Jump on the back of a Shellephant
Crash of The Titans sees the return of the Bandicoot’s main antagonist, the balding mad scientist Doctor Neo Cortex who, following the discovery of a strange substance known as Mojo, plans to take the inhabitants of the Wumpa Islands and turn them into an army of mutants. As the protagonist of the game, it’s up to Crash Bandicoot to stop Neo’s evil plot, collect the Mojo, destroy the mutants and save this colourful Island.Crash of the Titans features many simple platforming elements as you follow a linear path through some impressively detailed and suitably colourful environments. Through lush jungle settings and ancient temples you’ll jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles, swing on ropes, flip off springboards, solve simple environmental puzzles and spend plenty of time bouncing around collecting Mojo.
Unlike the earlier Crash games, Crash of the Titans features a lot more fighting. Crash has a number of ass-kicking moves at his disposal, including the familiar spin-attack, punches, flying kicks, multiple attacks and special counter moves, all of which allow him to take on multiple opponents in one sitting.
Early on, Crash’s combat moves are extremely basic, with just a light and heavy attack to choose from, but as you collect more Mojo – from the bodies of enemies – you’ll unlock new abilities and special moves. The combo system is really basic. Crash animates well enough and his maneovres map well to the joypad, but the combat in the game won’t challenge any seasoned gamer. Three of the buttons on the joypad are used for a combination of attacking moves, with the right trigger used to block attacks, but as you fight the smaller minions there isn’t really any need for tactics, because all you need to do is repeatedly press any of these buttons, in any order, and you'll eventually make a break through.
Each mission follows a similar path, generally involving jumping and navigating your way through a level and smashing crates along the way (filled with health generating apples), before you become trapped in an area where you’ll need to beat up gangs of small minions before you can move on.
The major new addition to the franchise is the larger mutants that you encounter once you’ve disposed of these smaller pests. These ‘Titans’, which include the chest-beating scorpion/gorilla hybrid, Scorporilla and the Shellephant (a large elephant with a large crab shell on his back), come in all shapes and sizes. They have 5 stars over their heads, which relate to their health, and once you’ve used a range of combos to stun them you can then use the new jacking mechanic in the game to take control of the beasts. This opens up a whole new range of attacks, allowing you to attack other larger enemies more easily and solve a number of puzzles in the game.