Crash Bandicoot’s wild, confused eyes make him perfect for chaotic competitive multiplayer games.Clearly I’m not alone. After sitting with people bob toys After an hour of howling and trash talk at each other playing their upcoming Crash Team Rumble, it’s clear they’re on to something. Crash Bandicoot’s over-the-top world fit so well into the surprisingly nuanced competitive slagfest they’ve created that I was hooked after the first scream-inducing match.
Crash Team Rumble is a 4v4 fighting game where teams compete to be the first to score 2,000 points in the form of Crash’s iconic fruit, the Oompa. To do that, you’ll need to hit boxes, slap other players, take advantage of power-ups, and of course, master platforming. It’s all about eating and hiding as many Oompa fruits as possible in your team’s bank before a heartless rogue tramples your head and takes all your worth away.
if you’ve played killer queen, then you’ll feel right at home with the many Crash Team Rumble formulas that allow for multiple strategies on your way to victory. By depositing, you can play slowly and steadily. Alternatively, you can double wumpa’s deposit potential by capturing a level boost his zone. Or, if you’re like me and just want to grieve your opponents, you can encamp in enemy banks and ruthlessly kill enemy players to delay your own harvest. Rather than winning with just one strategy, you may need a combination of strategies. Every match is about prioritizing the right strategy, communicating with teammates, and working out a winning formula.
To that end, each of the five characters has a double jump, slide, spin, or other unique ability, such as Crash’s air dash or a very powerful slide attack, or Dr. Cortex’s ability to render enemies harmless for a while. into small creatures. Crush and Tauna are all-around scorers who are good at grabbing and banking Oompas. Meanwhile, Coco and Dr. Cortex are boosters, boost he’s an expert in controlling the Zone, gaining multipliers on Oompas deposited while they’re held. Finally, we have the only blocker, Dingodyle. It’s meant to simply stop your opponent from scoring by becoming his DPS machine, big and terrifying.
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As teams scramble to execute their strategies, they’ll also have to deal with power-ups and modifiers within each level. One level has a giant UFO that rains death on the opposing team when it is summoned. Another level has a beach ball that gives your team more mobility and can deal extreme damage to anyone who gets in their way. With so much to think about and so many things that could go very wrong or go very wrong per team, the result is yelling at your friends in Mario Kart 64 or Smash Bros. It’s the kind of glorious mayhem that reminds me of my childhood. Really hard to put down.
In one match I was able to beat an opposing team and win just by having a hard time keeping something in the bank. In another match, a boost secured his zone, piling up a ton of multipliers, and in no time he was amassing 2,000 wonpas. Jeez. Many of the matches were very close, but even then the energy in the room was cheery and contagious.
After using it for a while, I’m confident I’ll be able to spend some time on Crash Team Rumble when it’s in beta next month and full release in June.
