On A Crash Course (Crash Nitro Kart (PS2))

Member Name: tom1clare

Product:	Crash Nitro Kart (PS2)
Date:	28/08/08 (175 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun, nice tracks, good visuals, great multiplayer

Disadvantages: Unforgiving, overly difficult extra modes, Crystal Arenas are poor, ineffectual weaponry

Crash Bandicoot's second outing on the PlayStation2 was, perhaps surprisingly, a sequel to the cult PSOne kart racer Crash Team Racing. The first instalment of the series to come on a DVD, Nitro Kart doesn't make any notable technical advances, but will doubtless please fans of the original as it follows the same formula so closely.

And that means all the things you loved (or conversely, hated) about CTR are recreated here, almost to a fault. Essentially a Mario Kart clone and released in 2003, Crash Nitro Kart (CNK) sees the player competing in races against seven competitors across a number of themed courses, with power-ups and turbo strips galore.

The main adventure reprises the rather unnecessary format of having you drive around a number of hub-like areas in which you can activate the desired race/challenge you wish to enter. There are four worlds, each comprising of three races and a boss to finish, as well as a number of sub-challenges that become available upon defeating said boss. The simple race format is where CNK is undoubtedly at its most playable; the relatively leisurely pace of the game is matched well with the tracks thanks to their intelligent layout, and the solid handling ensures little can go wrong at the core. At its best, when played with friends along with a full field of competitive A.I. opponents, Nitro Kart is terrific fun.

However (and it feels like a criticism that applies to rather too many Crash Bandicoot games), the main bulk of the experience is tainted by a mercilessly high difficulty level. The CNK Challenge is the first offender - a good idea in theory as it sees you having to collect three letters placed in obscure, out of the way or hard to reach places, but things are made unnecessarily problematic with the further requirement that you must simultaneously win the race you are a tackling. And that's the easiest extra mode.

The Crystal Arenas dictate that you must collect twenty crystals in order to win a CNK token, though manoeuvring at low(er) speeds feels cumbersome and thanks to the tight time-limits, quickly becomes a chore. These arenas can be customised and used in for multiplayer purposes, but in provide no enjoyment whatsoever. The Relic Race (a mode those familiar with the platform games will no doubt remember) sees you racing a time-trial whilst smashing crates with a value of between one and three seconds each to save time. Though important to the players chances of success, more often than not you are challenged to go way off the racing line and end up losing more time than the crates recover. Achieving the time required for the bog-standard Sapphire relic is tough and demands a fair bit of practice, whilst Gold is harder still and Platinum little short of impossible. Too often you have to drive to a near-perfect level and still rely on a degree of luck for results, not helped by the rather gutless weapon power-ups - the 'Tornado' for instance often isn't quick enough to even catch your opponents let alone wipe them out.

The feeling that CNK isn't rewarding your efforts stretches right to the end of the game where, upon defeating the immensely tough Galaxy Championship boss, you are given nothing save a bleak promise of a re-race once you've acquired all of the time relics. So in most peoples cases, never. Though there are a fair number of unlockable characters, most require that you complete CNK Challenges across all worlds and then win championship races - another thankless task.

If you're prepared to grit you teeth though, it still has the makings of a decent, playable kart racer. The tracks offer diversity both in terms of their look and the hazards they present. There are numerous short-cuts waiting to be exploited, carrying a degree of risk and reward that you would expect of such a game. It also makes good use of the hop and slide functions brought about by the L1 and R1 buttons; as doing so at the right moments can grant your kart a small increase in power and can be used to create combination boosts with practice.

Nitro Kart looks really good. The chunky, colourful characters are complemented perfectly by race tracks that offer countless aesthetic highlights. The track 'Out of Time' is dominated by a zany clock face that spins schizophrenically over a shiny, reflective race surface, whilst the cartoon canyons add weight to the feeling that the scenario could have been ripped straight from a Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner cartoon (albeit in 3D). Elsewhere, the early tracks set on 'Terra' serve as a reminder of the eye-popping vibrancy that was a feature of the early Crash Bandicoot games. Towards the end, the retro-future tracks prove endearingly kitsch in their styling and yet still carry off some impressive technical tricks, culminating in the 'Hyper Speedway' finale with its enormous jumps and warp gates. Aside from the rather soulless Arenas, the quality of the tracks remains at an excellent standard from start to finish, with almost all offering their own unique feature and challenge.

And the music isn't bad either, with the opening menu theme proving the pick of the bunch. The incessant loopyness of the tunes is tailor-made to fit the subject matter, though it may start to test the patience after a while. Voice-acting is cute and in a nice twist, the player can tackle the game as either the Crash or his nemesis Neo Cortex, offering up different FMV's after defeating each boss with some enjoyable, light-hearted banter - though it should be noted that the game remains more or less the same regardless of who you choose to play as.

The one-player mode will last awhile but will test the patience of all but the most seasoned of gamers. The multiplayer setups however add quite a bit of lifespan to the game, with four race tournaments proving especially good fun; it's just a shame that the number of tracks is limited, and that the only form of track customisation open to the player involves the Battle Arenas, which in every sense of the word, are rubbish.

Ultimately, Crash Nitro Kart is a well-designed and playable racing game with the potential for a fair bit of gameplay, though disappointingly it seems new developers Vicarious Visions have failed to learn any lessons from Crash's first kart outing. The great multiplayer setup makes it a worthy purchase for those with a multitap, but for those looking for a strong single player experience; its punishing nature might prove a turn-off.

Summary: Deja Vu as Crash hits the same highs and lows as 4 years earlier.