Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant

How's Crash getting on in his first Activision release?

	Version 360 (Wii, PS2, PSP, DS)	Developer Radical Entertainment	Publisher Activision	Genre Action

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Whilst each mutant has their own purpose, you will usually find the mutant you need to get through the next section of the game, which is something of a signpost of things to come. Crash's goals require lots of travel throughout Wumpa Island and the free-roaming is something I'm not entirely happy with. Running from one end of the island to the other is not uncommon, and it is not until the very last stages of the game that transporters become available. The other huge problem with this is while running through a level the first time is fresh and entertaining, being forced to track back and forth across the same route numerous times feels like excess padding injected into what is already a fairly short game. Combine this with the fact that you will be falling into blind spots as you run backwards into the camera ,across the same platforms you had no problems climbing across when you could see where you were going and Crash: Mind Over Mutant quickly becomes a chore.

It's a real shame that the problem of the static viewpoint and repetitive and tiresome travel from quest to quest ruin what is essentially a well crafted platformer with plenty of fresh ideas. The various mutants add a lot to the game, and each player will discover his own favourites, which can handily be carried around in your Tardis-like trouser pocket! New sections of the game are introduced with short cartoon sections, which have styles of animation varying from sugar-coated cereal Saturday morning cartoons to a South Park style paper collage effect.

Not only is the animation sharp, well written and frequently laugh out loud funny but even the voices of the critters baying for your blood will induce a chuckle as you dispatch them with whatever goliath you happen to be atop at the time. Character death, although a frequent event in the game, is never too much of a problem. You respawn quickly afterwards at a close point and the only real drawback is the loss of whatever bonus you had accumulated when picking up Mojo. Mutants can be lost if they take too much damage, however it won't be too long before you run into another you can capture.

Much like the rest of the franchise, Crash: MOM isn't going to set the world on fire, and it sets itself up for a major fall with the basics. Lack of player control over what is in view is especially annoying as the right control stick isn't used for any other function. While the campaign, although padded with 20 minute runs across territories already travelled, is a mere 8 hours. Sierra however have made sure players can busy themselves with a lot of side quests and missions.

On finishing the main game, I was only 35% complete of the game in total. Those compulsively drawn to get the full 100% ticket will need to spend more like 16-20 hours to get there. Crash still has what it takes to entertain, but had Mind Over Mutant stopped and taken a look at itself much earlier in development, addressed the camera and repetition issues, it would have been a much better game.

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