Dr. Neo Cortex knows opportunity when he sees it. People love to text, blog and play video games over the Internet, so he develops a helmet that gives users a hands-free approach to their activities. Granted, it's not a perfect device, as it turns you into a drooling vegetable. This is the plot for Crash Bandicoot's latest adventure for the Xbox 360, Mind Over Mutant. It'll satisfy fans of the series and kids, despite coming up short new players.
Angered by the effects of the helmet on his sister Coco (although he grins so stupidly you'd never know), Crash pursues Cortex's forces to stop its production. Your adventure takes you all over his home island, from the back of a nearby tropical mountain to an arctic wasteland. On the journey, Crash fends off evil forces with punches, kicks and a spin attack, but he can also mount larger beasts by dizzying them and jumping onto their backs. This lets him use their abilities, which come in handy over the course of the game. For instance, one creature, a huge bubble-like monster, has grappling abilities, thus enabling him to grab ledges and throw dangerous TNT boxes aside.
Like last year's Crash of the Titans, Mind Over Mutant has terrific voice acting. You'll find hours of humorous dialogue with little repetition. Some voices are also recognizable, including veterans Mark Hamill and John DiMaggio (Bender from the animated series Futurama).
Each stage is gigantic, requiring you to grab ledges, crawl underground, slide on ice glaciers and more. There's hours of exploration, with hidden items and gem multipliers to snag. The visuals are excellent, with nice attention to detail and some quirky character designs. Some of the animation is stiff, particularly when Crash moves up ledges, but overall, it's easy on the eyes.
That brings us to the gameplay, and here's where this beautiful Mind withers. The punch and kick attacks are fine, as you'll have no problem pummeling enemies. There's no logic behind the spin attack, however. To perform Crash's trademark move, you spin the analog stick two times around and then tap the X button to keep it going. This is frustrating, especially when you're on smaller ledges. Having to move around to initiate the attack can sometimes lead to an unintended fall.
Furthermore, the fixed camera angle creates headaches. You can't rotate the camera behind you to see the entire level – it just stays focused on what's ahead. This makes backtracking a pain, especially in the main hub when you need to return to Coco. It's also inconvenient when you attempt to cross narrow beams, which often leads to death. Worst of all, when you play with a friend in co-op, you have to stay on the same screen. Inexplicably, there's no split-screen option.
On top of that, this game looks similar to last year's Crash of the Titans. There are a few new mutants and the main game rewards you with plenty of achievements. However, you'll go through the game wishing for something crazy to happen but it never does.
Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant will certainly make fans of the series and kids smile, but others may find themselves fighting off a stifling yawn. It's an acceptable platform game that has some things going for it (particularly the voice acting), but it fails to push itself into "must-have" territory.
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