Crash Bandicoot (PlayStation)

Crash Bandicoot

Who'd have known that the ginger bandicoot would get so far and become so big in the gaming industry? Originally realeased on the playstation one console it was no surprise that people would want to try out this game - and the rest when they followed over the years. As a platform game this game involves adventure and basic game play which is fun for all of the family and the main idea of the story is that Crash Bandicoot's enemy Dr Neo Cortex is out to Destroy Crash but he also wants the crystals which are scattered throughout the first lot of games. In the Crash Bandicoot series Crash isn't just the only one you get to play as - you can also play as his sister coco, his brother tiny, panda, tiger, dingodile, etc... This is dependant on the game of course but you will mostly play other characters in the Crash Bandicoot Team Racing games. However in the first Crash Bandicoot game you can only actually play as Crash Bandicoot.

Where can this be purchased?

The original Crash Bandicoot games can't actually be purchased in store anymore but the good news is you can buy the games online at Amazon second hand for around £10 which is more than what you'd expect for a game on a console that isn't sold on the high street anymore but to buy the game new you could be paying up to £100. I personally think this is because the Crash Bandicoot series are hard to come by now and the games are massively known and favoured - there are still many who love that ginger bandicoot.

Gameplay

In this game there are three islands and the mission of this game is to go through each level and break all the boxes if possible as to gain the clear crystal and to collect the pink crystal. You start off with the first level and then you can progress throughout the game one level at a time - however, you can't jump from the first level to the third or fourth like the later games which is a little frustrating but this keeps you interested in the game if it's the first time you've ever played it. There is no save game option unfortunately though and if you do want to save the game you would have to complete the bonus level and save when given the option to as you can't pick and choose and if you don't have a memory card then that's fine because you can just choose to have the code which will be displayed for you to write down. In each level you are able to collect up to three crystals dependant on the level, these will be;

• The pink crystal - You need this in order to complete the level and complete the game. These are usually in the middle of the game but sometimes they will be at the end of the game.
• A silver gem - You will get these at the end of the game if you manage to collect all of the boxes in that level without losing a life.
• A coloured gem - You can't get these in all of the levels and you would usually have to have gained something to have opened them. These are an additional bonus level and by completing the additional bonus level you gain the gem.
  For completing each gem/crystal/relic you gain you also gain a percentage which goes just slightly over 100% (I know this because I completed it to it's highest. The game is very easy to save as you just go to the big save screen and wait and it'll go to the save menu where you can save the game.

The following Crash Bandicoot games to hit the shelves differed in game play where weapons were added, the double jump was added and relics were added. I think this game was the making of Crash Bandicoot and to be honest the changes that NaughtyDog made in a couple of their later games were major improvements and bettered the game in a lot of good ways (until Acitivision took over) and I wish they stuck by Crash and improved the game even more.

Graphics

I do think the graphics are prehistoric compared to what they are now but forgetting the advances in technology the graphics were pretty decent taking into consideration that this is a 90s game and lets be honest I can't judge the game on this because time and since passed and it's not fair to put a downer on the game because of the year it was released. However, the graphics are a bit shapey (e.g. squares, triangles) so they're not brilliant but they're still in colour and that's all that matters.

Sound

The only bad thing I can say about this game is that the music is annoying and it's a bit repetitive although throughout different levels it does change but for each level it's repetitive and that's what makes the game annoying. Although the volume can easily be adjusted so that's no problem for me.

Difficulty and Complexity

I think this game is easy and it's not complex it's really easy to follow and is suitable for all ages but the younger you are the harder the game becomes and there are levels which are a little frustrating but they're all relatively easy. One of the levels is that easy you just jump to the portal as it takes two seconds to do - although you can do the bonus level if you like.

Longevity

This game is average with the amount of time it'll take to complete and for me it would take about eight hours and I've done it in that time about six or seven times but it's still good even if it is average - it is better when you have a day to yourself and a fair bit of time to kill.

Multiplayer

This game doesn't have any multiplayer functions but you can just do the levels in turn which isn't really a problem. When I was younger me and my sisters used to do a level each and complete the game that way and re-complete some of the levels to get the other gems.

Value for money

I think this game is going to be worth something in the future but it would depend on whether you think it's worth it. I paid £10 for another second hand copy and will eventually pay £100 for a new and unopened copy as I'm just a Crash fan but this would be down to the individual although taking into consideration the age I don't think it's that worth it however it might be worth a lot more in 20 years but this is completely down to the buyer.

Conclusion

Overall I've rated this game five out of five as the story and the graphics, etc... are really good in consideration and even though I think the third one is a lot better this is still the very first game and many people still love it. I also like the fact that it's a good keepsake which can help for the future - mine will be so my son can either keep or sell when I pop my clogs as it will hopefully be worth a lot more than the £100 that it's worth now. I think there could have been some improvements but to be honest I'd love to see NaughtyDog get this game and re-do the graphics and tweak it ever so slightly.