Crash Twinsanity PS2 Review

Crash Twinsanity is a bit of a departure for a series that hasn’t seen much changes over its myriad of games. Not only is it fully 3D for the first time (the other games were semi 3D) but Crash has also teamed up with his worst enemy: Neo Cortex to take on a more powerful enemy.

Don’t get us wrong this is still very much a Crash game. You still munch apples, pick up masks for protection and spin the hell out of enemies. But the pairing of Cortex and Bandicoot has made for some interesting gameplay changes as well as some comical moments, which for instance has the two rolling down a hill partaking in a comedy punchout. It’s certainly the funniest Crash game yet, which probably has something to do with Ren and Stimpy collaborator: Jordan Reichek’s involvement in the script of the game.

But Crash’s and Cortex’s union isn’t just there for the amusement factor, as it actually affects the gameplay. Not only does Crash use Cortex as a makeshift weapon, but he can also toss his arch enemy over gaping holes, which are otherwise impossible to leap over, where Cortex can perhaps press a switch to allow Crash to safely get across the hole. It gives Twinsanity a refreshing feeling over any of the other Crash games, which is to be commended, when popular opinion was that the series was becoming rather stale over time.

It may be the freshest Crash in years, but it’s also the most frustrating of the bunch too. Around every corner, there’s a tricky jump to make or a trap to avoid, which gives the game a 16-bit like feeling of frustration. As wonderful as Jak and Ratchet games may be, the fact is they simply aren’t platformers – at least in the true sense of the word – and are actually more akin to an action adventure due to their deficiency of jumping about moments, which Twinsanity still retains and does well, even though there is sometimes some ludicrously difficult sections, which will have all but the most ardent of platform fans tossing their pads in sheer frustration.

Crash: Twinsanity has revitalized the crash series with its whiplash style dual character mechanic as well as the fact that the game is now fully 3D. But it’s still not as good as a Jak or Ratchet game, but this to be fair is a difficult task and the game is unfortunately not without its problems. The game suffers from some horrendous camera problems and the aforementioned frustration factor could put some off. Twinsanity we feel is still however solid enough to have platform fans err…jumping around with joy.

7/10