Crash Bandicoot HD

Crash Bandicoot HD published on PS4 is a major remake of the first instalment of the legendary Crash Bandicoot series. The franchise is created by Naughty Dog, the studio known for series like Uncharted, Jak and Daxter, and The Last of Us. The bandicoot named Crash is the series’ main protagonist. The titles were firstly released on PlayStation and PlayStation 2, and for a period of time served as the flagship products of both platforms. Crash Bandicoot from 1996 was one of the first platform productions that made use of full 3D visuals. The new version of the game is developed by American studio Vicarious Vision that in 2011 focused exclusively on improving the Skylanders series.

Plot

The action takes place on the fictional Wumpa Islands situated near Australia. The archipelago serves as a test area for doctor Neo Cortex who conducts experiments with a special laser which transforms animals into intelligent humanoid hybrids. The mad scientist plans to raise an army of those obedient creatures and to invade the world. However, Crash – one of Cortex’s unfortunate victims – stands in his way. The brave bandicoot decides to fight him and his minions, and to free the animal hostages.

Mechanics

Crash Bandicoot HD is a classic 3D platform game. Still, as the original version was one of the first of its kind, completely-remastered visuals and a brand new engine do not cover the title’s roots completely, which can be seen in the untouched gameplay model. Players cannot control the camera directly – it follows Crash in a pre-defined manner. Moreover, given the modern standards, most of the locations are extremely linear. Also, in some of them the camera switches to the 2.5D perspective.

During gameplay, Crash goes through different levels which represent different places of the Wumpa Islands. The protagonist faces not only dangerous traps, but also enemies that can be beaten with the spin attack or, simply, by jumping on their heads. The number of the protagonist’s lives is limited and if you lose all of them, you will have to start the level from the beginning or from a checkpoint. Chests scattered around the locations contain different kinds of secrets and power-ups, such as Aku Aku mask that grants time-limited invincibility, or special crystals which unlock a level’s completion.

Technical aspects

Drawing inspiration from Naughty Dog’s original concepts, models, and projects, the developers of the remake recreated the original title virtually from the scratch. Apart from new graphics, the authors introduced improvements to gameplay and the interface. The title also features a new soundtrack and cut-scenes.

Last updated on January 16, 2017