What I really liked about the original Crash Team Racing was the progression of the adventure mode, which required tracks to be revisited multiple times, while still keeping the experience fresh. By the time you had achieved all the goals on a course, you could be sure you knew it inside and out. Crash Nitro Kart continues that tradition nicely, as it does with almost all the precedents the first game set.

Beating a race the first time earns you a trophy. Trophies are used to unlock more courses and ultimately that area's boss. Beating a boss earns you a key which unlocks a new area, and the process starts over again. In a nod towards Rare's Diddy Kong Racing, there's much more to milk out of each course than just a single trophy. To earn the CNK token on each course you must collect the letters C, N, and K, and still finish in first place. Often times the letters are in extremely out of the way areas, or will lead you to a shortcut you didn't know about previously. Lastly, and the most unique feature of the crash karting games, are the relic races. This time you're racing solo against the clock and littered across the track are crates that will freeze the clock for 1, 2, or 3 seconds. The 3-second crates are, again, generally harder to get to or show you a path you might not have been familiar with. Collecting all the crates on a course shaves another several seconds off your final time.

These relic races are my favorite aspect of Crash Nitro Kart, and are what kept me coming back to the game. It's extremely satisfying to work out a good path and rack up several crates that will stop the clock for 15 (or sometimes more) seconds. Depending on how well you race there are different levels of relics awarded, which significantly ups the game's replay value.

CNK does feature a storyline, featuring an alien kidnapping and the potential destruction of Earth, but the plot is (I feel) intentionally contrived to get the Crash characters back into their karts. It's quite weird at points, especially after you defeat one of the bosses, but no one is playing a racing game for the storyline anyway. As I'm sure you could guess, all this trophy, key, gem, relic, and token collecting ultimately results in a final showdown, although to get the best ending you need to collect every little trinket and then dispatch the boss. Besides a few specific tracks the collecting never feels like a chore, however. Every mode is different enough from the last that you don't mind playing the course over again.

Besides adventure mode, CNK features all the racing standards, but doesn't strive to go above and beyond. Multiplayer allows you to race or battle with (thankfully) up to three other players. The battle mode does feature some interesting settings for a kart game such as capture the flag and steal the bacon, where one flag is up for grabs in the middle of the arena. The weapons are all your standards such as shield items, drop behind you items, shoot in front of you items, boosts, etc. It would have been nice to have had some innovative weaponry, but it isn't really necessary. Team capture the flag matches are still a blast, and it's always fun to cleverly place an item behind you in just the perfect spot. All in all CNK's multiplayer stands up there with the best of them and can be highly entertaining, but does little to distinguish itself.

If you played Crash Team Racing I suggest you give CNK a rent first to see if the extreme similarities are too much of a turn off for you. They lowered my opinion of the game slightly, but it's still a quite enjoyable package. If Mario Kart isn't your thing but you're just looking for a good game to enjoy with some friends that also offers a solid single player experience, CNK fits the bill.