Game:

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (2001)

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Duration: 3:17:47

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Originally recorded: November 13, 2022
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It's funny. When I originally nominated this game -- both as a potential entry for my main line-up and eventually as one of these bonus streams -- I whole-heartedly believed this would be some kind of a cosmic sacrifice to get the PC version of Crash 4 (It's About Time) onto Steam. The fact Activision decided to put it out themselves last month... kinda knocked the wind out of my sails. But it is still somewhat interesting to see how the series began the decline that necessitated such a drastic reboot.

My first impressions aren't really good or bad -- just "okay". Honestly, I'd say the best way to describe it is as if someone fed Crash 2 and 3 into one of those AIs that expand songs or videos based on whatever data you gave them and asked it to spit out a sequel. Hearing that Traveller's Tales originally had much more ambitious plans for the fourth Crash Bandicoot game is pretty depressing... especially because I feel like Traveller's Tales is just one of those developers that never really got their chance to show off what they were capable of, generally tasked with bringing ill-conceived ideas to life. And now all they're allowed to make are Lego games. Kind of sad, really.

Either way, I can't really say I'm disappointed with this game. It's essentially a level pack sequel... and if I like the base material, that's generally not a problem for me. I guess the worst aspects of the game I've seen thus far is when the game decides to deviate from what came before. Coco's gameplay is... annoying, honestly. Like, I loved playing as her in the N. Sane Trilogy when she was basically a Crash reskin... and I don't mind secondary characters, but usually when you have multiple playable characters, it's common practice to build stages around their unique abilities and give them advantages compared to their counterparts. Not so with Coco, who just feels like a gimped Crash... with no access to any of the upgrades he collects throughout the game. It feels like playing as her is a punishment... and the fact that I essentially wasted 40 lives trying to get a special gem with her... and still failed... only makes matters worse.

Oh well, at least I managed to beat the first two worlds (and even got a few levels into World 3). I'm hoping I can finish the base run of the game next time, before moving onto prepping for the true ending.

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