Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is the sixth Crash Bandicoot game, but the fourth chronologically, and it was the first game to feature Crash Bandicoot on the Playstation 2, GameCube, and Xbox.

Gameplay
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is a platform game in which the player controls Crash and Coco Bandicoot, who must gather 25 Crystals and defeat the main antagonists of the story: Doctor Neo Cortex, his new superweapon Crunch Bandicoot and Crunch's power sources, the renegade Elementals. Much of the game takes place in a "Virtual Reality (VR) Hub System" created by Coco to help Crash gather the Crystals. The VR Hub System is split up into five "VR Hubs"; initially, only the first VR Hub is available. Each VR Hub has five teleportation portals to different levels. The goal in each level is to find and obtain the Crystal hidden in the area. In some levels, the Crystal will be located at the end of a level or must be earned by completing a specific challenge. After completing all five levels in a VR Hub, a sixth teleportation portal to a boss level will appear. By defeating the boss, the next VR Hub will become available for play. When all 25 Crystals are collected and Doctor Cortex and Crunch are defeated, the game is won.

Crash and Coco start the game with four lives. Crash and Coco lose a life when they are struck by an enemy attack or suffer any other type of damage. More lives can be earned by instructing Crash or Coco to collect 100 "Wumpa Fruits" or break open a special crate to collect a life. Crash and Coco can be shielded from enemy attack by collecting an Aku Aku mask. Collecting three of these masks allows temporary invulnerability from all minor dangers. If Crash or Coco run out of lives, the game is over. However, the game can be continued by selecting "Yes" at the "Continue?" screen.

Each level contains a "Bonus Platform" that leads to a special bonus area, where the player must navigate through a maze and collect everything in sight. Once a bonus area is completed, it cannot be played again.

Besides Crystals, Gems and Colored Gems can be collected for 100% completion. Gems are rewarded to the player if all of the crates in a level are broken open or if a secret area is completed. Colored Gems are found in special levels and lead to hidden areas.

"Relics" can be won by re-entering a level where the Crystal has already been retrieved. To obtain a Relic, the player must initiate the "Time Trial" mode and race through a level in the pre-designated time displayed before entering a level. To begin a Time Trial run, the player must enter a level and activate the floating stopwatch near the beginning of the level to activate the timer; if the stopwatch is not touched, the level can be played regularly. The player must then race through the level as quickly as possible. Scattered throughout the level are yellow crates with the numbers 1, 2 or 3 on them. When these crates are broken, the timer is frozen for the number of seconds designated by the box. As no lives are lost in the Time Trial mode, the level can be played through as often as the player desires. Sapphire, Gold and Platinum Relics can be won depending on how low the player's final time is. The first five Relics the player receives unlocks access to a secret level. Every five Relics thereafter open up another level in the Secret Warp Room. The levels in the Secret Warp Room must be won before the game can be 100% completed.

"Do We Have A Plan?"
Somewhere outside of Earth's orbit, Uka Uka holds a "bad guy convention" in a new space station that currently acts as the base for Doctor Neo Cortex and his friends Doctor N. Gin, Doctor Nefarious Tropy, Tiny Tiger and Dingodile. Uka Uka denounces the group as "imbeciles, fools," and "nincompoops" and questions their ability to do anything right. Unveiling a line graph moving heavily downward, Uka Uka announces that the group's track record for spreading evil is "pathetic". Doctor Cortex proclaims their innocence and that Crash Bandicoot is really at fault. Irritated, Uka Uka declares that he will not let anything stand in the way of evil, especially not a "brainless orange marsupial". He concludes that Crash must be eliminated. As he speaks, Tiny attempts to clutch a hologram of Crash Bandicoot that has appeared over the middle of the table, only to have it disappear in his hand. Doctor N. Gin nervously reminds Uka Uka that Crash always finds a way to defeat them and contemplates the possibility that Crash may be just too good for them. However, Uka Uka at this point will not take excuses and threatens the group into thinking of one good plan on the spot. As Doctor Cortex disgustedly laments his situation, Doctor Nefarious Tropy recalls a secret weapon Cortex has been working on in his laboratory. Although Cortex denies anything of that sort, Doctor N. Gin doesn't catch on and reminds Cortex that Tropy is referring to the super-secret weapon Cortex has been laboring over day and night since the last time Crash defeated him, ignoring all of Cortex's non-vocal attempts to tell him to keep quiet on the subject. Uka Uka impatiently ends the discussion and asks the group what they have planned. With no choice at hand, Cortex decides to reveal the existence of his genetically-engineered weapon, which he claims possesses unbelievable strength. However he reports that the weapon is missing a power source. In a scene only present in the instruction manual for the game, Uka Uka tells the group a story about a battle that happened thousands of years ago between the Ancient Ancestors and the Elementals, a group of renegade masks who controlled the natural elements of earth, water, fire and air and used their powers to ravage the globe. The Ancient Ancestors were able to imprison the Elementals through the use of the Crystals, putting the Elementals in a state of hibernation. Cortex deduces that if they unleash the Elementals' destructive energy, they'd have enough power to bring the secret weapon to life. The weapon would be capable of crushing mountains, demolishing entire cities and, as Uka Uka hopes, wiping Crash Bandicoot off the face of the Earth forever. Cortex laughs sinisterly as he prepares Crash Bandicoot for his wrath.

Climate Changes
Meanwhile, Crash and Coco are jet-skiing near N. Sanity Beach as Pura and Aku Aku soak up the sun's rays. Suddenly, they are all startled by a loud rumble, which draws their attention to an erupting volcano in the distance. Clouds begin to flood the sky, and Aku Aku seems to suspect something. Coco warns Crash about an incoming tidal wave, which sweeps them both onto the shore with the others. Aku Aku immediately blames Uka Uka for the strange weather occurrences and disappears to find out what he is planning.

Meet The Elementals
Aku Aku arrives at a temple in the middle of hyperspace, where Uka Uka has been waiting for him. Aku Aku demands him to reveal his schemes, but Uka Uka claims "just some old familiar faces dropping by for a visit," at which point Rok-Ko, Wa-Wa, Py-Ro and Lo-Lo appear. Aku Aku is shocked and reminds him of the chaos the masks are capable of, telling him that their release could spell disaster for them all. Py-Ro orders an attack on Aku Aku, who manages to escape to tell Crash and Coco.

Coco's VR HUB System
Elsewhere, Crash is drying off after his encounter with the tidal wave while Coco is on her laptop. Aku Aku suddenly bursts inside and tells them about the Elementals, instructing them to collect the crystals to imprison the masks and save the Earth. Coco delivers a status update on her VR HUB System she'd been working on, announcing that it is nearly complete. Aku Aku happily decides that it is time to test it out in order to retrieve the crystals. The group enters a workshop where Coco's device is located, and with a tap of a few keys on her laptop, Coco activates the VR HUB System, allowing Crash to collect the first five crystals.

The End?
Cortex is grumbling on the platform he was on. Uka Uka comes up and tells him Crash may have collected the crystals but he dosen't have the gems and with the gems they can bring The Elementals back once again.

"Idiot, Fool, Nincompoop."
Cortex moans over his defeat. Uka Uka furiously attempts to attack Cortex, but misses and inadvertently releases Crunch from his mind control by damaging the machinery in the space station. Crunch wakes up dazed, but has no time to get his revenge on Cortex as Uka Uka's blunder causes a critical power overload that could destroy them all. Cortex suggests that they use the escape pods, but Uka Uka is even angrier at Cortex for ducking out of the way. Meanwhile, Coco arrives in a spaceship just in time and rescues Crash and Crunch. Later, Crunch expresses his gratitude to Crash, Coco and Aku Aku for believing in him. Elsewhere, having blasted off in an escape pod and landed in the middle of an icy wasteland, Cortex is chased around an iceberg Uka Uka, declaring that he will get his revenge on Crash Bandicoot.

Earth

 * 1. Arctic Antics(Ice)
 * 2. Tornado Alley(Air)
 * 3. Bamboozled(Jungle)
 * 4. Wizards and Lizards(Castle)
 * 5. Compactor Reactor(Research Base)
 * Boss: Rumble in the Roks-Boss: Crunch and Rok-Ko(Jungle)

Water

 * 6. Jungle Rumble(Jungle)
 * 7. Sea Shell Shenanigans(Underwater)
 * 8. Banzai Bonsai(Asian)
 * 9. That Sinking Feeling(Air)
 * 10. H2 Oh No!(Underwater/Research Base)
 * Boss: Drain Damage-Boss: Crunch and Wa-Wa(Sewers)

Fire

 * 11. The Gauntlet(Castle)
 * 12. Tsunami(Asian)
 * 13. Smokey and the Bandicoot(Western)
 * 14. Eskimo Roll(Ice)
 * 15. Fahrenheit Frenzy(Research Base)
 * Boss: Crashes to Ashes-Boss: Crunch and Py-Ro(Jungle)

Air

 * 16. Avalanche(Ice)
 * 17. Droid Void(Lab)
 * 18. Crashteroids(Air)
 * 19. Coral Canyon(Underwater)
 * 20. Weathering Heights(Research Base)
 * Boss: Atmospheric Pressure-Boss: Crunch and Lo-Lo(Air)

Space

 * 21. Crash and Burn(Jungle)
 * 22. Gold Rush(Western)
 * 23. Medieval Madness(Castle)
 * 24. Crate Balls of Fire(Lab)
 * 25. Cortex Vortex(Research Base)
 * Boss: Crunch Time-Boss: Crunch, Dr. Neo Cortex and All Elementals

Special
(levels in this area are not numbered in-game.)
 * 26. Knight Time(Castle)
 * 27. Ghost Town(Western)
 * 28. Ice Station Bandicoot(Ice)
 * 29. Solar Bowler(Space)
 * 30. Force of Nature(Ice)

Reception
The PlayStation 2 version of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was met with mixed reviews. Louis Bedigian of GameZone wrote a positive review, saying that "any Crash Bandicoot fan would be a fool not to go out and buy this game. I started playing at 2am one night and did not stop until three in the afternoon!" Doug Perry of IGN described the game as "a decent playing and pretty looking Crash Bandicoot game. It's nothing terribly special, but it's not bad, not bad at all." Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine felt that "when the strongest feeling I get from a game is the desire to play its predecessors, something's not quite right." Game Informer criticized the "outrageously bad load times", saying that they "keep the game from being average." Shane Satterfield of GameSpot concluded that the game "maintains the status quo and fails to deliver a fresh, compelling experience." Star Dingo of GamePro cautioned that "if you were hoping the new management would give Crash a big kick in the pants, however, this is one pair of pants you will find quite unkicked." Electronic Gaming Monthly criticized the trial-and-error gameplay, saying that "when forced to blindly jump, die, then discover what you missed, where I come from, that’s just cheating."

Though the Xbox version of the game rated generally higher among critics than the PlayStation 2 version, reviews remained mixed. Play Magazine noted that "they've caressed the music to great effect, made the bosses a bit more challenging, [and] adhered to a massive replayability standard that would drive any developer to drink." Game Informer felt that "every little morsel of platforming goodness in The Wrath of Cortex has already been done to death on the Playstation." Carlos McElfish of GameZone warned that "if you are looking for an innovative and original experience that does justice to the series you’ll have to look elsewhere." Official Xbox Magazine concluded that "this is a game for those who want what Crash has always had to offer – good graphics, jump-and-spin gameplay, and tons of collectible items. Nothing more, nothing less." Hilary Goldstein felt that while Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was "a fun game for the most part," "it fails in some areas, like proper game balance and correct use of surround sound." Shane Satterfield of GameSpot passed off the game as "a slightly updated version of the orange marsupial's 1998 debut on the PlayStation." Star Dingo of GamePro concluded that "love it or hate it, Wrath of Cortex Xbox is more of more of the same." Electronic Gaming Monthly felt that "save for a few additions to WOC, like some cool hamster-ball levels, it's almost identical to its predecessors."

The GameCube version rated the lowest among critics out of the three versions. Ben Kosmina of Nintendo World Report promised that "gamers experiencing the wacky mascot for the first time may enjoy it." Michael Lafferty of GameZone described the game as "safe, sterile and redundant." Matt Casamassina on IGN concluded that "at the end of the day this is the same Crash game I played so many years ago without any real innovations or evolutions." Nintendo Power praised the "sheer variety" of the gameplay. Kilo Watt of GamePro said that "graphically, this version is slightly below the recent Xbox release but in line with the competent PlayStation 2 iteration." Electronic Gaming Monthly agreed that "Wrath on the GC is much more polished here than on the PS2," while Play Magazine denounced the GameCube version as "a shell of the other two console versions, so I beg you to pass."