Crash's distinct style is pretty much non-existant in this game and makes it a generic hack-and-slash
User Rating: 5 | Crash of the Titans X360
Crash Bandicoot was a brilliant platforming series and had a very distinctive style. In a Crash Bandicoot game, you expect lots of crates to smash, secret gems and lots of Wumpa fruit to collect, and lots enemies to kills by spin attacks or a well-timed jump. All this is virtually non existent in this game which is strange given that the DS version was close to the usual Crash formula. In this version, the levels are very linear and there are no secret areas and the stripped-down, simplistic nature means that it's quite hard to call it a platforming game; it's more of a hack and slash game. The combat mechanic sees Crash taking on a small mutant until he stuns it, in which case he can jump on it and take control in a concept known as 'jacking'. Once the mutant is jacked, he can use this to attack and take on stronger mutants and work his way up the hierarchy. Usually the game helps you out by only spawning weaker monsters, and as soon as you jack one; stronger ones appear. Also, once you engage a mutant in combat, the other ones tend to back off which is necessary given that the mutants can usually take Crash's health down rapidly. However, they don't always back off which means throughout the game, you will suffer cheap deaths time and time again. Annoyingly, when you run out of lives, you have to restart the level with only 3. Extra lives can be earned by collecting mojo which also unlocks stronger combo moves and a larger health bar. On the DS version, you could choose what perk to upgrade, but you do not have a choice on this version. There are 20 levels in total and I found that the game didn't capture my attention enough to do more than 3 levels without a break, and the game was completed within 5 days. On a positive note, the game has good humorous dialogue, although Crash fails to show even a hint of intelligence. If the game was more similar to the DS version, you would have been in for a treat, but the game feels like a waste of potential and was a large disappointment
