For a long time various developers have been trying to repeat the success of Crash Team Racing, released in the last millennium. The formula for success seemed simple - just to recreate each element anew and improve the graphics. But it wasn't here. That's why all the subsequent racing games with Australian marsupials didn't have the same success. Neither Crash Nitro Kart, nor Crash Tag Team Racing could not repeat the success of Naughty Dog. What was the reason? Faithfulness to the founding fathers? In the omission of some invisible details? Or maybe in the "soul"? No one knows the answer. If I had known - I would have created a game that surpasses Crash Team Racing long ago. Anyway, after a series of unsuccessful attempts to create a dream race in 2010, another one was made, this time the last one. However, this time the scale was not so great. The publishers decided not to risk a lot of money, allocating them to the production of the next part of the series, which is a couple of times savouryly fell into the mud face and lost most of the fans. Instead of the usual Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo consoles, it was decided to cover the previously untouched market - the mobile market. To be more precise, only the part of it that Apple ran. In order to mislead players or simply to awaken nostalgia, it was decided to call the game Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2. Personally, it reminds me of Chinese phones "Nokla", desperately trying to convince a potential user that he buys "Nokia". One letter seems to have changed, but the difference in quality is the abyss.
Everybody loves racing games with the heroes of their childhood. In a sense, this is a win-win situation. Especially if you are the head of Warner Brothers and at your disposal dozens of different series. So you can shove into one game and Bugs Bunny, and the Tasmanian Devil, and a bird Twitter, and anyone else, and each player will find a favorite. I'm sure you wouldn't mind racing with Nathan Drake, Sally and Elena. Well, why not? That's funny.
But you can`t just type characters, add several thematic routes and release the product. It is clear that there will not be such an easy prey, because the game should remain a game first of all, and not turn into a soup kit. It should be good physics, nice graphics and a couple of significant innovations that qualitatively distinguish the game from its like. Was Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 able to cope with this? We will find out!
Gameplay
The first thing that catches your eye is the animation of the racing flag on the background of the menu, taken with Crash Team Racing. Borrowing is not a good sign. Let's move on. Or rather, we are not going yet. Once we have chosen the track and the driver, the game draws the first location. Here you can see how the models of characters and their transport noticeably overgrown polygons since the first mobile race with agile marsupial. The range of drawing is maintained at a good level and does not complicate the coordination of the racer. The tracks are full of colors, squeezing all the juices from the apple phone.
Here only a number of tracks is obviously seen at predecessors. Take at least the first of the available tracks - a sea beach with fragments of ships in the form of ski jumps. Does it remind you of anything? Oh, yes, Crash Team Racing! No, references, this is definitely good, but everything requires its own measures. Okay, it's not that bad compared to the first GameBoy Advance gangster releases, where it was literally all licked together. There are unique locations in the castle with ghosts, as well as lava craters. The authors are trying to diversify the environment as much as possible and, I must say, they are not bad at it. The tracks themselves are not too long and not so annoying. In short, play nice.
The basic features are the same. You have to get to the finish line first by any dirty methods. On your way there will be wooden boxes, breaking which you activate a random bonus. The bonus can be acceleration, temporary invulnerability or weapons. Most of the bonuses are aimed at making life difficult for your opponents. For example, if you activate invulnerability, a totem mask will fly around you and everyone you touch will be harmed. There are bombs left behind to punish the pursuer. And there are self-directed missiles that shoot at the opponent in front. Finally, you can pick up fruits on the vampire road that give you extra speed and improve your bonuses. For example, if you collect ten fruits, instead of a red TNT box you will get a green Nitro. The difference is that your opponent may have time to drop the TNT box before the end of the timer in case he comes across it. In the case of Nitro, there is no mercy.
Local physics is a little frustrating. First of all, it's sad that with the obvious efforts of the developers, the feeling of real speed is not felt. It seems as if transport has become less maneuverable. However, with proper skill and it will not become a big problem on the way to having fun. There are many ways to accelerate the car. In addition to the standard acceleration tiles (which here for some reason are stretched over all the lanes), the character gets a charge when falling from a height, as well as when slipping. The ability to do these tricks on favorable parts of the track distinguishes a venerable rider from a beginner.
Obviously, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 was not the least of all created for online game. Up to four live racers can take part in the races simultaneously. The race immediately gets a second wind - in single mode, unfortunately, the opponents behave too predictably, which dulls the excitement. Initially, only four characters are available to us: Kresh Bandikut, his sister Koko, their eternal enemy Dr. Neo Cortex and Nina Cortex. As you go through, you can open Kruncha, Pura, Tainey's tiger, N. Gina, Panda Yahya and even Ripper Ru! Wait! What is panda Yahya? Oh, yes, the developers thought they needed a new character to distinguish the game from its predecessors. And it does not matter that for twenty years the series has more than forty already worked out and much more charismatic characters! As you understand, the new hero has no personality and is inserted here only for the red word. The same thing happened with Rilla Roo in Crash Bash, but we are used to it. Anyway, the game doesn't lose anything from the presence or absence of a panda.
Read on in the next article https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/5d81fe968600e100ac9a1102/apple-bandicoot-part-ii-5d87ae06ec575b00ad11bbd7