Beep. Beep. Beep. GO! And I’m already going insane. Crash is BACK but not just the N-sane trilogy, no no no my friends, Crash Team Racing is BACK! (Can you tell I’m excited?) With the trailer dropping just yesterday, fans of Crash everywhere are screaming in excitement (myself included). But what does the trailer tell us?
Let’s take a look bit by bit shall we?
First off: it’s freakin’ gorgeous. At just 8 seconds in, we go from taking a look at the nostalgic beginning of Papu’s Pyramid to an absolutely stunning shot of a remastered Crash in a completely overhauled world. And okay, sure, it says ‘in-engine footage’ but if it’s even anywhere close to this shot, it’s going to be absolutely beautiful; just think about the jump from Crash Bandicoot to the remastered Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, or Spyro the Dragon to Spyro the Reignited Trilogy – I’m so excited.
And if this beautiful shot wasn’t enough of a give-away that, yes, our beautiful game is returning, up come the words “Crash is Back” – it’s really happening. The original game is coming back to fans all revved up, with all our favourite levels and characters, so whether you preferred Coco or Cortex, Pura or Polar, worry not, because they’re all back and more beautiful than ever.
But after a few more amazing shots of the remastered world, we get the real information. From a quick shot, we see confirmation that yes, there’ll still be 4-player splitscreen (a worry for any current gamers as conventional couch gaming has truly taken a dive these past few years) but more importantly: “Race online”. Online.
CTR just became the new Mario Kart, but better.
You read right my friends, not only is Crash coming back, but it will have online features – no matter where your friends are, so long as you both love Crash, you can play any time of day (something I will no doubt be doing come June. People may not see me for a while.)
“CTR just became the new Mario Kart, but better”
If you hadn’t already guessed (though I don’t think subtlety has been my strong suit) I’m super, super hyped for this game. This was, quite literally, the game of my childhood. Though games like Spyro, Rayman, Ratchet and Clank, and Pokémon are all dear to me – it was Crash, and not only Crash Bandicoot, but Crash Team Racing, which occupied most of my younger years.
If you came round to mine in the early noughties, there was a good chance we were going to play this game, whether you wanted to or not.
Back in first year, I even re-downloaded the original game on PS3 (yes people, you can do this, if you don’t want the remastered games for whatever reason, the originals are there, you just may need to dig out your older console). Within just a few short weeks, I’d completed the game at 101% (now starting to realise why younger me struggled with percentages…) gotten rid of Nitrous Oxide, and thoroughly enjoyed my trip down nostalgia lane.
And I’m ecstatic about the chance to do it all again.
However, I can see why some might not like this news. Remasters and remakes are getting old – there’s just too many of them. I’ll be one of the first to agree that the current surge of remasters is getting out of control – both for games and film (*cough* Disney *cough*).
“It’s a remaster of a multiplayer game, with an upgrade”
There’s been a sincere lack of new content due to this uprise in remakes and remasters. Even Spyro, though I adore it, really didn’t need the remaster – it’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t necessary.
Crash Team Racing however, I’ll defend with my dying breath. Yes, it’s another remaster, and yes, I’m sick of them too – but it’s not just a remaster of an old single player game which you can still find in its original form. It’s a remaster of a multiplayer game, with an upgrade. Had they kept it entirely in its original form with a simple graphics overhaul and not much else, I probably wouldn’t be this excited, but the offer of ‘online’ opens so many doors.
Reviving it for current platforms is a stroke of genius – not only does it help revive the dying art of split-screen, but the addition of online makes it available to anyone who wants to play. If your friend has the game, but you can’t get a hold of it, no worries! Grab a controller, take a seat, and start racing. Got the game, but friends are too far away? Hop online! It’s suitable for everyone.
I’m sick of remasters too, really, I’d just love some new games – but this game? This remaster is one I’ve been wishing for ever since the remaster trend began. And I truly thing this is going to be one remaster we all adore. If only we didn’t have to wait for June…
Georgia Butcher
Featured Image and article images taken as screenshots from the game’s reveal trailer via YouTube.
Image use licence here.
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