CRASH TWINSANITY

IT'S fair to say that at one stage Crash Bandicoot was the best platformer to grace the PlayStation.

Mario and Sonic dominated Nintendo and Sega's consoles but the furry ginger bandicoot was the loveable mascot for Sony.

Unfortunately it is also fair to say that, as time has passed, Crash has become less and less appealing. This can be likened to Tomb Raider. At one stage this was a revolutionary game and possibly the best to grace the PlayStation.

Unfortunately, as time passed, the games started to lose their appeal and were far inferior to their predecessors.

In this day and age with the likes of Ratchet and Clank, and Jak and Daxter, there really isn't much market for Crash. As platform games are advancing and becoming far more intellectually demanding, Crash is staying much the same as before.

Admittedly Crash has finally incorporated a free-roaming element into the game, but this does not make up for the tedious collecting of fruit, triggering off TNT and Nitro boxes.

Crash Bandicoot is stuck in a time warp where it fears to stray away from its roots enough to make a radical impact on the genre. It's not all bad, of course, and to the simpleton or small child it may appeal. Graphically you can't really knock Crash Twinsanity. It looks better than ever, but let's not forget that looks aren't everything.

It's one thing to look good but to be a good game overall is quite something else. The earlier example of Tomb Raider illustrates this point perfectly. Aesthetically it is gorgeous but, in terms of gameplay, ropey at best.

Crash Twinsanity sees Crash Bandicoot and his arch nemesis Dr Neo Cortex tied together. Reluctantly the two must work together before a new evil destroys both of them. According to the back of the box this is "the funniest Crash adventure ever". If seeing Cortex being smashed into TNT, thrown across the room to press switches and using his head to spin levers then, fair enough, this is hilarious.

In this day and age, though, this is very basic humour and developers must remember that gamers want more than a Tom and Jerry approach to humour.

The main complaint about this game is that Crash is simply not as fun as it once was. It's sad to see that it hasn't evolved at all from the original.

For children this game is recommended because it's so simplistic and easy to get to grips with.

For the rest who don't see smashing crates and collecting fruit as the pinnacle of platform entertainment opt for something else. After all, this game can be completed in a good few hours anyway.

Michael Wilson