Crash Bandicoot has been around dating back to the Playstation 1 era and since then has become an annual franchise for Activision. This year’s adventure is sub titled “Mind Over Mutant” and Crash is once again trying to stop Cortex from taking over the world. This time around Cortex has developed a mind control device that he is marketing as a must have item. To insure that everyone has it he sends one to everyone through the mail. After the device starts manipulating people, including your friends, you then have to find a way to break the spell, so to speak. It is with that premise that Crash begins his adventure. It is also where you quickly see some of the faults of this title.

First of all is the camera. You can not control it at all. This becomes a real problem since you will have to do some backtracking in the game and with the camera zoomed in so tight it can be tough to see if you are heading in the right direction. There were many times when I had difficulty deciding whether I was heading in the right direction or it was somewhere I had already been. The map that is in the game didn’t really help matters either. It was just a basic overview of the world and while it told you where your destination was it didn’t necessarily tell you how to get there.

The controls for this game however are pretty good. Crash has a melee attack where we can run up to an enemy and thrash them. There is also a power button where you can hold it down to charge up an attack. Crash can also double jump and do the basic things that a character in a platformer should be able to do. One interesting gameplay mechanic is that Crash can also use some mind control on his opponents. As he takes down some larger opponents he can jump on their back and control them. There is one mutant who can freeze water, which comes in handy when you are on an island. There is another one that will allow you to shoot electricity from your hand and many other mutants like that. It can add a different dimension to the gameplay and is definitely needed to solve some of the environmental puzzles. There is also a co op mode where a friend can play as Crash’s sister, Coco.

If you are a parent looking for a title for your child, then I would definitely say to give this one a try. It has a vibrant, cartoon like appearance that many kids should appreciate. It’s also simple where they should be able to enjoy it as they progress through the adventure. Anyone else though will most likely be bored quickly. The backtracking is annoying and the adventure is really short. It would probably go a long way if you could control the camera, so hopefully you will be able to do that in future Crash titles. Some of the load times can also be annoying as well. It will be interesting to see if they improve any once Microsoft launches the new Xbox Live. If you were a fan of the previous title, Crash of the Titans, then you will most likely enjoy this one as well. If you didn’t like it, however, you probably won’t enjoy this title either.

Score: 7/10

Originally posted on Totally Gaming Network