Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage

For nearly a decade the Crash Bandicoot series has been stuck in a 2D world.  The original trilogy, developed by Naughty Dog exclusively for PSone, had 3D elements, but lacked the open worlds and 360 degree controls that Naughty Dog's latest games (Jak I and II) have.  That will change this fall when Vivendi Universal releases the first full-3D Crash game.  To hold you over until then, VU is giving gamers another Crash adventure for the GBA – Crash Bandicoot: Ripto's Rampage.

Referred to as the "Purple" version, Ripto's Rampage is one part of a two-game quest.  The other part stars Spyro and is titled Spyro: The Cortex Conspiracy (the "Orange" version).  I haven't played Spyro so I couldn't tell you what it has to offer.  Ripto's Rampage, however, is a bit of a surprise, and not in the way that I had hoped.  The base of the game is just like the other Crash games designed for the Game Boy Advance – platformer action that's nearly comparable to Sonic Advance and Mario Advance.  The heart of the game, however, is more akin to Mario Party.

Ripto's Rampage's game world is decent in size but has very little for the player to do.  Within the world there are several mini-games that need to be completed in order to proceed.  That's where you'll spend the majority of the game – the mini-game parlor.  This is disappointing for two reasons: (1) I liked Crash better as a platformer, and (2) the mini-games are silly, boring, frustrating, or all three.

One of the first mini-games involves the destruction of sheep.  I don't think you're killing them, but when you shoot them they disappear, just like the enemies do in the few battles that occur in the game.  The sheep come out in rows, and all you have to do is move up and down the rows and shoot the sheep before they reach Crash.  Easy?  You bet.  Boring?  Yep, that too.

Another mini-game involves a helicopter and the protection of Crash from evil robot-like things.  You must use the helicopter to shoot the robots before they hit Crash.  The robots parachute from above, and if you fail to hit them before they land, your only line of defense is to use the helicopter to raise Crash off the ground.  You can't raise him, aim and shoot at the same time, so you must juggle back and forth between motions.  If you miss just one robot you automatically lose.  This isn't easy or much fun.  "Difficulty" doesn't always equal "challenge."

A third mini-game sends Crash into the military.  He gets his very own tank, and now it's up to him to move around the poorly constructed obstacle course, take out the enemy, and make his way to the goal.  This one's easy, but like the others, it isn't very entertaining.  I wouldn't even call it a time-killer.

The problem with these mini-games – and the many others that are featured in Ripto's Rampage – is that you must beat them to move forward.  You can't say, "This level is boring, I'll move on and see if the next batch of mini-games is better."  The game stops you from doing that.  Crystals are obtained by completing the mini-games and you need those crystals to progress.  It's like the system that Jak and Ratchet & Clank use where items must be collected to succeed.  I'm all for it in a platformer.  But here it just doesn't work.

Ripto's Rampage's graphics aren't as impressive as the previous Crash games either.  Some of the backgrounds are slightly more detailed, but the enemies look terrible.  Their choppy animation does not complement the smooth animation that Crash sports.  Of course, Crash's animations are old, whereas the enemies are new.  That doesn't say too much for the quality of this game.

If you so desire, Ripto's Rampage has dozens of cards that can be collected.  The purpose of collecting them?  It's mostly just for fun, but the rarest of the rare will unlock cheats, add new characters to the multiplayer mode, or grant Crash special abilities.  Two-hundred cards can be found throughout Crash Purple and Spyro Orange, but the only way to obtain them all is by trading with someone who has the other game.  It's kind of like Pokemon but without the great benefit of having a new monster to battle with.

Crash Bandicoot: Ripto's Rampage is far from the Crash Bandicoot games you know and love.  Unless, of course, the Crash Bandicoot game you know and love is Crash Bash.  That game was kind of cool, and had more complexity than the mini-games presented here.  More important than complexity is entertainment, something this game has very little of.  I look forward to seeing the series enter the third dimension this fall on PlayStation 2.  But for now I'll have to stick with the old Crash games to get my bandicoot fix.

Gameplay: 5
Mini-games aplenty, but where has all the adventuring gone?  Where's the platforming action?  Or the excitement?  They're nowhere to be found in this game.  Up until now, Crash Bandicoot has had the luxury of being a series that stayed away from the offshoot madness that other mascot games have faced (Mario Golf or Tennis, anyone?  How about a little Sonic Racing?).  Crash Bash was a one-time deal that was quickly forgotten, but now we've got another offshoot to add to the list.  I'm all for another Crash adventure just as long as it's true to the series' roots.

Graphics: 6
These graphics are pretty weak, even for the Game Boy Advance.  The latest Sonic game is much livelier in the visual department.

Sound: 5
More of the same, only not as good.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Expect more frustration than challenge.

Concept: 5
Not only is Ripto's Rampage all about the mini-game experience, but it also disappoints by not including any original content.  The mini-games are variations of things we've seen and played before.

Multiplayer: 5
Might be fun for Mario Party-lovers, but it won't appeal to anyone else.

Overall: 5.3
The idea of converging the worlds of Crash and Spyro is alright, but not if the result is another party game.  That is just what we get with this game.  This game was likely developed for the Mario Party crowd, but if that's the case it should have been labeled and promoted accordingly.  I played it with the expectation of gameplay that's comparable to the previous GBA Crash games.  I think a lot of players will have those same expectations.