Crash of the Titans

Crash of the Titans is an action-adventure game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment for the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable (the PSP version was ported from the PS2 by SuperVillain Studios); the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance versions of the game were developed by Amaze Entertainment. It was released in North America on October 4, 2007, in Europe on October 12, 2007, and in Australia on October 25, 2007; a Japanese release date has yet to be announced.

Crash of the Titans is the fourteenth installment in the Crash Bandicoot video game series, which began with Crash Bandicoot in 1996. It is the first Crash Bandicoot game to appear on a seventh generation home console, the second to support 16:9 widescreen (the first being Crash Twinsanity), and the first to support Wi-Fi LAN. The game's story centers on the discovery of a new mysterious substance known as 'Mojo', which the antagonist of the series, Doctor Neo Cortex, plans on using to create a huge army of loyal mutants out of the inhabitants of the Wumpa Islands. The protagonist of the series, Crash Bandicoot, must stop Cortex's plot by utilizing the new technique of 'jacking' to take control of the mutated 'Titans' and destroy the Titans while collecting the mysterious mojo himself.

Gameplay
The player controls Crash Bandicoot (Carbon Crash Bandicoot, if 2Player mode is on), who must rescue his sister, stop Cortex's Doominator, and save Wumpa Island. The first goal given to the player is to rescue Aku Aku, who acts as the player's tutor, shield, and skateboard. From there, the main goal of each level is to complete fights against large groups of enemies or simply progress through the level.

Crash starts the game with only three lives. On the top-left of the screen is an orange health meter. Whenever Crash takes damage from enemy attacks or falls down a bottomless pit, the health meter decreases. If the health meter runs out, Crash will lose a life. If Crash loses his last life, the game will end prematurely, and the player will have to start the level Crash died in from the beginning. Eating Wumpa Fruit replenishes Crash's health, and additional lives can be obtained for every 25,000 Mojo obtained. This is the first Crash platformer title to not have a health system based around the Aku Aku mask.

Each episode is broken up by a simple mini-game arena, where Crash has to accomplish a certain task in a set amount of time. The task usually consists of collecting a sufficient quantity of mojo, hijacking an enemy animal to snipe bombs, or simply defeating a select number of enemies.

At the end of a level, the player will earn a voodoo doll rank of either bronze, silver, or gold. This rank can be improved by defeating a set number of minions in an episode, destroying Cortex's three spy-toilets, or scoring a minimum combat hit combo. All three tasks must be accomplished in an episode if a gold voodoo doll is to be obtained for that episode. Hidden voodoo dolls unlock concept art packages for each episode.

The DS version of Titans plays in a format similar to that of previous Crash installments. The game takes place on four islands, each with two levels and a boss. When a boss is defeated, a new island is unlocked. This process is repeated until the game is won. Each island has its own "Pachinko board" where players can win "on-demand items", items that can be used to restore health, provide temporary invincibility, set off Nitro explosions, etc. Additional content can also be won at these Pachinko boards, such as gallery art, cheats, and a mojo jackpot.

Combat
Combat, a feature new to the series, is done in real-time, with Crash sporting a light and heavy attack early in the game. Crash can also block, dodge, or break an enemy's block. When Crash defeats enemies or destroys objects, they release a magical substance known as Mojo for Crash to collect. When Crash collects enough Mojo, he will earn either an ability upgrade or a new move, such as the Norris Roundhouse or the Triple Dragon. His classic spin attack, named "Old Skool" here, is one of these unlockable moves.

While the small minions require only a single combo for Crash to defeat, the larger enemies, known as "Titans", require a little more effort. Unlike the smaller enemies, the Titans possess a star meter over their heads, which indicates how close a Titan is to being stunned. The star meter will rise when a Titan takes damage. When the star meter is full, the Titan will be stunned, and will be susceptible to "jacking". When Crash jacks a Titan, he will mount the creature, putting it under his control with the aid of Aku Aku. In this state, the player will take control of the Titan, who has a similar moveset to Crash, with the exception of some Titans, who shoot projectiles instead. Along with a longer health meter, the Titan also possesses a purple Titan Meter. When this meter is full, the Titan is able to unleash a unique special attack. The Titan Meter is drained completely upon the completion of the attack, so if the player misses or misuses it, he/she must wait for the meter to completely refill.

How durable a Titan is depends on how large it is. Some Titans will take more effort to defeat than others, while a few won't even be phased by Crash's attacks alone. To defeat the larger Titans, Crash will have to jack a regular Titan (i.e. the Spike) to combat a larger Titan, such as the Goar. When the larger Titan is defeated, Crash can dismount the Titan he previously jacked and directly jack the larger Titan, which he can use to defeat even larger Titans, such as the Yuktopus. Titans' attacks are particularly effective against members of their own species as well as weaker creatures. If Crash dismounts a jacked Titan to directly jack another stunned Titan, the Titan he left behind will die immediately. This allows for large groups of Titans to be dispatched quickly.

Multiplayer
A second player can join in the game at any time with the aid of a second controller. Player 2 will appear in Player 1's backpack, which can be exited or entered for most of the time. Player 2 will not be able to leave Player 1's backpack if the current situation is too dangerous. This co-op mode is useful for overpowering enemies and collecting Mojo faster. There are two modes of co-op play, selectable from the Pause screen. In "Leapfrog Mode", the players swap control each time the leading player jumps, swings, or slides. In "Piggyback Mode", the second player will be separate from Player 1, but can hide out in Player 1's backpack if the action becomes too intense and vice versa.

Story
In the beginning of the game, Crash Bandicoot aids Coco with a butter-recycling device. This peace is interrupted by Doctor Neo Cortex, who arrives in his airship. Cortex captures Coco and Aku Aku, and encases Crunch in crystal. In an attempt to stop Doctor Cortex, Crash throws Coco's machine at the airship, and manages to sever Aku Aku's cage, which falls into the nearby forest. When Crash rescues Aku Aku, the latter explains that his powers are useless against the fierce mutants that they have encountered, and suspects that dark magic is involved. When Crash and Aku Aku follow Cortex's blimp to see what he's up to, they discover that Cortex and Uka Uka are stealing all the mojo from the Temple of Zoom, an event somehow linked to the strange mutants that have appeared. Upon reaching the roof of the Temple, Neo Cortex reveals his plot to use the stolen Mojo to create a huge army of loyal mutants, and use those mutants to build a colossal robot known as the Doominator, which will crush the Wumpa Islands and take over the world. Uka Uka then leaves Cortex and his patented Yuktopus to deal with Crash and Aku Aku while he takes the Mojo and Coco back to their base. After the Yuktopus fails to defeat Crash, Cortex boasts that Crash will never find their base, and flies off, leaving Crash and Aku Aku to follow him.

Back at the Cortex base, Uka Uka derides Cortex for failing to destroy Crash, dismissing his antics as "ridiculous and appalling", and decides to replace him with his niece, Nina Cortex, despite protests from Neo, N. Gin, and Tiny Tiger. Nina's first act as the main antagonist is to have Coco brainwashed and have her aid in the construction of the Doominator. Meanwhile, Crash and Aku Aku come across a giant wood-cutting/mining area, where logging machinery and giant digging robots reign supreme, and all the trees in the would-be jungle are gone. After working their way through the logging areas, Crash and Aku Aku go into a tunnel that heads into a lake of lava surrounded by mountains. On the other side are two giant metallic mosquitoes, which are using drills to suck the minerals from the lava inside the volcanic area. After the two mosquitoes are destroyed, Tiny Tiger, who is behind the mining operations, literally jumps in to express his frustration with Crash for hindering his job and for not inviting him to Crash Tag Team Racing. After a quick showdown of sorts, Crash uses a Shellephant Titan to force Tiny to tell them where Coco has been taken. Tiny spills the beans that she is being held at the factory on the beach, and that Nina has taken over the leadership role, to which Aku Aku and Crash display much disbelief. Upon realizing that this is the truth, Aku Aku and Crash head to the beach in a hurry.

Crash and Aku Aku arrive at the beach and begin to approach the factory. Crash, who realizes just how far away the factory is, throws a large temper tantrum, eventually moving on, having accepted that he must save his sister. After a long trek through the beach and its surrounding jungle area, Crash and Aku Aku move through a sewer line, finally arriving outside the factory, which appears to be modelled after N. Gin. Finally infiltrating the factory, Crash confronts N. Gin in the head of the Statue of Liberty-like base. After a quick showdown, Aku Aku demands information from N. Gin, who responds by having a conversation between two of his conflicting beliefs: one part of N. Gin wants Neo Cortex to be freed, while the other is happy with Nina's new way of ruling. Eventually, they reach a compromise in which N. Gin will tell Crash and Aku Aku where the others are, believing they will help Cortex. Aku Aku once more demands information, and N. Gin delivers, stating that the area they seek is in Uka Uka's lab, which is located on the giant tree in the center of Wumpa Islands.

Aku Aku, knowing the island best, warps himself and Crash to the tree, which is more infested with Titans than any other area. Uka Uka senses Aku Aku's presence through the Mojo, and stays in the lab while Nina goes to work on the Doominator. Arriving in the middle of the tree, Aku Aku notices a giant house, with flashing lights coming out of all the windows, and electricity spewing from the bottom. The duo enters the house, where they encounter Uka Uka in the furthest most room. Uka Uka floats towards the top of the room, where he points out the large electric beams flowing towards a familiar device. Uka Uka asks Crash if he remembers the device, noting its name as the Evolvo-Ray, used by Doctor Neo Cortex to create Crash in the first game of the series. Uka Uka then fires the ray upon himself, which causes a body of wood and vines to grow from the back of his mask. Uka Uka faces his defeat soon after, and claims he'll have the last laugh, as Nina Cortex is already about to launch the Doominator robot. Aku Aku disregards this, telling Crash that he senses Coco, and can warp them to the Doominator.

Upon doing this, the duo arrives at the bottom of the Doominator. They enter the base, which is similar to a giant museum-like mansion. At the end of the mansion is an entrance to the giant dome that rests on the Robot's head. The dome is filled with molten metal produced from the processes that run the Doominator. After Crash and Aku Aku pass this area, they finally arrive at the face of the Robot, which resembles Neo Cortex. The two enter the robot, and are confronted by Nina Cortex. Nina finally releases her uncle, commanding him to keep the robot on course with Wumpa Island itself, which the Cortexes plan to destroy. Cortex responds by ordering Crash to "take out this terrible excuse for a niece!" Nina summons her Arachnina robot, and fights Crash. Crash eventually overcomes the robot, and destroys it. Coco is freed, and the Doominator can be disabled. The collapsing Doominator just barely misses the Bandicoot home (and Crunch), sparing much of Wumpa Island. Escaping the collapsed Doominator, Cortex praises Nina for betraying him, and promises to be more evil in the near future, but proclaims that he's still going to spank Nina stupid for all of this. The Bandicoots decide that it is time for celebration... with pancakes.

The Nintendo DS version of the game largely follows the same story of the home console versions, but with minor tweaks involved, such as Nina Cortex having a more predominant role and the inclusion of Dingodile. The Game Boy Advance version also includes Dingodile, and has some plot differences, such as the Arachnica not being the last boss, and Cortex being reinstated after Nina's defeat in the N-Trapment Island (the penultimate island in the game).