Retro PS1 Gaming - Crash Bash (Crash Bash (PS))

Member Name: monkeywarrior

Product:	Crash Bash (PS)
Date:	08/10/04 (229 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice looking for PS1, Can be good fun, Great party game

Disadvantages: Dated, Single-player no good

I've gotta admit that Crash Bandicoot (the mad marsupial and star of 4 previous games on PS1) is a very productive cash... um... bandicoot... for Sony. They know that whether they publish a good or a bad game, people are gonna buy it because of Crash's reputation.

Branching away from its original platform roots, Crash Bash is primarily a party game, consisting of a variety of little sub games ranging from a weird pinball/football hybrid to simpler challenges which involve climbing in a tank and blasting the poo out of eachother or just lobbing crates at people.

The production team that made this game is not in fact the team that made the previous games. You have to give credit to Eurocom and Cerny for producing a game which looks and feels so much like the previous incarnations.

At the beginning of the game, you are provided with a choice of modes, either a single player adventure or several multiplayer options.

In order to open the later (and more interesting) challenges, you must trudge through the large adventure mode. It consists of five warp rooms, each branching out into 4-6 separate challenges. Each challenge has in itself four different items to be collected - A trophy (for winning the challenge against computer controlled opponents), A gem (for completing the challenge under a strict time limit or something similar), A crystal (which totally changes the objective of the challenge and is thus the most interesting), and a relic (which is gained for defeating the arena champions twice in a row).

The most interesting part of adventure mode is the boss battles, which bring old boss characters like Papu Papu, Nitrous Oxide, Komodo Moe and Komodo Joe back into the limelight. These can be really fun and fulfilling, (exactly what Crash should be). Unfortunately, the rest of adventure mode can be boring, frustrating, and at worst, glaringly unfair.

There are times when you will find yourself soooo unbelievably infuriated by a challenge that you'll come close to plunging your head thru the TV screen. And thats no lie... I have a swollen head and damaged telly to prove it! Nevertheless, the game still somehow succeeds in retaining that 'must have another go' feeling, the impenetrable 'need' to unlock the next challenge.

All of this work is dome to unlock the new challenges for use in the superb multiplayer mode. No messing about with four way split screen or anything, just solid multiplayer full screen fun. And that, in fairness, is what the game is all about.

Good graphics, and great fun in places, this game is only worth buying if you have gallons of patience to pour in or have loads of mates/family to stuff in the multiplayer.

Summary: