Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is an Action game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in 1997 for the Playstation.

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Overall 9.4    Graphics 9.6    Sound 8.4    Addictive 7.1    Story 7.5    Depth 9    Difficulty 6.1


Review of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back   supremesonicbra..
After the huge success Crash Bandicoot was, a sequel comes in. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. An awesome approach for a game title, as well as an awesome sequel to an already great game. Crash 2 pushed new boundaries, introduced new things, and (thank God) fixed some issues the last game had. I believe Crash 2 was the canon one I played the most (I used to play CTR a lot more, but since it's a spin-off I had to divide), had such good times with it. So let's get to it.[STORY - 9/10]Following the (normal) ending of Crash 1, where Crash had a final fight with Dr. Neo Cortex on his blimp, Crash won and Cortex fell on the island, crashing through a cave and finding a shining purple crystal there, laughing maniacally while a comic relief happens where his match loses its light and he shouts a comical "D'oh!". One year has passed and Cortex is seen inside the Cortex Vortex, orbiting Earth, discussing his plans with Dr N. Gin, a physicist who serves as his assistant/right-hand. Cortex plans to suck the energy out of the purple crystal he found to power the Cortex Vortex, but N. Gin tells him that's not enough, as they need 25 smaller crystals to reach full power.

Cut to Earth, Crash is sleeping alongside his sister, Coco, which seemingly came out of nowhere since the first game never mentioned her (I personally used to believe she was Tawna but younger, believe it or not), who was using her laptop when suddenly the batteries were dead and she asked Crash to get new ones (I actually didn't understood this part as a child, had to search it up). Crash then went deep into the forest when he reaches an altar and gets abducted to a strange place (which is called "Warp Room" in-game). There, Cortex shows up as a hologram and somehow tricks Crash into believing he's trying to save the world, begging him for help to find crystals on his way and bring them to him. Shortly after, a hologram of Dr. N. Brio appears, telling Crash to look for gems instead of crystals. Coco tries to contact Crash several times throughout the game but always gets cut off, so she decides to research on her own, while Crash sets out to collect both crystals and gems.

One thing's for sure, there's a lot more dialogue here than in Crash 1. I don't mind since I like deep stories like the Bioshock series, but I still prefer taking it in small doses. Crash 2 actually does a great work on this, it doesn't throw everything in your face at the same time, you get to digest it nice and slow.

[GRAPHICS - 10/10]

On a former review I said Crash 1 had stunning cartoon-ish graphics which blended great with realistic environments. Luckily for us, nothing has changed in that way. In fact, things are pretty much more polished, but they still retain that cartoon-ish feel, which is awesome. Plus, aside from new enemies, new scenarios and new everything, Crash also has more death animations (some of them are really funny) and he's not looking side-to-side anymore like the "schizophrenic mammal" he was in Crash 1. He looks a bit less "animal", but if you idle for a long time, he goes back to his old pose.

Level-wise, Crash 1 had kind of a "fixed" setting on the Australian wildness and tribal atmosphere, but on Crash 2 we have more varied settings: not only forests but also snowy mountains, long lost ruins, dank sewers, paradisiac waterfalls, damn, we even get to go to SPAAAAAACE! Crash 2 nails it right on level variety.

[SOUND - 10/10]

Also quoting my former review of Crash 1, limitations on PS1 hardware brought along some kinda bad audio quality issues, which technically could kill games but in fact just made Crash games better. Crash 2 is a way better example than Crash 1 in this aspect, as it also had to compress its soundtrack but levels like Hang Eight/Air Crash/Plant Food (which, ironically, are by far my favorites from the whole game) just got better with this kind of compression.

The Australian ambiance from Crash 1 has been tuned down in Crash 2, but as levels are pretty varied now, it ended up filling this "empty space" the suppression of didgeridoos and tribal drums have left. Don't worry though, you can still hear didgeridoos as a sound effect when Crash dies sometimes. Yet, the general feeling of a Crash game is still retained in this new soundtrack. It still feels like a Crash game down there at its core. Soundtrack-wise, Crash 2 is my franchise favorite hands down.

This game also had "pre-console" versions of its soundtrack released by Josh Mancell on his SoundCloud, which you can check out here in case you haven't read the former review: https://soundcloud.com/joshmancell/sets/music-for-video-games-crash

[DIFFICULTY - 7/10]

Here is where Crash 2 steps down a bit for the greater good: finally we get full analog controls. Good riddance, D-Pad. Overall, on the "main quest" subject, Crash 2 ends up being a tad easier than Crash 1 IMO. There's less levels (25 compared to Crash 1's 30-ish) and bosses are a bit more predictable, yet they still give a bit of a challenge, as we should expect them to give. I believe the same mechanics of "making the game easier should you die a lot" that Crash 1 had still apply here, not really sure but I think you still get an Aku-Aku mask for free and the boulders still slow down for you after dying X times.

But, besides that, Crash 2 made it easier for you to accumulate lots of lives. In fact, there is even an easter egg/exploit/whatchamacallit which gives you 10 or so instant lives simply by jumping lots of times on a polar bear beside one of the levels' portals on the Warp Room (later on this polar bear was simply known as Polar, being part of the "hero crew").

Bosses, in specific, take a bit more of time to defeat, not because they're hard, but because they more slow-paced than Crash 1's bosses, which, sincerely, is great for me, although that means you get more time to react, thus, probably making them easier for you (or not, it still depends on your pace).

Luckily, again for the greater good, you can save the game anytime you want by standing in front of a big wall in the Warp Room, the password scheme is gone, you can truly play at your own pace now, everything's way better.

[DEPTH - 9/10]

And here is where the sequel really shines.

As per usual, Crash 2 makes you collect crystals and gems are still there, this time colored gems are sort of "padronized" in five different colors: blue, red, green, yellow and purple. I don't really remember how were the colored gems back in Crash 1 but this seems a lot better for me. They are still vital as they open secret paths with hidden crates to collect. Some levels can have one or two gems to collect, these extra certain gems (including some of the colored ones) are now earned through special ways that aren't breaking all crates in a level, like going through certain secret paths that other gems unlock, and speaking of which...

Did I mention there's a secret Warp Room? Yep. Some specific levels have certain places which trigger specific parts of some levels that were otherwise unreachable in their normal path, and they're very well hidden in places you'd never expect (unfortunately you are forced to go through one of those every time you want to visit, there's not a thing like a "special portal that opens in the main Warp Room" for you to access the secret one).

Crash 2 also got more varied bonus stages that are more accessible than Crash 1's. You don't need to collect anything, you've just got to find a big green "?" platform which will take you there. There are also Skull Routes, platforms with a skull craved on them which take you to harder sections of the level. They might even hide a gem there, who knows. But it comes with a price: the only requirement for entering these routes is to reach the platform without dying. If you die even once before getting there, when you get to the platform it will just be a white wireframe, showing that the platform is gone and you'll have to redo the level from start.

Whilist in Crash 1 we had lots of platforming and a donkey to mount on and rush through tribal houses, Crash 2 has a LOT more different gameplay styles. Alongside basic platforming and the "auto-runner sequences" with Polar the Bear, Crash can also surf waterfalls with a motorized surfboard, have a sort of lum or firefly that guides him through the forest at night and even ride a jetpack on space!

There's also additions in the controls: back at Crash 1 all you could do was jumping and spinning. Crash 2 allows you to crouch and slide, as well as stomp things with your belly (there are specific crates which can only be broken by belly-stomping them). As in Crash 1, there's also an alternate ending which requires you to collect every single collectible in the game, so... yeah, good luck with that.

[ADDICTIVENESS - 9/10]

There's something I almost forgot to say: you can die as many times as you wish, you'll get your gem even so, assuming you reached its requirement. This is what makes Crash 2 a lot more re-playable than Crash 1 for me. Also, it may not look like it, but bosses can be replayed here as well as Crash 1, you just got to hold a button or a combo of buttons if I'm not mistaken while changing floors in the Warp Room. I personally like to replay Crash 2 a lot for a reason: I love the musics. Be they compressed or not, Crash 2 achieved one of the best soundtracks I've heard in my life.

[OVERALL - 10/10]

I couldn't help myself. I try to not give a whopping 10/10 all the time but I gotta admit these games are really perfect to me. Crash 2 is one hell of a game and I can't deny it, it fixed all of the issues I had with the original game, I've got literally nothing to complain about, I swear. I can only imagine how the Crash 3 review will be like...

  Graphics 10   Sound 10   Addictive 9   Story 9   Depth 9   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 5/5     Submitted: 11-20-16     Updated: 11-20-16     Review Replies: 1


Crash Bandicoot 2 - My Ultimate Retrospective   Tails the Fox
[img]http://www.crashmania.net/images/2/logo2.png[/img] Crash Bandicoot was originally released on the PlayStation in 1996, which is also the year I was born. That game was incredibly popular and loved, and all my friends had only good things to say about it. I never played it. No, I did not have my PlayStation at that time, I had a SNES. It was two years after that I got my PlayStation, and it came with a copy of Crash Bandicoot 2. Since that was the first one I had I will review it, and you will read it. Crash Bandicoot 2 is in every way a sequel to the first game, improving on everything that the original had – as far as I know. The original only used two abilities, jumping and spinning. This one by adding a single button, increased how much could be done with the game drastically. This may possibly be the greatest sequel ever made, and in a year no less. The game starts off as most do, with a cut scene. This cut scene is set immediately after the end of the first game - Literally. And then the initial reason to play. Crash is sleeping on the floor, looking particularly stupid whilst his sister, Coco is using her laptop... in the middle of a jungle for some reason. Her battery runs out, and instead of charging her laptop like anyone else would, she instead sends her brother Crash to go find a new one. It is strange how she never considers the fact that you are not going to find a battery in the jungle, but that is irrelevant. The game play seamlessly starts here, in which crash leaps up passing over control to the player. I like this style of combining game play with cut scenes, and Naughty Dog seem to know that all too well considering that they still do it with the Uncharted games. Once this small stage is done, the main area of the game is accessed. The warp rooms each have five stages to play, and a save point. The save point does exactly what you would expect it to, so I won’t explain it. Each stages gateway is adorned by appropriate decoration from its stage. In the centre there is an elevator which allows Crash to go between the different warp rooms. The elevator is also the access to the bosses which allow you to then go to the next floor. Don’t let that make you think that you have to fight them every time you go up; it is just the first time. I was young, so I never wanted to go down it so I did not have to fight the boss again. Each warp room has a theme to it in which at least two levels in it will share. I love the amount of effort to make the warp rooms look good. Each gateway looks unique (except in the last one, and even then they have slight differences) and are a great way to get into a level. The Crash Bandicoot games that came after followed a similar fashion (all two of them) with the warp rooms, but condensed them into one large one. They are good, but will never give me the same feeling that the one in the second game did. I miss the feelings I got from that. I will replay the game, just for the feeling that the warp rooms gave me. I doubt anyone else would get this feeling; it is a personal thing to me. The stages are brilliantly designed in a way where you expect everything in it to happen despite having never seen it before. The stages each have different themes, such as woods, snowiness, rivers, and even space stations. The amount of variety is amazing and despite not every stage being completely unique in theme; it will feel in every way a different stage as they will throw in some rather impressive design choices. Stages will give you one obstacle. It is easy to get through. It will give you another, also easy to get through. It then piles them on top of each other in different ways ensuring that you learn the stages without upping the difficulty too much. In each stage there are your regular assortment of enemies – ones that go up and down, left and right, and ones that chase. It’s rather standard enemy design, but they are placed so well that it only makes too much sense and compliments the stage greatly. The stages are full of the obligatory collectables, in this case apples, (though the game calls them Wumpa Fruit because how-the-balls-would-I-know?) which after collecting 100 give an extra life. In each stage there is a crystal to collect, which is required for you to get to the next warp room – there are 25 of these crystals. There are also the gems which are not required, but are a nice distraction and (they also get you a different ending) have different ways of being acquired. The regular, clear gems are obtained for getting all of the boxes in a stage. The other gems each have their own method of being obtained, whether it is a secret, or a weird way of beating the level – I’m not telling you. Each stage is also full of boxes (yeah, I forgot to put this in earlier) which not only are useful for getting the clear gems, but all serve different purposes. The regular boxes which have nothing special about them will give you apples. The ? Boxes will give you more apples, and occasionally a completely different item. The ! Boxes are switches. The TNT boxes are well... TNT – they explode. (Oh, and do not spin or slide them, instead jump on top of them else you will burn.) The related Nitro boxes are new to this game and kill you on contact. (I did not know that when I was young and thought that they were the same as the TNT. I lost many a life that night.) The bouncy boxes which are adorned by vertical lines do exactly that. The metal boxes which must be body slammed. I think there might be a few more as well – and all of these boxes must be smashed in order to get the clear gem. Each stage has a bonus stage in it (I am going on about the stages a lot – that’s because there is so much to say about them) which allows you to get some extra apples, lives and boxes and are a requirement for getting the gem. In bonus stages you can’t lose lives, and instead will just lose everything you found in the bonus stage. If you do screw up, you will be warped right outside of it giving you another attempt until you beat it. There are also extra paths in stages which you can take if you have had no deaths in the stage. These are incredibly hard and I was amazed to have beaten them all. This leads on to my next topic, the amount of content in this game is stunning. Every stage has secrets in it. And they are rarely blatant. Usually they consist of doing something in a specific way or going through a fake wall. (Surrounded by nitro boxes nonetheless) There is even a secret warp room which can only be accessed by getting to a specific spot in certain stages! The amount of secrets is gobsmackingly huge. These secrets are the usual way of getting the coloured gem, and if you want to get them, you will exhaust every possibility because the game gets no less fun when you are searching for them. I will give you one hint; you can get the blue gem by doing the opposite of a clear one. The games graphics are strange, and rather akin to Spyro the Dragon’s. (Another favourite from when I was young.) The characters are lacking in texture but instead use gradients and flat colours. This sounds bad, but combined with the general art style and the lighting; it looks pretty good in game. The stages in the game are quite a contrast to this; they are brilliantly textured and have tons of detail. It still amazes me today how it can have so much on screen and have so much detail on the tiny (huge) 32 bit machine. Each stage, even if it shares the same theme as another, will look completely different due to the genius graphical design. Because of this alone, I can remember the layout of every stage (though regrettably, not each ones name) and I am able to play through perfectly based on the background alone. The characters are beautifully animated with Crash having several idle animations, and his famous ‘I got a gem’ dance and not to forget the fact that Crash has a death animation for every possible way of dying. All of the animation is smooth and helps the game play greatly. The controls to this game are incredibly tight and far improved over the first game – you can even use that analogue stick in this one. (Not that I ever did) In this one Crash is now able to crouch, slide, slide jump, and body slam. These are all done with the circle button. By adding one button they have massively expanded what can be done with the game and improved how the player is meant to go through it. Adding the slide has also increased the enemy variation as some have spikes on top of them. The controls are easy to learn and you will understand them fully through a single stage. Speaking of which, the stages will sometimes change how the game is controlled by giving you a jetpack, a surfboard, a polar bear or even becoming 2D at parts. This variation during stages keeps what was in no way repetitive game play from ever becoming repetitive. Crash is even affected by the environment where he will slip on ice, wade through thick mud, or digs into certain parts of the ground. The boss battles in the game are while fun, far too easy. They are brilliantly imaginative and well thought out, but you will get through it on your first time. The bosses are brilliant characters and each has their own unique personality despite only being seen once in the game. I just wish they were not so easy. Their only purpose in the game is to get beat so that you get to the next warp room. The boss battles have variety, but it does not matter as you will beat them so quickly. Speaking of which, the final boss (which to no surprise is Cortex) was pathetic which really ruins the end of the game. When you go through tons of stages to get the last boss, you expect it to be a true test of the skill you have developed over the course of the game, but no – it is a jetpack race/fight hybrid which requires no skill at all. Cortex only takes a few hits. N. Ginn was a harder boss who took more hits. The soundtrack to this game is stunning. Nearly every stage has its own theme and they are more memorable than the ones in the first game, and set the mood greatly. The variance is music is about as varied as the stages. (So greatly) The music is another way that I remember the stages as they are all so well done. The first games music seems to have tried to play it as safe as possible with the soundtrack while this one explores different genres and still sounds like it was made by the same composer. (Speaking of which, they are made by the composer of the music of the first game) The games sound effects are incredibly fitting. There is not a single mute thing in the game and every creature has its own sound effect. The sounds for things that are not creatures are all cartoony and go well with the animation. The game is even fully voice acted, making the cut scenes that much more special. (And not a single FMV in the game) To conclude, finish, and wrap up (all at the same time) I will have to say this. I bloody love this game so much! This game was my childhood and is such a masterpiece. If you have not played it, play it. If you have played it, play it! This game is fresh despite being everything we have seen before. This game is a true masterpiece and quite possibly the greatest sequel to a game and quite possibly the greatest 3D platformer on the PlayStation. I love this game, and you will too.
  Graphics 9   Sound 9   Addictive 9   Story 5   Depth 10   Difficulty 4
      Review Rating: 4.9/5     Submitted: 04-27-13     Updated: 05-01-13     Review Replies: 9


Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back   marbleroll
Crash Bandicoot 2:  Cortex Strikes Back Review Overall: 9 Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back on PlayStation 1.  Crash Bandicoot is one of Sony’s most popular series along with Spyro the Dragon.  This game was an improvement in all areas over the first Crash game.  The warp room concept introduced in this game allows for easier game saves and better navigation between levels/worlds. Graphics: 9 The graphics are better than the first Crash Bandicoot game.  The characters are sharper and look much better.  In fact, some critics noted that the graphics for this game were the best of any PlayStation game at the time it was released. Sound: 8 The music and effects for Crash 2 are superb. Background comments by Doctor Neo Cortex intertwined throughout the game add a comical flair to the game experience and I think enhance the storyline.Addictiveness: 8 I am a huge fan of this whole series and enjoy going back and replaying the older games like this one in addition to the newer ones.  After you have played several of these games all the way through, it is fun to go back and start a new game to refresh your memory on the different levels since they are all different. Story: 8 In this sequel to Sony’s first Crash game, Cortex discovers crystals in a cave where he landed at the end of Game 1.  Crash’s sister Coco Bandicoot asks Crash to get her a new battery for her laptop but before he can complete the task, he is intercepted by Cortex.  Cortex has one master crystal but needs the remaining crystals in order to accomplish his evil plans.  He convinces Crash to help him find the remaining crystals that are spaced throughout the game.  Crash finds a teleporter to a warp room where you learn that there are 5 different worlds to explore with 5 levels each along with a boss battle in-between each world.Depth: 10 As with the first Crash game, there are red TNT boxes, basic brown boxes, crystals, gems, and colored gems.  This game introduces the green Nitro box.  If Crash touches one of these boxes, it explodes on impact.  Near the end of each level, there is a green exclamation point box which blows up all of the Nitro boxes in that level.  Crash’s functions are simple but much more improved than the first game.  They include basic spin and jump along with a sliding jump and belly flop which are both new in this game, a jetpack level in world 5, and jet ski levels throughout beginning in world 1.  Also new in this game is the ability to double jump which allows Crash to jump higher and across wider spaces.  The bosses that you fight along the way are: a blue kangaroo named Ripper Roo, The Komodo Bros, Tiny the Tiger, N.Gin, and of course Cortex. All in all the game has many secrets to discover and levels to play with lots of content to unlock.Difficulty: 3 Although difficult to play on certain levels, the game is overall relatively easy to play.
  Graphics 9   Sound 8   Addictive 8   Story 8   Depth 10   Difficulty 3
      Review Rating: 4.7/5     Submitted: 07-28-13     Updated: 07-28-13     Review Replies: 2


memories! i haved an ps1 ;-;   sonicfan3000
after huge sucess of crash bandicoot and the huge copies number selled, crash bandicoot 2 cortex strikes back has created and yeah! tath its get very very better than crash bandicoot 1 and yes it have sucess                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   [Overall 10/10]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               crash bandicoot 2 is an super amazing game! have great gameplay and good cutscenes! tath i love it                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 so, i haved an playstation and i played it! and today i beat it 100% :)    i really LOVE crash bandicoot games!                 so nostalgiaaa ;-;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         [Graphics 10/10]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      in the really. GRAPHICS IS AMAZING ;-; amazing animations too! only of see theese graphics i wanna kill my self XD i love this graphics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 [Sound 10/10]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         yeah! musics is amazing ;-; tath i love musics in crash games                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        for me theese levels have the most amazing musics: turtle woods,road to ruin,the eel deal,bear down and crash dash                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                [Addictiveness 8/10]                                                                                                                                                 i play it so much ;-; but not all days, why? 8/10 ADDICTIVENESS ;-; but yeah i beated with 100% i raged so much why in the majority of times of box wath i forgot is 1 box ;-; in crash bandicoot 1 i make 1 box missing too ;-;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          [Story 10/10]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        story in this game is so amazing! tath story is after crash 1 events! but im not gonna talk the story to dont make spoiler of game! why look the rules "Do not reveal a spoiler to the game"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                (tip:if you dont wanna get an ban or lose all viz follow all review rules)                                                                                                                                                                        [Depth 10/10]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                game offers challenging levels and bosses! and it offers very good musics! tath bosses is very challenging but not too hard thing!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         [Difficulty 2/10]                                                                                                                                                                yeah! tath difficulty get more less than crash 1 difficulty! crash 1 is hard and crash 2 is more easy! tath not too easy it have challenges!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       dudes this is the review of today! tath if you liked very much it please like it! your like help me so much to earn more viz! bye bye                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          OOPS I ALMOST FORGOT AGAIN ;-; have a nice day !                 
  Graphics 10   Sound 10   Addictive 8   Story 10   Depth 10   Difficulty 2
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 11-05-17     Updated: 11-07-17     Review Replies: 0


Good for those who like challenging games   andy1234

  Graphics 10   Sound 5   Addictive 2   Story 5   Depth 7   Difficulty 10
      Review Rating: 2.8/5     Submitted: 06-15-13     Review Replies: 1

The evil Dr. Neo Cortex is back with a vengeance...this time...to save the world? And he's asking for help from his arch nemesis, Crash Bandicoot? Or is it just some conniving plan to lure Crash into a deadly trap for his own evil bidding? Find out as Crash takes on a whole new adventure that's out of this world!

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