Crash Team Racing is the best kart racing game period! With inventive weapons and great environments, it's a old Relic!
The story behind this game is Nitrous Oxide roaming the galaxy thinking he is the fastest racer, he then challenges Crash Bandicoot to beat him and all his minions, if Oxide wins, he will turn the entire Earth to a concrete parking lot, so Crash calls upon his friends, both good and evil, to fight of is toughest opponent yet. For a Crash game inparticular this is a very interesting story, it introduces a new enemy which is a main villain, that wants to do more than just destroy our hero.
Gameplay is too addictive, there are about 18 odd levels, each with different environments, like Pinstripes Raceway (Crash Bandicoot boss? He had minigun?) and Cortex's Castle, to Oxides Station which is a addictive raceway alone. You have to collect Crystals to progress to the next warp room, CTR tokens, which is somewhat like Tony Hawks S-K-A-T-E challenges, you collect C-T-R and have to finish 1st in the race, and Relics which are Time Trials, although with a twist. Your timed for 3 laps, but there are boxes that will freeze the time, some for 1 second, some for 2 seconds and some for 3 seconds, collecting all of these offers a time bonus at the end, cutting the timer down. Multiplayer is just too addictive, if you have a multitap for PS1, PS2 or have four controllers for a 60GB PS3, then get some friends over and play this, you can compete in tournaments, which are varied in difficulty. There is a Battle mode, where you have to defeat your friends in a set time, by using power ups. This too is fun, and is a nice break from racing around.
Graphics are amazing for PS1 quality, there is only one small problem, when your playing multiplayer, the more people playing the lower quality of the environment backgrounds. This isn't a bad thing, as it allows for a lag free race, which is all good. The weapon effects are great, especially the bubble powers, the effect of them and the graphics are probably the best you'll find for PS1.
The lifespan depends on this game, you can try and complete all the challenges and the story with each character, which will take you about 20 hours estimated, as well as just competing against the AI. It's just really addictive, maybe too addictive! Nearly every character besides Koala from the original Crash Bandicoot is playable, most you have to unlock but it's worth it to play as Nitrus Oxide (takes a while to though).
This is what half those kid racing games should be like, bright and vibrant. Games like this and Mario Kart 64 need to be made to their full glory again, just tune it up to HD. If you love the Crash Bandicoot series or simple love kart racing games, this is the game for you!