Crash Team Rumble Review

thesixthaxis.com:

I must confess that I’ve not actually played a Crash Bandicoot game before. I know, I know, how is that even possible? And having never experienced the marsupial madness of this classic series, approaching Crash Team Rumble slightly intimidating. Not only would I have to do online battle with a small army of kids who have too much free time and too much skill, but I would also have to do so not knowing my Wumpa fruit from my Quantum Masks. Thankfully, I need not have been concerned, as Crash Team Rumble is undoubtedly one of the most accessible multiplayer games I’ve encountered.

The set-up for Crash Team Rumble is simple enough: two teams of four loveable characters from the extended Crash Bandicoot universe do battle in an enclosed arena. Each team must explore the level – consisting of platforms, bridges, and falls into the infinite abyss – to collect Wumpa fruit. Once a player character is laden with all the delicious fruit they can carry, they must lug it back to their bank (and avoid getting twonked by the other team in combat) and add their ill-gained booty to their team’s score. The first team to reach two thousand points wins. Simple, eh?

Several wrinkles are added by the addition of floating gem platforms; landing on these twinkling delights will capture them for you and your buds. Hold off the opposing team for long enough and the gems will be yours and yours alone for several minutes, the result being that you receive a score multiplier. That is until the gemstones are up for grabs again and all hell lets loose once more. It’s a bit like capture the flag, basically.

Then there are relics to locate; find these, stick them in a relic bank, and you’ll unlock a ridiculously entertaining power-up. You’ll be turning