October 16, 2007 - Oh Crash Bandicoot, you were never popular enough to hang around with the cool kids like Mario and Sonic, and yet you've still avoided that depressing mascot retirement home where the likes of Aero the Acrobat and Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel reside (look them up if you have no idea who I'm talking about). However, as spotty as some of Crash's adventures have been in the past, there is still something likeable about the slightly deranged marsupial. Maybe it's because he looks like he stuck his finger in an electrical socket while biting into a lemon. Yeah, that might be it.

Nonetheless, the unfortunately-named Crash of the Titans sees Crash return to his platforming roots: no kart racing or party-games are to be found, thank goodness. Instead, the hook of the game is the ability to take control of (or "jack") some of the larger enemies in the game, and use them to rain destruction on the baddies. Now let me tell you something: I don't care who you are or what you do, but mind-controlling a giant monster and smashing things into tiny bits is fun. It's a universal truth. However, there are still some pretty large issues that keep this game from being the definitive Bandicoot return.

First of all, let's talk graphics. Sporting a brand new art design that's probably aimed at younger kids who've never heard of Crash before, Crash of the Titans is not a bad looking game in the least. All versions have pretty sharp character models that are well animated. While the PS2 version isn't quite as crisp as the others, but it's still respectable. The backgrounds have a clean, cartoony look to them (almost like a pop-up storybook), but some muddy textures drag them down. It's somewhat weird: the backgrounds are pretty varied, but there's still a blandness to them. There's usually some impressive focal point to the level (like a big temple in the background that keeps getting closer as you progress), but the road to these set pieces are pretty boring. There's also some screen tearing and a few framerate issues, but nothing too bad. The graphics get the job done and the entire game looks like a Saturday morning cartoon. That's sure to please the kiddies.

In terms of presentation, the kooky humor of Crash and his gang is still there. The smaller minions actually say some pretty funny, if not dated, things (yay for Chuck Norris and l33t jokes … I guess). The main story doesn't pretend to be anything it's not, but at the same time you get the feeling that the writers are trying a wee bit too hard. Especially when one level is called "Don't Eat the Yellow Brick Load." Yeesh.

For the most part, the game is as linear as past Crash games. In fact, it's probably more so-- since the game is all about jacking mutants, combat is emphasized over everything else. So a typical level will be like this: run forward and punch normal guys, find a monster, jack said monster, use the monster to kill other monsters in a large circular arena, and then continue in a straight line. There really is no variation throughout the entire game, and that's where Crash starts to suffer. There aren't any real puzzles that go beyond the standard "shoot the target to open a door" sequences, and most of the unlockables or special items can be found just floating in plain sight: there's not much exploration at all.

However, repetition in a brawler isn't so bad if the actual gameplay is rock solid. Too bad that's not the case. Basic combat is easy enough: hit square multiple times to do a simple combo or you can hold triangle down to do a charged attack. More moves can be automatically unlocked by collecting "Mojo" orbs, and you can do things like have Crash spin like a top or do headbutts and the like. But you don't care about this, you're reading to know about the monsters you can control.