Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (Part 1) - PlayStation 2 Gameplay (2K 60fps)
0After the events of Crash Bandicoot: Warped, somewhere outside of Earth's orbit, Uka Uka holds a "bad guy convention" in a new space station that currently acts as the base for Doctor Neo Cortex and his minions N. Gin, Nefarious Tropy, Tiny Tiger and Dingodile. Uka Uka denounces the group as "imbeciles, fools," and "nincompoops" and questions their ability to do anything right. Unveiling a line graph moving heavily downward, Uka Uka announces that the group's track record for spreading evil is "pathetic." Doctor Cortex proclaims their innocence and that Crash Bandicoot is really at fault. Irritated, Uka Uka declares that he will not let anything stand in the way of evil, especially not a "brainless orange marsupial." He concludes that Crash must be eliminated. As he speaks, Tiny attempts to clutch a hologram of Crash Bandicoot that has appeared over the middle of the table, only to have it disappear in his hand. Doctor N. Gin nervously reminds Uka Uka that Crash always finds a way to defeat them and contemplates that perhaps Crash is merely too capable for them. However, Uka Uka at this point will not take excuses and threatens the group into thinking of one good plan on the spot. As Doctor Cortex disgustedly laments his situation, Doctor Nefarious Tropy recalls a secret weapon Cortex has been working on in his laboratory. Although Cortex denies anything of that sort, Doctor N. Gin does not catch on and reminds Cortex that Tropy is referring to the super-secret weapon Cortex was laboring over day and night since the last time Crash defeated him, ignoring all of Cortex's non-vocal attempts to tell him to keep quiet on the subject. Uka Uka impatiently ends the discussion and asks the group what they have planned. With no choice at hand, Cortex decides to reveal the existence of his genetically-engineered weapon, which he claims possesses unbelievable strength. However he reports that the weapon is missing a power source. In a scene only present in the instruction manual for the game, Uka Uka tells the group a story about a battle that happened thousands of years ago between the Ancient Ancestors and the Elementals, a group of renegade masks who controlled the natural elements of earth, water, fire and air and used their powers to ravage the globe. The Ancient Ancestors were able to imprison the Elementals through the use of the Crystals, putting the Elementals in a state of hibernation. Cortex deduces that if they unleash the Elementals' destructive energy, they'd have enough power to bring the secret weapon to life. The weapon would be capable of crushing mountains, demolishing entire cities and, as Uka Uka hopes, wiping Crash Bandicoot off the face of the Earth forever. Cortex laughs sinisterly as he prepares for Crash Bandicoot to face his wrath.
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is a platform game in which the player controls Crash and his younger sister Coco, who must gather 25 crystals and defeat the main antagonists of the story: Doctor Neo Cortex, his new superweapon Crunch Bandicoot and Crunch's power sources, the renegade Elementals. Much of the game takes place in a "Virtual Reality (VR) Hub System" created by Coco to help Crash gather the crystals.
The VR Hub System is split up into five "VR Hubs"; initially, only the first VR Hub is available. Each VR Hub has five teleportation portals to different levels. The goal in each level is to find and obtain the Crystal hidden in the area. In some levels, the Crystal will be located at the end of a level or must be earned by completing a specific challenge. After completing all five levels in a VR Hub, a sixth teleportation portal to a boss level with Crunch will appear. By defeating the boss, the next VR Hub will become available for play. When all 25 Crystals are collected and Doctor Cortex and Crunch are defeated, the game is won.
Crash and Coco start the game with four lives. They lose a life when they are hit by an enemy, or suffer any other type of damage. More lives can be earned by instructing Crash or Coco to collect 100 Wumpa Fruit, or by breaking open a special crate to collect a life. Crash and Coco can be shielded from an enemy attack by collecting an Aku Aku mask. Collecting three of these masks allows temporary invulnerability from all minor dangers such as enemies and Nitro Crates. If Crash or Coco run out of lives, the game is over. However, the game can be continued by selecting "Yes" at the "Continue?" screen.