Crash Bash

Sorry to say this without much of a softening up speech, but Crash Bandicoot is the most see-through, copycat mascot that ever existed, and he's once again ripped off a game concept from another mascot. He stole Sonic's hip, brash personality and Mario's ideas, and now, I'm coincidentally sad to say he doesn't even belong exclusively to the PlayStation or PS2. But I digress (already!). His latest venture, Crash Bash (clever double entendre implied) follows up on Crash's five-game PlayStation spree, and approaches the Mario Party concept by adding enough polish and county glimmering fair gaming qualities that make this game hard to resist.

Gameplay
Despite it's complete lack of originality, Crash Bash is a totally fun party game, and one of the few of its kind on PlayStation. How can I have so much contempt for Crash yet still like the game? It's not easy, but videogames have many layers, and Crash Bash is like spiked punch -- it's perfect for a party, as long as you own a multi-tap.

Crash follows Mario Party right down the line, and I liked Mario Party. It was a light, board game fun that was great for four people. Many of the games were luck-based and a few were skill-based, but it was like going to the county fair. It's distracting and social and you even up kind of liking it. So... If Crash Bash is Mario Party with different characters, then the only thing to hold me up from liking Crash Bash is whether or not Sony and Eurocom trashed the game concept, right? Luckily, they didn't.

Crash Bash sets gamers up in the familiar Crash universe, in which Crash and his buddies all fight against one another in 30 events that span seven "levels." In Adventure mode, the game strips out the whole game-board concept and just plops you into a menu system. Players pick a game and then fight against three other characters in five to seven minigames in each of seven warp zones. Players win gold cups, gems, and another stone to progress in each Warp Zone before they face off against a Boss. By beating the Boss character in a unique minigame, Crash earns the right to warp to a newer, more intricate set of games. What's quite nice about the game is that despite the repetitive nature of minigames such as Crash Ball, in each level the game is modified into a slightly altered, more dynamic battle. In Warp Zone 2 Crash Ball vehicles have magnetized bumpers and can control the ball, whereas in level 1, they couldn't. It's touches like this that make Crash worth all of the repetition. What's more, you'll get quite good at it in the single-player mode and then you'll have an edge over your buddies when you play in Multiplayer mode.

What makes Crash Bash and games like it so different and, in many ways, more accessible than standard videogames is the blend of luck and skill. Half of the time when you die, it's just bad luck, and the other half it's because you learned what not to do. There is no videogame experience required.

The star characters include Crash, Coco, Dingodile, Tiny, Neo Cortex, and Neo Brio, plus two unlockable characters. The minigames range from twitch games, such as Crash Ball, which is sort of like pinball; Smash-'em-up games, such as Polar Panic, in which each character rides a polar bear and they attempt to smash each other off an iceberg arena, and variations of last-one standing and high-point games. Space Bash (among others) is very reminiscent of Bomberman, since characters pick up and throw, or kick, boxes at one another to remain the last one standing. Another Bomberman spin-off is Desert Fox -- characters shoot each other from miniature tanks in a square grid to see who can stay alive the longest.

The other mode is Battle. Players can go head to head in a four-way competition, or they can team up in two-on-two fights. Battle is the heart of the game, and can keep you glued to the game for hours -- as long as you're in a light mood. There is no big story here, there is no complicated battle system, and there certainly aren't any massive fantastic graphic effects -- there are just lots of competitive, adrenaline-pumping minigames. So, if you're in the party mood, Crash Bash is your bag, baby.