Microsoft
Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant
By Euric Fuselier
Dec 4, 2008, 7 :01 am

The Crash Bandicoot series has had a long journey. Originally developed by Naughty Dog for the first PlayStation, the first game spawned Sony’s mid- to late-90s mascot, Crash. The bandicoot starred in memorable advertisements, brazenly flaunting his attitude and 3D graphics in front of Nintendo’s headquarters. His star lost a bit of its shine though, as the years went on and Naughty Dog moved on to new endeavors. The series has since branched out from the Sony camp, with Mind Over Mutant being the second in the franchise to make its way to the 360.

Something is afoot on the Wumpa islands. Doctor Neo Cortex and Doctor Nitrus Brio have invented a device that puts its users under their control. Ahhh! Crash’s sister Coco and friend Crunch are turned into crazed beasts once they fall under the spell of the new device. It all ends well, of course, with Coco eventually joining in to help Crash. A second player can control her or Crash’s floating tiki mask pal Aku Aku, though the multiplayer is pretty negligible with a few puzzles and tethered combat. That’s just the beginning, however, as the two doctors are sending the devices out to all of the inhabitants of the islands.

There are trials abound for the heroes. The mutants from Crash of the Titans are now free, and they are equally susceptible to the device. Crash can again hijack the mutants and use their powers. Two mutants can be held – one in use and one in reserve – but he also substitutes for one, meaning that using two mutants negates Crash and his abilities. If you ever find yourself needing Crash’s powers, be it for digging underground or an attack, then jumping off the mutant will cause them give a quick salute and parish. The mutants range from beasts that sneeze water-freezing ice to others with telekinetic abilities. The powers come in handy to solve puzzles, such as stacking blocks to access switches and crossing lakes. There are quite a few mutants, and their abilities add some much needed variety to the otherwise standard platforming.

For the first few hours, I thought I was playing through another Spider-Man: Friend or Foe: a game with a design towards the younger gamer but still enjoyable by older ones as well. The graphics are adequately vibrant, animations exaggerated, and the creatures are large and monstrous without being scary. The cutscenes feature various styles of animation and are largely excellent, with the humor for an older crowed and action for the younger. Initially, the game is pretty easy. But eventually one of the game’s two main problems starts to bring things down: the fixed camera. During the earlier stages, the camera can be a hassle, but an auto grab feature for ledges and Crash’s ability to run alongside walls helps to even things out. It’s when the stages start to become more involved that the problems appear. It becomes very difficult to gauge depth and distance, the result being reoccurring plummets of doom. It turns out that death really isn’t a big deal; the earned multiplier, which adds additional orbs to a characters (Crash or mutant) store, is removed. After a set amount of orbs has been accumulated, new abilities and upgrades are unlocked, but since the orbs are all over the place it isn’t a serious punishment to lose the multiplier. The camera then really becomes egregious when the second of Mind over Mutant’s problems comes about: backtracking.

Mind over Mutant is much more open than the previous titles, with Crash’s house and immediate area acting as a hub for the other levels. The other islands and their various side paths are accessible by small paths on both sides and upper part of the screen. Each island has a fairly standard theme for a little diversity – ice, desert, a high school, etc. After a few hours what was fun quickly became tedious as I was going back over the same areas over and over again. Backtracking might not be boring for some, but what will certainly be a problem is that the fixed camera’s original position is set for Crash going forward, not backward. This makes it very difficult to get any sort of bearings, as most of the visual cues aren’t shown on-screen. Far too many jumps become leaps of faith. The awkward setup will make it too frustrating for most younger gamers. Older gamers will find it just as irritating, but the rest of the game holds even less appeal for them.

The only thing geared towards the older crowd is the humor. There are some genuinely funny moments, but more often than not the punchlines are strained and often dated. The most annoying “humorous” aspect is without a doubt the Jerry Lewis-esque delivery that the grunts give. Take Jerry Lewis, multiply him a hundred times over, and now place a handful of those hundred in intervals of ten feet. It’s borderline torture.

When not backtracking and cursing the camera, the game does have its charms. The mutant abilities are fun to mess around with, and the design – going forward at least – is okay. The powers lend themselves to some interesting situations, such rolling through a course like a pinball. There is really just enough here to let you know that there’s a decent design hidden under some very poor decisions.

Overall: 5.5/10