perfect just like in games past. You have great comedic lines not only in the cut scenes but also during game play.
The sound effects are limited but are not delayed and fit the action. You hear the grunting from Crash striking a blow, or a grunt from the monster he rides on. You hear the enemies moan when they get hit and die. You hear the leaves swish as you strike them to get hidden mojo, you hear boxes explode, and you hear all the effort given to make jumps and spins.
If you are in the younger crowd you might find this to be a lower score than you think. I found the game to be a little repetitive and close to the same story line as every other Crash game out there. Don’t get me wrong. I really did like the game and so will Crash fans, all I am saying is that you have to backtrack more than usual for a Crash game and it made me want to play some other games. You have a great length to the game, but I have a gut feeling that some people are going to find a new game that is coming out rising up their priority list of games to play.
This is one of the best Crash games that I have played in a long time, maybe the best ever. It certainly needs to be in consideration with the very first Crash game. I had a lot of fun playing this game when I wasn’t backtracking. I love the new combos and I love the handles of Wii. That is right, I said it. I actually found that this game doesn’t have a problem with the handles on the Wii. You will execute about 90% of your desired moves. That really helps in a lot of the boss fights.
So if you are a Crash Bandicoot fan who happens to own a Wii this is a must have game. But if you are just looking for a great new game to play, this would be a good, but not great, addition to your video game collection.