Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy: 6.0 on GS.

I guess nostalgia can only get you so far

The culprit behind Crash's dated feel is the passage of time. Vicarious Visions, for its part, succeeded in revitalizing Crash from an artistic perspective while preserving the charm that made him appealing when he first showed up, but years have passed since the original PlayStation was relevant, and we are well past the formative years of 3D gaming. It's easy to imagine how a dyed-in-the-wool Crash fan will fall in love all over again via the N. Sane Trilogy, but if you're experiencing Crash for the first time--or the first time in a while--it might pain you to realize that Crash's original adventures aren't as inventive or surprising as they were 20 years ago.

Good:

• Excellent visual upgrades elevate the spirit of Crash
• An enjoyable variety of challenges and environments keep you engaged from one level to the next
• A sizeable collection of classic 3D platforming

Bad

• Abrupt spikes in difficulty that could have been ironed out
• Outdated designs feel at odds with the modern presentation

Review

And...it's a flop.

Well PS1 fans, Peter Brown hates your childhood confirmed.

The game is reviewing over 2 points higher across the board. Gamespot might be low-balling on this one, or maybe others are reviewing it as a remaster, taking into account the dated gameplay and design. Crash wasn't nearly as fun as the majority of platformers imo. Running down hallways and busting crates wears out its welcome pretty quick.

I kind of expected this after Yooka Laylee got knocked by all the critics for being dated.

I'm not surprised. Platformers with cartoony graphics don't score well. Same with Yookalayle. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's not a good game. It's just a little on the simplistic side. I'll pass on this one; I'm pretty sure Ratchet & Clank(which is on sale now for $8) trumps it in every way lol

A GS 6.0 is what happens when suddenly it's coming to X1. lololol :P

Still day one one purchase.

@goldenelementxl: Gaming Age gave the title a 10/10 and said you get "Three of the best platformers ever made". The reviewer also opened with saying Crash was his first Playstation game and it holds a special place in his heart.

So I'm willing to put it down to game critics being bad at what they do. :P

Crash N. Burn Trilogy :-P

Nailed it.

It never was a great game, it was okay. nostalgia is why it has all the fans.

@k--m--k: This is the kind of stuff that passes on Metacritic.

This is why certain users here, including myself, think game criticism and reviews aren't really worth the time reading (Link).

"If you've had the hankering for platformers as of late, like I have, this set is an absolute no brainer. For $39.99 you get three of the best platformers ever made"

vs.

Some solid and fair critique

It's not that I don't feel people can't absolutely adore any game and champion your feelings but at some level, you gotta separate feeling with genuine, objective critique.

Crash was only really an average game 20 years ago. And it's still an average game now. Hope those that like it enjoy it though!

Crash Bandicoot games are very fun to play, except the first one. Controlling a 3D platformer with the D-pad is actually exceptionally hard at the time before duel-analog was invented. Crash Bandicoot 2 & Warped are pretty great platform games in general. I think the score is fair since this isn't a new Crash game but however, if this remake included Crash Team Racing, it would've gotten a good score.

Except for... Mario games, Sonic Colors/Generations, Kirby games, etc.

Can't say that I'm terribly surprised. While I enjoyed the games back in the day they never struck me as being exceptionally great games or anything and I can't imagine that time has been all that kind on them in general despite the upgrades made for this version.

it got 82 on metacritc tho

Yeah, I'm still getting it.

Well I guess Sonic was never fun. Running sideways to collect some meaningless rings and play lame mini games.

Sounds about right.... That's probably what the original trilogy is.

Fun for a while but nothing amazing.

How can someone who straight up admits to not finishing ANY of the games in the collection, possibly be qualified to give a professional review on it?

You wouldn't get away with watching half a movie, or reading half a book, and trying to pass off a professional review so why on earth is it OK with a game? Just because it's longer? That's a poor excuse.

I'm not arguing the number, the games are around 20 years old, any remaster/remake trying to stay true to the original is going to suffer from issues, but at least finish the damn thing before reviewing it.

@jcrame10 said:

Ok, maybe we need more review scores. One 6 isn't the end of the world lol

I mean, it's PS1 gameplay and mechanics. Of course it isn't going to hold up to today's standards, after reading the review that seems to be his gripe.

Spyro and Mario 64 are much better platformers, but even those games are starting to age.

@jcrame10: Novacanoo is still the definitive Crash critique available. I'd love to see him tackle the remasters but his taken on the original trilogy is the best there is, in my opinion.

You read some of the stuff contemporary critics are coming out with and it barely even has something that would pass as a review or critique at all... This is both the negative and positive reviews the game is getting.

@valgaav_219: that's not how it works on system wars though. Gamespot is the only review that counts.

@valgaav_219 said:

@jcrame10 said:

Ok, maybe we need more review scores. One 6 isn't the end of the world lol

exactly

Expected mix reviews on this one. I think people have a different opinion on this and whether to judge it as a retro game or not. The disappointment for me is devs decided not to support 60fps.

I call bullshit. This is a Gamespot forum but even they can get a review wrong sometimes. You get the clearest picture when you cross reference multiple reviews. This is how I check out any game I'm on the fence about.

Well of course. After knowing it will come to Xbox it had to get a 6 or this wouldn't be Gamespot

I just don't trust game critics at all. :/

You really have to dig into the reviews and read them to get a better impression. Website like Metacritic really don't give you the full picture at all. Case in point that the best review this game has is a 10/10 review where the critic himself admits that he is bias over his fond memories of the original trilogy (naturally he proceeds to introduce absolutely no critique on the titles).

Looking at titles like Breath of the Wild and GTA IV, for example; these are games that have gone almost without any critique at all in their professional reviews, and the critique they did receive wasn't all that nuanced. Partially because game critics (like many contemporary media and culture critics) are genuinely not very good at what they do. :/

Rarely do they offer an assertion > an explanation > evidence > counter-argument/rebuttal. You know, the common practices of critique and review. Thankfully there are blogs, essays and sources for better critique but man, game critics? Man... :(

Pretty expected. I doubt the ones interested gives a shit though. It's just better looking Crash.

@dalger21 said:

@kvally said:

@valgaav_219: that's not how it works on system wars though. Gamespot is the only review that counts.

Yup

@Chutebox said:

@dalger21 said:

@kvally said:

@valgaav_219: that's not how it works on system wars though. Gamespot is the only review that counts.

Yup

^that and this!

I just called the Gamestop i preordered the game at and they are doing a release for the game tonight at 9 PM due to the high amount of preorders. I am surprised and thought I would have to wait until tomorrow. This particular Gamestop didnt even have a release night for Mario Kart when it came out. I had to wait until they opened the next day.

I guess one bad review isn't going to affect sales.

@jumpaction: That's why I said cross reference. I probably use at least 5 gaming websites then like 20-30 actual user reviews then I come up with an average. For example: After 5 gaming websites and a shit ton of user reviews Persona 5 still had an average score of 9.27. Pretty small margin for error imo

@Chutebox: exactly, only GS scores count for SW.

@valgaav_219: I don't really do that. Granted, I don't do consumer reviews. I just buy a game if it looks interesting.

When it comes to critique, I don't get it from user reviews or websites and I absolutely do not use scores (critic or users) as a determining factor for anything. :P

It's a weird rule, but a rule none the less.

Just read it targets 30fps, that's pretty disappointing.

@kvally: exactly, we live by the rule, we die by the rule. LOL !

Not even, unless they changed it, they only count for flop or not, which is determined by an actual hype thread.

Again, unless they changed shit.

Wow a six. That makes it as big a piece of shit as Quantum Break.

Oh the humanity!!!

I played an original Crash game or two, I know what I'm getting into if I ever decided to get this, that's why I'm opting out and waiting for a 50% price drop, at least. Still might never get around to it until we hit a big long dry spell.

2/10 per game

So many interesting games to remaster and they pick Crash Bandicoot :(

@kvally: LMAO you crack me up Kvally.