| Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped | |
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| Developer(s) | Naughty Dog |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment Universal Interactive Studios |
| Designer(s) | Mark Cerny & Shuhei Yoshida (Executive Producer) Grady Hunt (Producer) Jason Rubin (Director) Andy Gavin (Lead Programmer) |
| Artist(s) | Charles Zembillas (Character Designer & Art Director) |
| Composer(s) | Mark Mothersbaugh Josh Mancell |
| Aspect ratio | 240p (LDTV) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, PocketStation, PlayStation Network |
| Release date(s) | NA November 3, 1998[1] PAL December 1998[2] JP December 17, 1998[2] |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | CERO: A ELSPA: 3+ ESRB: Everyone OFLC: G |
| Media | CD-ROM, Download |
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation. The game serves as a direct sequel to Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. It was the last platformer in the series to be developed by Naughty Dog, who then developed Crash Team Racing.
The story centers on Crash and Coco Bandicoot and their mission to gather Crystals scattered across time before their enemies can. Warped is the first Crash game to feature a demo of the Insomniac Games' Spyro the Dragon series. Those demos would last until Crash Bash.
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped has received mostly positive reviews from major critics, and has sold 5.7 million copies as of July 9, 2002.[3] The game, although being originally available to play on the PlayStation, was released to download on both the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 on February 7, 2008, via the PlayStation Network.
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Gameplay
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped is a platform game in which the player controls Crash and Coco Bandicoot, who must travel back in time and gather 25 Crystals in their original places in time before the antagonists of the story do so. Much of the game takes place in the Time-Twisting Machine, which acts as the hub area of the game.[4] The Time-Twisting Machine is split up into five chambers;[4] only the first chamber is initially available. Each chamber has five buttons that open portals to different levels.[4] The goal in each level is to find and obtain the Crystal hidden in the area.[5] In some levels, the Crystal will be located at the end of a level or must be earned by completing a specific challenge.[5] After completing all five levels in a chamber, a sixth button that opens a portal to a boss level will appear.[4] By defeating the boss, the next chamber will become available for play.[4] When all 25 Crystals are found and all five boss characters are defeated, the game is won.[6]
Crash and Coco start the game with four lives.[7] Crash and Coco lose a life when they are struck by an enemy attack or suffer any other type of damage. More lives can be earned by instructing Crash or Coco to collect 100 "Wumpa Fruits" or break open a special crate to collect a life.[7] If Crash or Coco run out of lives, the game is over.[7] However, the game can be continued by selecting "Yes" at the "Continue?" screen.[7]
The game features also a number of "vehicular" levels in which players play the entire level riding either a tiger, jet-ski, motorcycle or airplane with different tasks to complete. Each non-vehicular level contains a "Bonus Platform" that leads to a special bonus area, where the player must navigate through a maze and collect everything in sight.[7] As no lives are lost in the bonus areas,[7] the bonus areas can be played through as often as the player desires until the bonus area can be cleared.[7]
Besides Crystals, Gems and Colored Gems can be collected for 100% completion. Gems are rewarded to the player if all of the crates in a level are broken open or if a secret area is completed.[5] There is a total of 44 Gems in the game.[5] Colored Gems are found in special levels and lead to hidden areas.[5] There are five Colored Gems in the game.[5]
"Relics" can be won by re-entering a level where the Crystal has already been retrieved.[5] To obtain a Relic, the player must initiate the "Time Trial" mode and race through a level in the pre-designated time displayed before entering a level.[5] To begin a Time Trial run, the player must enter a level and activate the floating stopwatch near the beginning of the level to activate the timer; if the stopwatch is not touched, the level can be played regularly.[8] The player must then race through the level as quickly as possible.[8] Scattered throughout the level are yellow crates with the numbers 1, 2 or 3 on them. When these crates are broken, the timer is frozen for the number of seconds designated by the box.[8] As no lives are lost in the Time Trial mode, the level can be played through as often as the player desires.[8] Sapphire, Gold and Platinum Relics can be won depending on how low the player's final time is.[8] The first five Relics the player receives unlocks access to level in the "Secret Warp Room".[5] Every five Relics thereafter open up another level in the Secret Warp Room.[5] The levels in the Secret Warp Room must be won before the game can be 100% completed.[5] Also, There are 2 secret levels, with both a Gem and a Relic. Another gem which can be earned by collecting all gold relics allows for a total 105% completion.
Plot
Much of the game takes place in Doctor Nefarious Tropy's Time Twisting Machine, where Crash and Coco travel through numerous periods of time. The Time Twister consists of two hub rooms (one underground), the first one containing five chambers, each of which containing six portals, each leading to a different period of time, including (but not limited to) Medieval times, Prehistoric times, Ancient Egypt, and the future.
The game takes place immediately after the previous installment, in which Doctor Nitrus Brio uses the 42 gems Crash has collected to power his giant laser weapon to destroy Doctor Neo Cortex's space station. As a result, large chunks of the space station's debris plummet down to Earth and crash into an ancient temple on Wumpa Island. When the smoke clears, an evil entity flies off into the night.
Back on N. Sanity Island, the home of Crash and his friends, an evil laughter rings through the air. Aku Aku appears shaken and urges everyone to come inside, as a great evil has come.
In an as-of-now unknown area, Doctor Neo Cortex is seen cowering before the evil entity (now known as Uka Uka), who appears to have saved Cortex from the depths of space and is now upset that Cortex has failed him twice. Cortex insists that it is all Crash Bandicoot's fault but Uka Uka's patience is spent, as there is now no other power source on the planet. But since Cortex has indirectly set him free, Uka Uka spares Cortex's life and introduces Doctor Nefarious Tropy, master of time and the creator of the "Time Twister" that the trio is currently standing on. With N. Tropy's Time Twister, the villains plan on gathering the Power Crystals in their original places in time.
Inside Crash's home, Aku Aku tells the Bandicoots a story of how many eons ago, Uka Uka, Aku Aku's evil twin brother, was locked in an underground prison by Aku Aku to protect the world from his malice, and now that he is free, he must be stopped at all cost. With that, Crash and his friends travel to the Time Twister Machine, where their adventure begins.
After Crash and Coco have defeated N. Tropy (along with Cortex's minions, Tiny Tiger, Dingodile and Dr. N. Gin) and collected all of the Crystals and all of the Gems, Crash battles Doctor Cortex in the core of the Time Twister Machine. Upon Cortex's defeat, the Time Twister implodes (due to N. Tropy's defeat), taking Cortex, Tropy, and Uka Uka with it. Crash and the others escape just in time for the snow season. As the ending credits roll, it is seen that the three villains are trapped in a time prison, with Cortex and Tropy transformed into babies and fighting over Uka Uka's possession.
Development
As with the previous two installments of the series, the soundtrack for Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped is provided by Mutato Muzika, made up of Mark Mothersbaugh and Josh Mancell.
Localization Differences
When the game was released in Japan as クラッシュ・バンディクー3 ブッとび!世界一周 (Crash Bandicoot 3: Flying! Globe-Trotting!), there were several extras included in the game not present in any western release. Four of the extras were CGI videos that focused on a character in the game. The character each video focuses is Aku Aku, Crash Bandicoot, Coco Bandicoot, and Doctor Neo Cortex. A final video, upon beating the game, presents a seven-minute video about the origin of Crash Bandicoot.
While these weren't released anywhere but Japan, some images of these videos made it into Crash Team Racing's Scrapbook.[9]
The Japanese version is compatible with the PocketStation.[10]
Reception
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped was praised by critics, and was given high scores by some of the most prominent gaming critics, with gaming website IGN awarding a 9.1/10[11]. GameSpot, who granted it an 8.9/10, commented that the game is "easily the best Crash yet" and a "must-have for fans of platformers"[12]. Game Revolution stated that "the game is fun, funny and challenging", but they also mentioned that there is really nothing new to it.[13]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 89%[14] |
| Metacritic | 91%[15] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| GamePro | 5 out of 5[16] |
| Game Revolution | B+[13] |
| GameSpot | 8.9 out of 10[12] |
| IGN | 9.1 out of 10[11] |
| Official PlayStation Magazine (US) | 4.5 out of 5[17] |
Sales
The game was a commercial success and it quickly became a Collectors' Edition title. As of July 9, 2002, the game has sold 5.7 million copies.[3] It has sold 3.76 million copies in the US, and 1.4 million copies in Japan.[18][19]
References
- ^ "North American release date". highbeam.com. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53162166.html. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
- ^ a b "European and Japanese release date". naughtydog.com. http://www.naughtydog.com/crash/crash/timeline.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
- ^ a b "Final Fantasy X hits 5 million, world quakes". Computer and Video Games. 2002-07-09. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=76588. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- ^ a b c d e Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Instruction Booklet. Sony Computer Entertainment America. 1998. p. 7.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Instruction Booklet. Sony Computer Entertainment America. 1998. p. 8.
- ^ Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Instruction Booklet. Sony Computer Entertainment America. 1998. p. 10.
- ^ a b c d e f g Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Instruction Booklet. Sony Computer Entertainment America. 1998. p. 11.
- ^ a b c d e Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Instruction Booklet. Sony Computer Entertainment America. 1998. p. 9.
- ^ PSP Game download Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped trial version. Retrieved on 8 December 2007
- ^ Crash Mania version differences page. (scroll down). Retrieved on 26 November 2007
- ^ a b IGN review Retrieved on June 11
- ^ a b GameSpot review Retrieved on June 11
- ^ a b "Game Revolution's Review". http://www.gamerevolution.com/oldsite/games/sony/action/crash_bandicoot_3.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- ^ "Game Ranking's Review". http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/196988.asp. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- ^ "Metacritic's Review". http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/psx/crashbandicoot3warped?q=crash%203. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- ^ "GamePro's Review". GamePro. September 2002.
- ^ "PSM's Review". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. March 1999.
- ^ "US Platinum Game Chart". magicbox.com. http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-USPlatinum.shtml.
- ^ "Japan Platinum Game Chart". magicbox.com. http://www.the-magicbox.com/topten2.htm.
See also
External links
- Official
- Unofficial
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