Crash of the titans is a step in the right direction, but the franchise still has a long way to go.
The Good: Colorful art style – Charming characters – Best game in the series in five years
The Bad: Not enough variety in gameplay and it can get repetitive – Not enough use of the Wii remote
________
If you owned a Psone you probably have some good memories of Crash Bandicoot, this character was the star in some of the best and funniest games of that generation including Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped and Crash Team Racing, which still is to this day the best Mario Kart rip-off. But then the rights of the series were sold to Universal games and the series went downhill after that, the character appeared in many mediocre platformers last generation. But now Radical Entertainment took over the series and it has done a decent platformer that while is more playable than the previous ones it still doesn't match the quality of the PS originals.
The story of Crash of the Titans is quite simple, Dr. Neo Cortex, Crash's nemesis kidnaps his sister Coco and his mentor Aku Aku and it's up to Crash to save them; that's about it. There are no plot twist or epic enemies, yet there are many funny moments in the story, that are pretty clique but still provide some good laughs.
When it comes to gameplay, Crash of the Titans is very straightforward and very combat oriented. You walk on a linear path defeating enemies until you reach the end of the level, there's a bit of platforming to do here but it's not challenging at all. This may sound boring but it can be fun, especially if you're a fan of the early titles. You can also play with a friend, who will take control of another Crash in a different color; the co-op mode is the best thing about the game. Yet there are some weird design choices, for example when you're in one of the hoverboard sequences your partner will not have his own hoverboard, instead he'll be in your backpack and won't be able to play until the sequence is over, though this is disappointing if you're the one who doesn't reach the hoverboard in time it can lead to some competition.
The main gameplay conceit here is the ability to jack monsters, which adds a bit (though not much) of variety to the gameplay. From time to time a monster will appear and to jack him you only have to hit him four consecutive times and jump on his back, then you will have the ability to ride him, each monster is unique but they all control the same way. The only time you'll use the motion controls of the Wiimote is to perform the monster's special attacks and that's a disappointment.
The graphics are just right for this kind of game, they're not mind blowing or very detailed but the worlds are colourful and the textures and lighting are well done, the character animations are also good. Much like the graphics the music is also decent, yet not great, but the voice acting is fantastic and make the characters more charming and funny.
There's not much in Crash of the Titans, you can easily beat the game in about six to eight hours depending on the difficulty setting and there's little reason to comeback for more. That's not to say this is a bad game at all and you should at least give it a rental if you're a fan of the genre, but there are many other great platformers on the Wii right now. All in all this game is good and will restore the faith in the fans of the franchise, but it won't give you much a thrill if you're looking for some Mario Galaxy-quality platforming.