Crash Nitro Kart

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About Crash Nitro Kart

Crash Nitro Kart is a racing video game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Universal Interactive Studios (now Vivendi Games) for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance and N-Gage. The home console was released in North America on November 11, 2003, in Europe on November 28, 2003, in Australia on December 4, 2003 and in Japan in July 8, 2004. The Game Boy Advance version was released at the same time as the home console versions in North America and Europe, but received a later release date in Japan on August 26, 2004. The N-Gage version of the game was released in Europe on June 30, 2004 and in North America on July 28, 2004. The mobile phone version was released on September 20, 2004. The game is the ninth installment in the Crash Bandicoot series. It is an indirect sequel to Crash Team Racing and the first full motion video based game in the series. The game's story centers on the abduction of Crash Bandicoot, along with other characters in the series, by the ruthless dictator Emperor Velo XXVII, who then forces them all to race in his gigantic coliseum for the entertainment of his subjects, threatening to destroy the Earth if they refuse to race. Crash Nitro Kart received mixed reviews overall, with reviews varying from version to version. The home console version was met with generally fair reviews. Reviewers dismissed the game as a generic kart racer, but commented positively on its "powerslide" system. The Game Boy Advance version earned slightly better reviews than the console version, while reviews for the N-Gage version were middling, with much of the criticism going to the game's "tunnel vision". Contents [hide] 1 Gameplay 1.1 Racing modes 1.1.1 Adventure Mode 1.1.2 Other racing modes 1.2 Battle modes 2 Plot 2.1 Characters 2.2 Story 3 Development 4 Audio 4.1 Voice cast 5 Reception 6 Follow-ups 7 References 8 External links [edit] Gameplay [edit] Racing modes Crash Nitro Kart features six modes of racing gameplay. Some modes are free-for-all, while others can be played as a team. [edit] Adventure Mode The "Adventure Mode" is a single-player game in which the player must race through all of the tracks and arenas in the game, collecting as many Trophies, Relics, Boss Keys, CNK Tokens and Gems as possible. The main objective of the Adventure Mode is to win all the races of the five different worlds and win the freedom of the playable characters from the tyrannical Emperor Velo XXVII. The hub world of the game is Velo's Coliseum, from which the player can access any of the five other worlds through special gates. Most of these gates are initially locked; the player must complete the races of one world to gain access to the next world. When inside a world, the player may access a race by driving the selected character onto a "Warp Pad". By winning a race, the player will receive a Trophy. When the player receives all three Trophies in a world, the player will be able to race against that world's champion, who acts as a boss character. If the player manages to defeat the world's champion, the champion will relinquish a World Key, which allows the player to engage in the special modes of that world and enables access to the next world. The special modes of each race consist of the "Relic Race", the "CNK Challenge", the "Crystal Arena" and the "Gem Cups". In the Relic Race, the player must race through a track alone and complete three laps in the fastest time possible. To aid the player, "Time Crates" are spread throughout the track. When the player drives the character through a Time Crate, the clock will be frozen for the number of seconds indicated on the Crate. If all of the Time Crates on a track are destroyed, the player's final time will be reduced by ten seconds. The player wins a Relic by beating the time indicated on the screen. The CNK Challenge is played like a normal race, except that the player must also collect the letters C, N and K scattered throughout the track. If the player manages to collect all three letters and come in first place, a "CNK Token" is awarded. These tokens come in four different colors. If the player collects four tokens of the same color, the player will be able to access the Gem Cup of the corresponding color. Gem Cups are racing tournaments held against computer-controlled opponents. The Gem Cups are accessible through a special gate at Velo's Coliseum. If one of these cups is won, a Gem is awarded. When the player collects all the Trophies, World Keys and Relics, the player will be able to race against Emperor Velo on his personal racing track. if the player manages to defeat Velo in this race, the game is won. [edit] Other racing modes The "Race Time Trial" is a single-player mode where the player attempts to set the best time on any of the tracks in the game. There are no other racer to hinder the player, but no item-bearing crates to aid the player either. When the three-lap race is finished, the player can save a "ghost", a replay of that race. The next time that track is accessed in this mode, the player can load the ghost, allowing the player or others to compete with the ghost in a race. If the player finishes each of the tracks in a set time, the player will be able to compete against the ghosts of the game's boss characters. The "Lap Time Trial" plays like the Race Time Trial except that the player races to get the best time for a single lap around the track. When one lap is finished, the player's "ghost" (a replay of the lap that was just completed) will appear. Whenever a better time on the lap is accomplished, the old ghost will be replaced by the faster one. In the "Quick Race", the player simply selects a character, selects a track and races. The player can also adjust the computer's skill level and the number of laps. In the "Team Race", the player joins forces with a computer-controlled partner to win a race. When the player and the partner are in close proximity of each other, the "Team Meter" will rise. When the Team Meter is full, the player may activate the "Team Frenzy", in which the player and partner have temporary access to unlimited weapons and power-ups. In the "Cup Tournament", the player competes against other racers on three different tracks. At the end of a track, the racer in first place gets nine points. The second place racer is awarded six points. Third place gets three points, and fourth place gets one point. The rest get no points. When all three tracks are completed, the racer with the most points wins. This is the only racing mode that can be played by more than one human player. [edit] Battle modes In the battle modes, instead of racing on tracks, the player speeds around battle arenas collecting weapons and attacking opponents. There are five battle modes in Crash Nitro Kart. Each mode can be played by two to four players. In the "Limit Battle", the objective is to attack opponents with weapons and traps while avoiding attacks unleashed by the opponents. Offensive and defensive weapons can be collected by smashing through special crates. A point and time limit can be set by the player preceding gameplay. Whoever earns enough points or has enough points when time runs out is the winner. This mode can be played free-for-all or with teams. In "Last Kart Driving", the contestants compete until they run out of lives. A contestant loses a life every time they are hit by a weapon or hazard or fall into a pit. A contestant who runs out of lives will be eliminated. As the title suggests, the last kart driving wins. This mode can be played free-for-all or with teams. In "Crystal Grab", the contestants must fight to collect all the Crystals in the arena. When a contestant is attacked, they will drop any Crystals they've gathered, allowing opponents to steal them. This mode can be played free-for-all or with teams. In "Capture the Flag", two teams attempt to capture each other's flag and bring it back to their respective flags. Players must race to their opponents' side of the map and drive over their flag to grab it. They must then drive over their own flag's base to score a point from the flag they've captured. A flag that has been stolen can be dropped if the thief is hit with any weapon. Stolen flags that have been dropped can be returned back to their respective bases. Due to the weight of the flags, any kart carrying one will be slowed down. The game ends when time runs out or when one of the teams has gotten enough points. This mode can only be played in teams. "Steal the Bacon" is a variation of "Capture the Flag" in which two teams fight over one flag that is situated in the middle of the arena. The teams must attempt to take the flag and bring it to their respective base. [edit] Plot [edit] Characters Main article: Characters of Crash Bandicoot Crash Nitro Kart features around twenty-seven characters, sixteen of which are playable. Only six characters are available to play in Adventure mode and they are in turn divided into two teams, with Crash Bandicoot, Coco Bandicoot and Crunch Bandicoot forming Team Bandicoot and Doctor Neo Cortex, Doctor N. Gin and Tiny Tiger forming Team Cortex. In all races (except boss races), two members of each team compete against each other. Two additional teams compete alongside Team Bandicoot and Team Cortex in the races, both of whom are not playable in Adventure Mode, but are playable in all other modes. One team consists of Nitrous Oxide and his two new minions Zam and Zem. The other team consists of N. Trance, Polar and Dingodile. Both Oxide and Trance are available to play at the start of the game, but Zam, Zem, Polar and Dingodile have to be unlocked by winning a purple, green, blue and red gem (respectively) in Adventure Mode. Like in Crash Team Racing, the two teams have to content against various bosses, whom are represented by the champions of their respective planets, as described frequently by Emperor Velo. In order, the two teams face off against Krunk, Nash, Norm and Geary before confronting the evil Emperor himself. Only Velo is playable; he is unlocked after winning the game with both teams, although he does not participate in any races outside his own. As well as the three main members, each team has a fourth member that does not participate in any races unless they themselves are being used. With the exception of Velo, none of them appear in Adventure Mode. Pura is unlocked by successfully performing 50 consecutive slide boosts using a member of Team Bandicoot. Fake Crash is unlocked by doing the same thing with Team Cortex. Much like his appearance in Crash Team Racing, Doctor Nefarious Tropy is unlocked by beating all his ghosts in Time Trial mode. Once unlocked, these three characters are playable under N. Trance's team, Team Bandicoot and Team Cortex, respectfully. Velo, upon being unlocked, is playable under N. Oxide's team. Like in Crash Team Racing, Aku Aku and Uka Uka appear every so often to give hints to Team Bandicoot when playing as Aku and Team Cortex when playing as Uka's, as well as to protect their respective teams, plus bonus members, as a race power-up. A third mask, which resembles Velo, is used to protect Oxide and Trance's teams. The Game Boy Advance version differs slightly from the console version. In this version of the game, 19 characters are playable. All of the bosses can be unlocked after beating them in Adventure Mode. N. Oxide is an unlockable character in this version of the game, whilst Polar and Dingodile are available for play at the beginning. N. Tropy competes alongside the other characters in this version. Pura, Zam and Zem are all absent, whilst Spyro the Dragon appears as a bonus character. [edit] Story On Earth, Crash Bandicoot and his friends are relaxing while their nemesis, Doctor Neo Cortex, paces across his laboratory floor wondering how he can defeat the Bandicoots and achieve world domination. Suddenly, both groups are abducted by a mysterious white light that takes them to a large coliseum somewhere in another galaxy. This galaxy is ruled by Emperor Velo XXVII, who plans on having the group race for the entertainment of his subjects. He promises the Earthlings that winning the races will win their freedom, and threatens them with the destruction of Earth if they refuse to race. After both teams accept the challenge, Velo explains that the racers will compete on four worlds of his choosing, and promises a race against the galactic champion if the champions of those worlds are defeated. When the champions of Terra, Barin, Fenomena and Teknee are defeated, the Earth racers go up against the galactic champion, who turns out to be Emperor Velo himself. Velo is defeated, but he refuses to send the racers back to Earth. When the Earth racers angrily demand a rematch, Velo readily accepts, on the condition that the Earth racers must first collect all his Time Relics. Velo loses once again to the Earth racers and literally explodes in a bout of fury, revealing himself to be a robot suit controlled by a small gremlin-like version of himself. The following events are determined by which of the characters the player used to win the race. If Crash, Coco or Crunch win the race, Velo, having lost his influence over his subjects, dejectedly relinquishes his empire to the Bandicoots. Crash seriously considers becoming the next emperor of the galaxy, but decides otherwise and gives control back to Velo in exchange for sending the Bandicoots back to Earth. If Cortex, N. Gin or Tiny win the race, Velo struggles with Cortex over the possession of his scepter, only to be stopped by Tiny. Cortex uses the scepter's power in an attempt to return to Earth, but the scepter breaks and sends Cortex, N. Gin and Tiny to Terra instead. When they are confronted by the natives, Tiny repairs the scepter and is subsequentially revered as a king, much to Cortex's annoyance. [edit] Development This section requires expansion. Universal Interactive Studios, recognizing that full motion video sequences have become the new norm in state-of-the-art video games, decided that Crash Nitro Kart would be the first game in the Crash series to feature such cinematics. Crash Nitro Kart was announced by Vivendi Universal prior to the Electronic Entertainment Expo of 2003. [edit] Audio This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008) [edit] Voice cast At the time, Crash Nitro Kart had the largest voice cast of any Crash game, and was the first Crash game in which all the named characters had a voice actor. The game was also to be the last to feature Clancy Brown as the voice of Doctor Neo Cortex and Uka Uka. Brown, at the time, had been one of the longest-lasting cast members of the English series, having voiced Cortex (and later Uka Uka) in five games. Other actors also reprised their roles from previous games as well as obtaining some new ones, with Mel Winkler returning as Aku Aku and Michael Ensign returning to voice Doctor Nefarious Tropy, replacing Corey Burton who had voiced him in Wrath of Cortex. Debi Derryberry and Kevin Michael Richardson also returned as Coco Bandicoot and Crunch Bandicoot respectively, but in turn gained new roles; Derryberry also voiced Polar, whilst Richardson provided the voice of Velo's advisors. All the other voice actors who appear in the game are newcomers to the series. Some of the voice actors take over the roles of previous actors as well as original characters, with Steven Blum as Crash Bandicoot and Emperor Velo, Paul Greenberg as Pura and Geary, Dwight Schultz as Dingodile and Fake Crash, John DiMaggio as Tiny Tiger, Quinton Flynn as Doctor N. Gin and Nitros Oxide, and Tom Bourdon as N. Trance and Velo's minions. The cast for the game's original characters are Billy West as Nash and Zam, André Sogliuzzo as Norm and Zem and Marshall R. Teague as Krunk. [edit] Reception [hide] Reception Review scores Publication Score GBA N-Gage GC PS2 Xbox Electronic Gaming Monthly 5.67 out of 10 5.67 out of 10 5.67 out of 10 Eurogamer 7 out of 10 Game Informer 7 out of 10 GameSpot 7.8 out of 10 6.9 out of 10 7.5 out of 10 7.5 out of 10 7.5 out of 10 GameSpy 1.5 out of 5 2 out of 5 GameZone 6.5 out of 10 8.5 out of 10 IGN 7.8 out of 10 8.2 out of 10 7.4 out of 10 7.4 out of 10 7.4 out of 10 Nintendo Power 3.3 out of 5 3.4 out of 5 Nintendo World Report 6.5 out of 10 Official PlayStation Magazine (US) 3.5 out of 5 Official Xbox Magazine 8.3 out of 10 Play Magazine B- B- B- Aggregate scores Game Rankings 69.7% 59.8% 63.2% 65.9% 66.0% Metacritic 77 64 66 69 70 The console version of Crash Nitro Kart earned mixed reviews upon release. Michael Lafferty of GameZone described the game as "a somewhat addictive and enjoyable race game wrapped in sterling graphical elements." Official Xbox Magazine praised the game's "solid control" and "innovative boost system". Ryan Davis of GameSpot warned that the game "may be a touch disappointing to hardcore fans of Crash Team Racing, but anyone looking for a solid kart racer should be quite pleased." Ed Lewis of IGN stated that while the game is "a solid adaption of a PSOne game," "the same exact game has been made dozens of times and CNK does very little to further the cause," and went on to describe the game as "a kart racing game like any other." Matt Helgeson of Game Informer dismissed the game as "probably one of the least exciting racing titles I've played recently." Kristan Reed of EuroGamer decided that "at full price it's hard to justify a purchase in our view as it's simply not all that essential or different from anything that's gone before, but if you ever fancy a quality party game that you can slip out when the time is right for some multiplayer action and see this game knocking around for a more realistic price then you won't be disappointed." Official PlayStation Magazine suspected that "Vicarious Visions did all it could to emulate the Naughty Dog classic (Crash Team Racing) and just added a PS2 coat of paint." Nintendo Power praised the karts as "fast" and the power-ups as "creative". Play Magazine thought the game was "a little generic and heavily recycled, but the powerslide system from CTR pulls it together." Nintendo World Report described the game as "a pretty generic kart racer that is enjoyable, but flawed where it counts: the racing. It's a little too easy to win races, and once you beat it all, there's very little for you to keep coming back to." Electronic Gaming Monthly felt that the gameplay was "nearly identical to Crash Team Racing's, even down to the speed-boosting wumpa fruits, so if you loved it before, you'll still love it, and if not... not." Russ Fischer of GameSpy concluded that "with a slow and chunky multiplayer component, there's not much reason to jump into the driver's seat." The Game Boy Advance version was reviewed positively. Frank Provo of GameSpot stated that "the characters aren't nearly as popular as those in Nintendo's game, but the deeper gameplay makes up for that to an extent." Craig Harris of IGN criticized the patches of slowdown in the game, but thought that otherwise it "would be a close contender for best kart racer on the handheld." Nintendo Power concluded that "although Crash Nitro Kart doesn't bring anything new to the kart-racing genre, it's a fast and amusing play that Crash Bandicoot fans will enjoy." The N-Gage version received middling reviews. Levi Buchanan of IGN, in a positive review, praised the game's large selection of characters, tracks and gameplay modes. Ryan Davis of GameSpot commended the game for its fundamentally solid gameplay, smooth and sharp graphics and the amount of "stuff to do", but stated that "the narrow field of vision has a dramatically negative effect on the whole experience, cross-canceling many of the game's positive traits." Louis Bedigian of GameZone felt that "the variety of courses, power-ups, and the decent sense of speed are not enough to make up for a camera, which literally makes you feel sick." Justin Leeper of GameSpy criticized the chuggy framerate and tunnel vision of the screen and delivered a final message of "If the N-Gage library was a classroom, then Crash Nitro Kart would be the cross-eyed kid who eats paste and thinks the answer to every math problem is "cat.""

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