Crash: Mind Over Mutant for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

Developer Radical Entertainment has admirably tried to revitalize the Crash Bandicoot franchise at the request of Activision -- not an easy task given that the mascot hasn't really starred in a particularly innovative or cutting-edge platformer for a decade. Really, it's akin to taking over public relations for Cory Haim today. Sure, he used to be pretty cool. A teen idol, even. But now he's just kind of crazy. And when I stare into Crash's redesigned face, admittedly sporting more detail than ever before, I think I can see the same I'm-still-here glare, yet underneath the forced smile, there's no soul. Worse in Crash's case is that there really seems to be no identity. Since his inception, he's been a poor man's Mario and while Nintendo's franchise has developed over the years, the Bandicoot has pretty much stayed the same -- in other words, with no fresh gameplay mechanics to fall back on, he's remained practically indistinguishable from the bajillions of other platformers that litter today's industry. Crash's star has left the building, as it were, a truth evidenced by the fact that one of the main selling points in these latest titles, Mind Over Mutant included, is that you don't have to play as the Bandicoot; you can instead control a number of no-name monsters, most of them more interesting.

Mind Over Mutant is the sequel to last year's Crash of the Titans, a 6.5-rated title that didn't sell well on any platform. This latest installment is fundamentally the same, which is not really a bad thing. After all, Radical has made the most of the Crash persona by creating a large world overrun with traditional platforming challenges, a punchy and surprisingly satisfying battle system, the aforementioned gameplay mechanic centered on jacking into monsters, some good technology to boot and an overall presentation filled with cinemas that seem to focus on the comedy of Crash's companions, some of it effective. Therefore, if the point is to reintroduce the Bandicoot to a new generation of players, yeah, I think newbies might actually like some of the simple, straightforward obstacles that lay in wait. Surely they'll enjoy the colorful humor. And yet, Mind Over Mutant, like its predecessor, remains a platformer that falls well short of greatness, particularly for those of us seasoned enough to have seen all of this before, executed better.

The developer has brought back a number of classic Crash villains for Mind Over Mutant, including Dr. Neo Cortex and even Dr. Nitrus Brio, who even points out to players that he was in the original game. There are some laugh-out-loud moments to be had as the surreal storyline, involving a seedy piece of technology that transforms the inhabitants of Wumpa Island into Cortex-controlled baddies, unravels. And Radical has had fun with the presentation, employing a number of different story-telling styles clearly inspired by popular American and Japanese animation. The tale powering the adventure isn't going to attract the eyes of the Academy any time soon, but it does have its moments and it's deeper and more compelling than anything we've seen in a Mario or Sonic game.

If you played the first game, you'll notice right away the expanded large-world design that is the backbone of exploration in Mind Over Mutant. Crash begins the adventure at his home, where he is able to equip new costumes as they become available, among other things, and can simply leave his house and journey into a giant-sized world, where the storyline and quest begins. This isn't an open-world, sandbox-style game, though, so don't get the wrong impression. There are two reasons for this: First, there are scripted events that take place in linear sequence, so you'll actually need to accomplish task A before task B begins. And second, the fixed camera (which cannot be manipulated at all) is so constraining that even if the world were completely open, there would be no effective way to manage it. This is actually one of the bigger gripes I have with the title. Oftentimes, you'll be asked to navigate backward to a point that you've already travelled to in order to trigger an event, and because the camera remains so stubbornly fixed, you might have to make the whole trek walking toward the screen.

Crash himself controls well. His trademark spin is back. He can double jump. He can charge kick. And he can engage enemies in combo-filled melee combat, which feels very good. All of this is done with the analog sticks on Xbox 360. On Wii, you can shake the controller to activate a spin, which works well. There are also some welcomed new moves for this year's game, including some dodge mechanics, the ability to climb onto walls and a fun mechanic that revolves around digging underneath obstacles in order to get past them. I think most platformer fans will be pleased with the tight maneuverability placed on Crash. Platforming is easy because the character moves well and responds precisely. The only issue I've found relates to clinging to ledges. On Wii, you have to tap the Z button to let go, which feels a little awkward. All of this stuff works just fine -- but if you're looking for a little innovation, you won't find it here.

Another notable improvement over last year's game is that you can now store multiple mutants in Crash's arsenal at any given time and cycle between them when necessary. They can even be upgraded with the hero, gaining greater strength, for example, as he progresses through the adventure. The selection of mutants isn't enormous, but there are enough in place to keep the experience fresh. Along the way, Crash will ride atop horned beasts, hovering monsters, fanged baddies, and even inside a mutant or two. Each of these characters boasts unique strengths and weaknesses. Some are perfect for icy and flame-filled worlds, for instance. Using these mutants seems to detract from the whole point of playing as Crash, but there's no denying that they are more compelling characters than the hero, a sad truth. They are also more compelling than the side characters, including Coco, Crash's sister, who is now playable as a second character in the game's dull cooperative mode.

The worlds that Crash explores are varied and surprisingly detailed, more so on Xbox 360 than Wii, but even so, the game is by no means ugly on Nintendo's system. You'll notice vast landscapes with shimmering transparent streams and reflective surfaces and as Crash breaks through crates and explodes ice, objects will splinter and disintegrate in a mess of particles. Character animation is equally fluid. The big downside? The motion never exceeds 30 frames per second and, in fact, usually dips below that, a fact especially evident on Wii.

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