The first Crash Bandicoot game, while blooming with strong theming and colorful characters, hasn't really aged all that well by today's standards. Fortunately, though, that isn't the case for Cortex Strikes Back.
From the very first second I controlled Crash, I could already feel the improvements made with the controls. No longer did it feel unpredictable and floaty, instead everything felt natural and smooth, made even better with the addition of new movesets that makes platforming such a delight.
They've even included an actual story to the game with proper cutscenes, providing further incentives for playing. Although I didn't quite like how Crash would follow the orders of Cortex, considering he's a major villain. I get that Crash is supposed to be an idiot but still, I really wish it could have gone in a different direction.
However, what I think the game did best the most was removing the punishing difficulty of the first game. Instead, this is just a fun 3D platformer that offers a variety of levels to play in.
But of course, it is still far from being a perfect sequel, as they've also removed the strong theming of its predecessor. There's no longer an island that connects each of the levels with each other, instead, they are now all independent, with only a small hub area linking them with each other. This does result in them feeling a bit disjointed but it also provides variety, so it isn't exactly all that terrible.
I never expected myself to enjoy Cortex Strikes Back, considering how miserable my experience was with the first game. But if the third entry in the trilogy takes the same approach as this, consider me excited.
From the very first second I controlled Crash, I could already feel the improvements made with the controls. No longer did it feel unpredictable and floaty, instead everything felt natural and smooth, made even better with the addition of new movesets that makes platforming such a delight.
They've even included an actual story to the game with proper cutscenes, providing further incentives for playing. Although I didn't quite like how Crash would follow the orders of Cortex, considering he's a major villain. I get that Crash is supposed to be an idiot but still, I really wish it could have gone in a different direction.
However, what I think the game did best the most was removing the punishing difficulty of the first game. Instead, this is just a fun 3D platformer that offers a variety of levels to play in.
But of course, it is still far from being a perfect sequel, as they've also removed the strong theming of its predecessor. There's no longer an island that connects each of the levels with each other, instead, they are now all independent, with only a small hub area linking them with each other. This does result in them feeling a bit disjointed but it also provides variety, so it isn't exactly all that terrible.
I never expected myself to enjoy Cortex Strikes Back, considering how miserable my experience was with the first game. But if the third entry in the trilogy takes the same approach as this, consider me excited.