Balance and superb design keep this racing game fresh!
CTR: Crash Team Racing is known as the last Crash Bandicoot game to be developed by Naughty Dog, the original developers of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. CTR may be a "Mario Kart clone," but it does a good job at what it does.
There are many different tracks to race on in this game. The locations vary from beaches, underwater tunnels, sewers, castles, the arctic, the sky, outer space, etc. The wide selection of tracks keeps the game interesting, as each one is well designed. Some tracks even have hidden shortcuts to find.
As this game was inspired by Mario Kart, there are powerups scattered around the tracks. The racer slams through a crate and an item is randomly selected for him or her. The powerups range from seeker missiles, cannon balls, speed boosts, shields, traps, etc. The powerup that a racer receives is determined by what place he or she is currently in during the race. For example, if one is in 1st place, then that player will receive a trap to set for the racers behind him or her. I've found that this system keeps the game balanced and fair.
The game also incorparates a wide selection of characters to play as. Each character has origins from a previous Crash Bandicoot game, so fans will be familiar with each one. Each character also has unique traits for racing. Some characters excell at speed but fail at handling turns well; while some are well balanced at speed and handling, but do not excell at anything in particular. Again, this creates fairness in the game's difficulty levels. There are also hidden characters to unlock, most of which are bosses from the other Crash Bandicoot games.
This racing game does something that most of the other games in the genre do not do; it features a story mode. Players can choose to play though an adventure to save the world from a competitve driving-obssessed space alien. The Adventure has players racing to collect 1st place trophies. Once enough trophies are collected, they get the opportunity to race against a "boss" character in order to advance to the next chapter of the story. The final race against Nitrous Oxide, the alien, is a tough one; but it provides a very satisfying ending. Throughout the adventure, there are other items (besides trophies) to win. This extends the replay value of this mode as it caters to completionists.
What racing game would be complete without a multiplayer mode? The multiplayer is fun in this game. The game can support up to 4 human players at once. This makes it great for parties and hang-outs with friends. Players will race against their friends and the computer. A Battle mode is also included. That mode was most likely inspired by the Twisted Metal series of games, as it has players fighting other players using the previously mentioned powerups from the races as weapons.
Overall, CTR: Crash Team Racing does what it does extremely well. It does things that most other games of its genre don't do, and it manages to stay fresh over the years. The racing feels enjoyable, and it never seems to get boring because the competition is constant. It's a great game to play among friends.Read full review
