There has been no fear in the Crash Bandicoot series to jump from genre to genre. As well as primarily being associated with the platforming genre, Crash has also ventured into the racing, party, and endless runner genres as well over the years. With his cross-over game with Spyro, he has even ventured into new territory. Toys for Bob has come up with an online competitive multiplayer version of everyone’s favorite Bandicoot. Does Crash Team Rumble succeed in converting the classic formula into a successful multiplayer game or is this a genre that the Bandicoots really shouldn’t have dabbled in at all?
Crash Team Rumble is a purely multiplayer game, no story or single-player campaign. Although there’s an offline tutorial and private matches, the majority of Crash Team Rumble is played online. There’s no story or context to Crash Team Rumble. Buyer beware if you’re looking for a single-player experience, as Toys for Bob’s focus was clearly on delivering a solid competitive multiplayer experience. As a solely multiplayer experience, Crash Team Rumble mostly delivers on converting the Crash Bandicoot formula into an understandable multiplayer experience. Developed by Crash Team, Crash Team Rumble is a 4v4 competitive multiplayer game with nine maps from the main game. Teams can activate iconic items and powers pulled from each game while stockpiling Wumpa Fruit.
The nine maps themselves are beautifully and thoughtfully designed to encourage fairness and to make the most of the mechanics. As a player, you will need not only to collect Wumpa Fruit, but you will also need to secure Gem Pads to boost your scores, Relic Stations to gain or lose advantages and disadvantages, as well as Epic Relic Stations, which summon game-changing allies such as Nitrous Oxide and Uka Uka. In most cases, it is the team that is best able to balance these mechanics that will usually win the game, but wild card events such as Uka Uka raining down asteroids can help tip the balance in their favor.
With many customization items to unlock and levels to grind, Crash Team Rumble is both fun and highly replayable. However, once you realize there’s not much else outside of Competitive, the concept of replayability is hit hard. There is a tutorial and private match option, but the main focus is on single gameplay. Nine launch maps is a decent amount, but the quickness of each (4-6 minutes) and just one game mode mean variety dies out quickly. The gameplay adds variety to the proceedings. Crash Team Rumble combines single-player gameplay with competitive action. Series veterans will spin, platform, and collect Wumpa Fruit like it’s a regular franchise game. It’s the handling of characters and powers that makes Crash Team Rumble unique.
Crash Team Rumble launches with eight characters which is divided into three focuses. Scorers (Crash, Tawna and Catbat) collect Wumpa Fruit and platform. Blockers (Dingodile, N. Brio and N. Tropy) stop enemies from scoring. Boosters (Coco, Neo Cortex) activate Relic Stations by capturing Gem Pads. Each character has its own unique attributes that make them feel valued. For instance, Dingodile’s vacuum slows down enemies and steals their Wumpa. The staff of N. Trophy allows for area attacks. The game has a good deal of synergy when playing with friends. Unfortunately, there are only eight launch characters. You’ll cycle through all characters too fast due to the single game mode and quick match length.
Players can choose from a wide range of powers before going into battle, adding another dimension to the gameplay. In addition to offensive options such as Fly Trap Spitter, supportive options such as the Healing Fridge, which heals enemies near it, scoring options such as the Wumpa Stash, as well as defensive options such as the Gasmoxian Guard, which is very deadly when placed on your opponent’s goal. I really like all three of them and they add a lot of variety to Crash Team Rumble, something that Crash Team Rumble was sorely lacking in variety.
With the right combination of characters, powers, maps, and fast matches, Crash Team Rumble is an exhilarating experience. The main issue is that the game doesn’t have enough meat on the bones to keep things interesting. Within just a few matches, you’ll have experienced the whole thing. It’s fun, but the lack of variety in game modes, characters and map objectives wears that away. There’s no denying that Crash Team Rumble looks and sounds good. Pulling from the visual style of Crash Bandicoot 4, Crash Team Rumble is colorful and beautiful to look at, with great attention to detail. This is a Crash Bandicoot game with all the sound effects, music and theme you’d expect. When significant events like Uka-Uka’s asteroid rain or Nitrous Oxide’s ship level the playing field, the game is particularly impressive. Although Crash Team Rumble may fall short in variety and content, it hits the bullseye with its presentation.
