Game Description

The famous orange marsupial returns for a fourth and final game on the PlayStation, this time from behind the wheel of a go-kart. Crash is joined by his sweetheart Coco, the evil Cortex, and a combination of animal friends and dastardly bosses from previous games, each individually rated in speed, acceleration, and handling. Five game modes include Adventure, Time Trial, Arcade, Vs., and Battle.

The Adventure mode is the main aspect of play, and it involves trying to beat a surly alien named Nitrous Oxide in a tournament spanning 16 races. Players begin the tropical adventure by initially choosing one of eight characters: Crash Bandicoot, Dr. Neo Cortex, Coco Bandicoot, Dr. N. Gin, Pura, Polar and Dingodile.

In addition to acceleration and braking, the go-karts can perform a number of techniques to make each race more competitive for skilled players. Power-slides are used for tight turns, and players can maximize their vehicle's top speed by running over ten pieces of fruit. Also featured on the courses are various ramps to propel go-karts through the air, and players have the added ability to hop over items found along the ground.

A Hang Time Meter also helps players gauge how long their vehicle remains airborne; the longer the kart manages to stay in the air, the bigger the turbo boost when it lands. A go-kart game wouldn't be complete without power-ups, and CTR features 11 different items to use during the course of play, including tracking missiles, explosive crates, bowling bombs, and defensive measures such as Aku Aku masks. Each power-up can also be "juiced" up by collecting fruit.

The overall goal in the Adventure mode is to defeat all opponents on each of the courses. Doing so earns players trophies, which in turn allows them access to new tracks. Players are also free to race each course again for new incentives, including Relics, CTR Tokens, and Gems. Relics are earned by beating certain lap times, three CTR Tokens are hidden on each track, and the special Gems are awarded to the winner of each of the five Gem Cup tournaments. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

The first game in the PlayStation's Crash Bandicoot series debuted in 1996, which drew immediate comparisons to Nintendo's Super Mario 64. Right or wrong, both were high profile 3D platform games that featured state-of-the-art graphics and "mascot" worthy characters.

Those who preferred Super Mario 64 cited its free-roaming gameplay as superior to the confined environments in Crash Bandicoot. Fans of the marsupial just pointed at the graphic detail, which showed textures that were at a level that far surpassed Nintendo's offering.

CTR (Crash Team Racing) is the fourth and final game in the series to be released on the 32-bit PlayStation. Its influences are clear: 1992's Super Mario Kart for the Super NES and 1998's Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

With the multiple modes and tracks, and the clever AI, you'll find there's plenty to do in this game. Toss in the 4 player mode, and there's little else the programmers could've crammed in. ~ Joe Ottoson, All Game Guide

Production Credits

CREATED AND DEVELOPED BY NAUGHTY DOG, INC.



Jason Rubin, Bob Rafi, Justin Manast, Charlotte Francis, Greg Omi, Eric A. Iwasaki, Erick Pangilinan, Rob Titus, Joe Labbe II, Daniel Arey, Malcolm Hee, Daniel Chan, Evan Wells, Gavin James, Scott Patterson, Bruce Straley, Gregg Tavares, Andy Gavin, Stephen White, Didier Malenfant, Pal-Kristian Engstad, Morgan

ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Soundtrack By: Mutato Muzika, Mark Mothersbaugh, Josh Mancell

Soundtrack Producer: David Baggett

Voice Producer: Christine Haas

Sound Effects By: Universal Sound Studios, Mike Gollum, Ron Horwitz, Kevin Spears

Voice of Dr. Neo Cortex and Uka Uka: Clancy Brown

Voice of N.Gin, Tiny, and Pinstripe: Brendan O'Brien

Additional Voices: David A. Pizzuto, Mel Winkler, Michael Ensign, Hynden Walch, Billy Pope, Mike Gollum, Michael Conner, Chip Chinery

Original Character Design Crash 1, 2, and Warped: Charles Zembillas, Joe Pearson

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA INC.

Producer: Grady Hunt

Assistant Producer: Donovan Soto

Senior Producer: Perry Rodgers

Director of Marketing: Ami Matsumura-Blaire

Public Relations Manager: Wendy Spander

Director of PR: Molly Smith

Product Marketing Specialists: Maggie Rojas, Nemar Velasquez

Technical Coordinator & Lead Analyst: Sam Thompson

QA Supervisors: Chris Caprio, Charles DeLay

Assistant Lead Analysts: Ian McGuiness, Derek Rayla, Erik Larsen

Analysts: David Anders, Andrew Benna, Rick Bruemmer, Robert Burns, Andrew Byrne, David Caffey, Erick Cobbs, Bruce Cochrane, Carlos DeValle, Shawn Dobbins, Eric Franklin, Ryan Guerara, Josh Heenan, Jason Joye, Leonard Ko, Henry Macarian, Peter Mayberry, Eric Molina, Jason Nelson, Dean Peterson, Greg Phillips, Armand Pilotin, Andy Robertson, Noel Silva, Corey Strock, John Sweeny, Lee Toland, Aaron Whitmore, Andrew Woodworth

Legal and Intellectual Property: Kerry Hopkins, Lisa Lunger, Michelle Manhattan

Director of Promotions: Sharon Shapiro

Promotions Managers: Donna Armentor, Aimee Duell

Creative Services: Josh Bingham, John Diamonon, Peggy Gallagher, Marie Macaspac, Quinn Pham, Marilyn Weyant, Ronald Zaragoza

A Very Special Thanks To: Universal Interactive Studios

Special Thanks: Tim Abshire, Andrew Adams, Bruce Adams,Shelley Ashitomi, Kurtis Buckmaster, Claudette Castillo, John Crompton, Clive Dickenson, Brian Dimick, Chris Drost, Alberto Escobedo, Emily Franks, Butch Freedhoff, Jerry Gentile, Brian Hale, Carol Ann Hanshaw, Phil Harrison, Kaz Hirai, Andrew House, Raymond Hwang, Stephanie Iwasawa, Ian Jackson, Carrie Jacobson, Mike Janis, Chuck Lacson, Scott MacGregor, Colin MacLean, John McConigle, Kirsten Merit, Shawn Michienzi, Susie Miller, Lucas Muehlenweg, Frank O'Malley, Kara O'Neil, George Richard, Eileen Rodriguez, Steve Ross, Riley Russell, Rob Segal, Steve Shore, Steven Strachan, Jamie Tica, Joni Toney, Brian Taylor, Jack Tretton,Lynda Vaiai, Michelle Vercelli, Jim Wilson, Toney Wong, Kim Yuen, Melissa Zukerman, Axiom Interactive Design, Jamison Gold,Rapp-Collins

Design Firn: Axiom Design, SLC

Copywriting: Hanshaw Ink

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC. (Japan)

Executive Producer: Shuhei Yoshida,

Producer: Tsurumi-06000

Associate Producer: Ryoichi Hasegawa

Assistant Producer: Stsushi Matsushita

PD Assistant: Miwa Hosogoe

QA Manager: Masayuki Mizuno

SCEI QA Team Test Play: Hirokazu Konno, Atsushi goo Sakai, Tomoaki Tsuruta, Yoshiyuki Nomura

Special Thanks: Akira Sato, Toshiyuki Miyata, MoniMoni Members

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE

Producer: David Bowry

Group Product Manager: Kenny Mathers,

Product Manager: Isabelle Tomatis

Public Relations Manager: Elizabeth Ashford

Manual Writer: Jim Sangster

Designer: Steve O'Neil

Applications Development Engineer: Paul Deluce

QA Manager: Geoff Rens

1st Party QA Manager: Chris Rowley

QA Coordinator: Jim McCabe

Testers: John Cassidy, Mark Christy, Ian Cunliffe, Matt Ekins, Anthony Gill, Phil Green, Andy Macoy, Kevin Mason, Ian McEvoy, John McLaughlin, Dee Norfolk, Darren Perkins, Steve Talbot, John Walsh

Localization Testers: Marcello Costa, Moulay Drissi, Gaelle Leysour, Britta Kuhnen, Susana Paredes, Ariana Pavin ~ Joe Lamb, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

If you've felt that your number of chances to stab your friends in the back has been lower than usual lately, Naughty Dog has the answer to your betrayal blues. Crash is back, and like any self respecting mascot, he now finds himself chained to a go-kart. Fortunately, Naughty Dog has made sure to chain him to a high performance go-kart and has populated the tracks with plenty of other racers and nasty tricks and traps to keep you busy.



Users will be able to pick up this game and start playing it right from the start. This makes the relatively non-violent and cartoon-like game well suited for the youngsters. As for the older types who like a little challenge in their race however, the learning curve's low, but there are a few twists that'll keep you on your toes throughout a race.

A well-timed jump will not only extend your leap off a ramp, it'll tack on a turbo boost proportionate to your hangtime, so the ramps and hills in Crash Team Racing take on an extra dimension outside of the usual hopping dynamics of similar go-kart racers. Weapon usage can help you gain a lead or even maintain one with a little strategic planning as well. Players will get the ability to fire missiles, spark balls, and even handle large crates of explosives and nasty potions for the more persistent tailgaters.

Your racing action takes place over several different tracks derived from the various locales in the last three Crash Bandicoot games. The tracks tend to offer several different paths through a given race, and they're so craftily constructed that you'll almost always have to keep alert. Otherwise, you'll find you just fell short of a particular ramp or that you're skidding off a rather steep cliff. The variety is only enhanced by Crash's almost trademark good looks (meaning the graphics are pretty), and the option of having four players face off against each other at the same time (without requiring a link cable) is a welcome addition to the PlayStation racing arena.

The artificial intelligence keeps your races challenging without falling back on the tried and tired method of having all the enemy racers working with single-minded precision to take your lone buggy out of commission. The opposing forces will commonly squabble amongst themselves doing everything from blasting the car ahead of them to just simply jostling and hogging the road to make another's electronic life miserable.

Aside from the tracks themselves and the AI, you have plenty of options at your disposal before you get down to racing. You can race adventure style and go through the game unlocking tracks and facing off against various boss racers and seeing the sights, or you can jump straight into VS or arcade mode for some straightforward racing action.

Once you get past the graphics, the racing action, and powering on the PlayStation, all that's really left is the music and sound effects. The characters will cheerily taunt you as they pass you by or shoot you down, and they'll let you know their displeasure with every nasty trick you pull to get a leg up. It makes for an amusing scene to have Crash snickering mischievously as he launches a crate of nitro at an oncoming competitor. The music's all bouncy and upbeat for the most part, which fits in with Crash's generally lighthearted racing action.

The only real drawback to Crash's presentation is the Dual Shock setup. You can't reconfigure your controls, so prepare to use some finger gymnastics to get your valiant road warrior to pull off all his or her moves.

Naughty Dog has grown with the Crash series into a fairly high profile developer. With games like Crash Team Racing coming from them, it's not surprising to see why they're gaining respect. It's been a long time since Way of the Warrior. Crash Team Racing is a top notch racing game for all ages. Even Mario ought to be jealous. ~ Joe Ottoson, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

Naughty Dog has consistantly proven that they're capable of wringing every last ounce of graphcal potential out of the Playstation without having to resort to the usual tricks like dithering or a severely impacted frame rate. Even the split screen action with 4 players holds steady. ~ Joe Ottoson, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

The characters are all quite vocal, and the music sets off the whimsical mood nicely. ~ Joe Ottoson, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

This game has nearly unlimited lifespan when it comes to holding your interest. There's plenty to see and do, and when all that's completed you'll still be trying to beat your best time. ~ Joe Ottoson, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

Its a reasonably simple game to pick up, and the manual covers the nuances nicely ~ Joe Ottoson, All Game Guide