Crash Bandicoot was a franchise that was originally planned to become the signature line of games of the Sony PlayStation. The main character named Crash Bandicoot was even considered the PlayStation's unofficial mascot. However, Crash Bandicoot was heavily inspired by the Super Mario franchise, and like Mario, Crash also got a party game entitled "Crash Bash". Today, I will look at the many aspects that this video game has to offer, whether they are positive or negative.

Crash bash has many modes to offer. The main focus of the game is the Adventure mode, which you can play alone or with a friend (if you have two controllers). I highly recommend playing this mode on multiplayer, since the game is extremely difficult if played on singleplayer. But we'll get to that in a minute. Another modes are Battle mode (where the players can select and play a mini-game they have unlocked) and Tournament mode (where the players choose a category of mini-games that the players want to compete in).

Adventure mode (or Story mode) starts off with a cutscene, explaining what exactly is going on. Apparently, Aku Aku and Uka Uka (the ancient masks) have decided to end the fight between good and evil once and for all. However, they are not allowed to fight themselves (even though that is exactly what they did in Crash Bandicoot: Warped), so they each assemble a team to "fight" for them. Aku Aku summons Crash and Coco Bandicoot, while Uka Uka summons Tiny Tiger, Dingodile, Dr. Neo Cortex, Dr. N. Brio, Koala Kong and Rilla Roo (all of them being characters from the Crash Bandicoot franchise, except Rilla Roo). It is immediately clear that the odds are against the "good" team, so Aku Aku warps Tiny Tiger and Dingodile to his team. Alright, playing mini-games is a very strange way to decide between good and evil, but this is a video game, it isn't supposed to make sense. This ends the cutscene and you can start playing.

When you start playing, the character you chose (which could be good or evil) will be in the so called "Warp room 1". There is a total of 5 warp rooms, but we'll get into that in a bit. Each warp room has several teleport pads, with at least one pad for Saving your progress, one pad for changing warp rooms (If you have them unlocked), one pad for entering boss fights (except for Warp room 5) and several mini-game pads (Warp room 1 has 4 mini-game pads, Warp room 2 has 5, Warp room 3 has 6, Warp room 4 has 7 and Warp room 5 has 6).

Each mini-game warp pad teleports you to a different mini-game challenge. In order to complete the game  200% (Yes, there is 200%) the player has to complete 5 challenges in each of the mini-games. These include:

-Trophy challenge - The player(s) play(s) the regular version if the mini-game against the computer players. The first player to get to 3 wins gets the trophy.

-Gem challenge - The player(s) is/are put at a slight disadvantage (such as having less health, more strict time limit or having to score more points). In order to get the gem, the player(s) has/have to win the mini-game once with the disadvantage.

-Crystal challenge - The player(s) play(s) a different version of the original mini-game, which always has a twist that makes winning more difficult (and a different background). Unlike the gem challenges, the crystal challenges (almost) always include stage hazards which will more likely than not also make it more difficult for the computer players. To get the crystal, the player(s) has/have to win the mini-game once.

-Gold relic challenge - The player(s) face(s) of against stronger AI opponents. To get the gold relic, the player(s) has/have to win the mini-game twice in a row. Note: Gold relic challenges are unlocked after reaching Warp room 4

-Sapphire relic challenge - The player(s) face(s) of against stronger AI opponents. To get the sapphire relic, the player(s) has/have to win the mini-game three times in a row. Note: Sapphire relic challenges are unlocked after reaching Warp room 5

Completing all these tasks may get a little repetitive, but I don't think the player(s) is/are meant to do all of the challenges in one sitting. I personally prefer to complete one mini-game (and all the challenges) per day.

In order to complete the game normally (not getting 200% completion), the player(s) has/have to collect all the trophies in order to unlock the boss fight for the warp room. However, later warp rooms require the player(s) to collect some of the gems, crystals and gold relics. Gems, crystals and gold relics can also be used to unlock several bonus mini-games in Warp room 5. Getting the sapphire relics is entirely optional.

When the player(s) beat(s) the boss of Warp room 4, the game will display a different cutscene depending on the character(s) the player(s) chose. If the game was played in multiplayer and both players chose different sides, the players get to play a secret mini-game against each other to decide the ending.

I think now is the time to explain the individual mini-games this video game has to offer. At first, you have 4 categories of mini-games unlocked, but you can also unlock more categories by playing the Adventure mode. Each mini-game has 4 different variants, each offering a minor twist. Here is the list of all the categories with a summed up explanation:

-Ballistix - A pinball-style mini-game, where the individual players are able to move across a horizontal or a vertical line and guard their "net" while also trying to score goals in the other players' "nets".

-Polar push - The players are riding polar bears and trying to shove the other players off of an iceberg, while also trying not to get knocked off themselves.

-Pogo pandemonium - The players are jumping on pogo sticks that color the tiles they land on. The goal of the mini-game is to collect purple boxes which turn the number of colored tiles into points.

-Crate crush - The goal of the game is to defeat the other players by either throwing boxes at them, attacking them manually, using stage hazards to defeat them or use special gadgets.

-Tank wars - The title is pretty self-explanatory, but I'll explain the mini-games anyway. The players are inside several tanks and fight until there is only one man (or woman) standing. There are different types of shots, including primary shots, mines, rockets and so on.

-Crash dash - The players are riding hover car-like vehicles and race on a circular track until one of them completes a set number of laps. This category of mini-games may seem boring at first, but the real fun begins when the players start shooting rockets at each other and pushing other racers off of the racing track.

-Medieval mayhem - This category of mini-games isn't consistent and features four different mini-games:

   -Ring ding - The players are in a clockwork tower and are trying to pop as many of balloons of their color as possible.

   -Dragon drop - The players are riding dragons and try to shoot gems at a target. The further away from the target, the more points the player earns.

   -Mallet mash - The players are standing atop a tall tower and are trying to whack as many mushrooms with their mallets as possible.

   -Keg kaboom - The players are holding barrels full of gunpowder and are trying to lead the line of fire to more barrels of gunpowder in order to make them explode.

Overall, the mini-games are pretty fun. However, there is one aspect of the game that makes it almost unplayable in singleplayer mode: the AI. The AI seems like it isn't aiming to win, it's aiming for you to lose, which means that if you're playing adventure mode on singleplayer, everyone will focus on you. It's basically 3vs1. Having a second player is really helpful, since it helps narrow down the odds to 2vs2, but somehow it still feels like the AI is always one (or more) step ahead of the players. This can become a nightmare for completionists who want to win every single one of the challenges.

The graphics in this game are taken straight out of Crash Bandicoot: Warped, and I personally think that game had amazing graphics. The only complaint that I have with this game's graphics are the framerate issues. During the cutscenes, everything slows down. The framerate issues aren't limited to cutscenes either. I've had some lag spikes during actual gameplay, but it is quite uncommon for the game to lag.

The music in this game is either completely original or a remix of an older track from Crash Bandicoot: Warped. The music is very well chosen and fits in well with the atmosphere of the mini-games. Take for example Jungle bash (a variation of Crate crush). The music in this mini-game makes me feel like I'm in an actual jungle, but it isn't just some bongo beats. The music manages to feel in place and full of action at the same time. When I'm losing a mini-game, I focus on the music which gets me pumped up and ready to get back to the first place.

Overall, this is a pretty enjoyable game if you are playing it with friends. The game made such an impression on me that I still play it to this day.

Allow me to cut in line and prepare you. lol You're probably going to get comments about how this isn't that good of a review because you need to break it into categories and so on.

Don't listen to that. This is a good review, and it's written just fine. It definitely took time and a lot of thought to make a review this descriptive, and that alone is impressive.

So while this isn't written in the typical style of Vizzed reviews, that doesn't mean anything (unless you want to try to get a featured review spot). Any criticisms or instructions to "break it into categories" should only be taken as suggestions (and I would personally encourage that format as well), not corrections of error.