Crash Twinsanity - Australian Review (Reviews)

Chris Stead, GamePro Australia

07/12/2004 11:18:34

For gamers who grew up on the stylistic adventures of Mr. Bandicoot, the series may not have evolved with your (theoretical) maturity. But for the younger generation, it has remained the perfect blend of adventure gaming, humour and good vs. evil heroics. With Twinsanity, developers have rocked the boat, teaming arch enemies Dr. Neo Cortex and Crash in a battle to save their island from some marauding inter-dimensional ETs - kind of a 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' scenario. The result may not be of the quality a hardcore gamer has come to expect, but for its core audience, it's a case of Game-On!

It's certainly piss-funny. Written by the dirty mind behind Ren & Stimpy, even older gamers will get their giggle on during the many played-for-laughs scenes. This includes Dr Neo dressed as a little girl, Crash getting his butt spanked during 'wait' time and Neo running from a grizzly bear, screaming like a bitch with a bee-hive stuck on his head.

As you can guess from these obscure scenarios, Twinsanity is not short on gameplay variety. When alone, Crash is all about solving small puzzles and collecting Wumpa fruit and other such desirables. When partnered with Cortex, things open up. You can throw him across the stage to flick switches or explode nitro boxes or use him as a weapon or even form a ball and roll down inclined ramps and rides. It never gets particularly challenging, but you won't simply waltz through proceedings.

There are some sticking points. The graphics on a whole are quite pretty, but the collision detection and the frequent invisible barriers leave a lot to be desired. The camera can sometimes get 'lost' and the controls aren't the most fluent - but for the most part these are moot points. Twinsanity is great fun for our gaming youth and a humorous piece of nostalgia for veterans keen to spank their bandicoots, one last time.

Verdict
A relic of past platform ideals which wins on humour and variety rather than originality - great for the kids too.
Pros:The tandem gameplay works well, plenty of laughs.
Cons:Some annoying graphical flaws, controls slightly off, old-school platforming.

Score = 7.5/10



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Graphics: 2.5 Sound: 3.0 Control: 3.5 Fun Factor: Fun Factor
Scoring scale: 1-5
Publisher: Vivendi / Developer: Traveller's Tales / Retail Price: $69.95 (PlayStation 2) /, $69.95 (Xbox) / Release date: 15/11/2004 / Genre: Adventure / OFLC Rating: G