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Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a kart racing game developed by Beenox and published by Activision. It is a remaster of Crash Team Racing, which was originally developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation in 1999, and also includes content from the games Crash Nitro Kart, originally developed by Vicarious Visions in 2003, and Crash Tag Team Racing, originally developed by Radical Entertainment in 2005.
Gameplay[]
Like the original Crash Team Racing, Nitro-Fueled is a racing game featuring characters from the Crash Bandicoot series. Players must avoid obstacles and navigate the various tracks to reach the finish line, performing boosts via power sliding and jumping to gain speed, and using power-ups scattered across the track to give themselves a boost or hinder their opponents. The game supports quick races and grand prix circuits, as well as featuring a full adventure mode with new areas, characters and boss battles being unlocked as the player progresses.
Nitro-Fueled includes all 31 race tracks from Crash Team Racing and Crash Nitro Kart, along with several new features not present in the original Team Racing, including online multiplayer and the ability to choose different karts, which can be customized by the player. The adventure mode has also been tweaked: in addition to new cinematic cutscenes being added, players can choose between "Classic" and "Nitro-Fueled" adventure modes, the latter of which allows players to change their character and kart between races, as well as choose between three difficulty levels. Nitro-Fueled also adds substantial content from Crash Nitro Kart, including all of its characters, race tracks, battle arenas, karts and battle modes. Additional karts and character skins from Crash Tag Team Racing are included as well. This and other new content is accessible via the Pit Stop, an in-game shop that allows players to purchase unlockables using Wumpa Coins earned through gameplay.
Nitro-Fueled will feature limited-time Grand Prix events that will take place following the game's launch. These events will add all-new race tracks as free updates. Players can compete in special challenges on these new tracks during the event period to earn Nitro Points; by acquiring a certain number of points, they will be able to unlock new characters, karts, and customization items. If players are unable to obtain enough points during the event period, they will instead be able to purchase the content from the Pit Stop after its conclusion.
Playable Characters[]
- Crash Bandicoot
- Coco Bandicoot
- Dr. Neo Cortex
- Tiny Tiger
- Dr. N. Gin
- Dingodile
- Polar
- Pura
- Penta Penguin
- Ripper Roo
- Papu Papu
- Komodo Joe
- Fake Crash
- Nitros Oxide
- Dr. N. Tropy
- Crunch Bandicoot
- Krunk
- Small Norm
- Big Norm
- Nash
- N. Trance
- Real Velo
- Geary
- Zam
- Zem
- Tawna
- Ami
- Megumi
- Liz
- Isabella
- Baby Crash
- Baby Coco
- Baby T
- Spyro
- Hunter
- Gnasty Gnorc
- Komodo Moe
- Dr. N. Brio
- Nina Cortex
- Koala Kong
- Pasadena O'Possum
- Ebenezer Von Clutch
- King Chicken
- Rilla Roo
- Yaya Panda
- Hasty
- Chick
- Stew
- Megamix
- Emperor Velo XXVII
- Lab Assistant
- Baby Cortex
- Baby N. Tropy
- Fixed Rilla Roo
- Iron Checkpoint Crate
Plot[]
Nitros Oxide, an extraterrestrial alien who claims to be the fastest racer in the galaxy, goes to Earth to challenge its inhabitants to a game called "Survival of the Fastest", in which he challenges the Earth's best driver to a race. If the driver wins, Oxide will promise to leave the planet alone, but if he wins, he'll turn Earth into a concrete parking lot and make the inhabitants his minions.
With their chosen character, the player gathers the four Boss Keys required to access Oxide's spaceship to challenge him to a one-on-one race. If the player wins against Oxide, he'll temporarily leave Earth but will return when all of the Time Relics have been collected. When the Time Relics have been collected, Oxide will then challenge the player to another duel race. After Oxide loses again, he angrily keeps his word and leaves Earth. Crash and Coco Bandicoot both perform their respective victory dances, with Crash burping out the butterfly he inhaled in the intro.
During the end credits, the characters' epilogues are shown, explaining what they went on to do after the game's events. Nitros Oxide himself returned to his home planet, Gasmoxia, where he secluded himself from society. After sevreal years of therapy to cope with losing, Oxide tries unicycle-racing, only for him to suffer a gruesome accident.
Reception[]
Upon its release, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled received generally positive reviews. According to review aggregator Metacritic, the game's Nintendo Switch version has an 80/100, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[1]
Destructoid's Chris Moyse gave the game an 8 out of 10. While he praised the graphics, track variety, and the selection of game modes, Moyse criticized the "inconsistent" track designs and the Adventure mode's difficulty curve. Michael Damiani of Easy Allies gave it an 8.5 out of 10. While Damiani shared some of Moyse's sentiments about the game, he criticized the online mode for only featuring races and battles instead of the other modes offered in the Arcade mode.
Eletronic Gaming Monthly gave the game three out of five stars.[2] GameRevolution's Michael Leri rated it an 8 out of 10, statingg that "Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is both a respectful reimagining and a superb, modernized kart racer in its own right." Much like Michael Damiani, Leri criticized the game's online mode for its lack of modes outside racing and battling.[3]
Nintendo Life's Chris Scullion rated the Nintendo Switch version of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled an 8 out of 10. While Scullion praised the game for its faithfulness to Crash Team Racing, he criticized the long loading times.[4]
Neal Ronaghan of Nintendo World Report gave the game a 7 out of 10. He praised the variety of single- and multiplayer modes and the customization, but he criticized the long loading times, the online play, the difficulty curve, and the poor visuals in Handheld mode.[5]
External links[]
- Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled at GameFAQs
| Crash Bandicoot series | |
|---|---|
| Main series | The Wrath of Cortex • The Huge Adventure • N-Tranced • Purple: Ripto's Rampage • Crash of the Titans • Crash: Mind Over Mutant • Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy • It's About Time |
| Racing/Spin-offs | Crash Nitro Kart • Crash Tag Team Racing • Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Crash Boom Bang! • Skylanders: Imaginators |
| Related | Crash Bandicoot • Dr. Neo Cortex • Spyro Sony • Activision • TT Games • Vicarious Visions • Radical Entertainment • Toys for Bob |