Re: Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D Review
Edel Dieringer
CNK tweaks the kart-racing formula in a few small, specific ways, lending the game a slightly original flavor. You'll notice a rising power gauge linked to your acceleration at the start of the race, and if you can hit the gas at just the right time before the light goes green, you'll be rewarded with a nice little boost right off the bat. You can also get extra boost by landing big jumps, running over boost pads, or grabbing a nitro canister out of one of the many crates that are scattered across the tracks. To earn big boost, you'll need to master the powerslide mechanic, which lets you come out of a powerslide with jets blazing. It can give you a serious advantage in the race, but the powerslide boost is also very difficult to pull off, requiring flawless timing. In races where you're karting alongside team members, a team power-up is available. Your team meter is filled by keeping close to your teammate, and once you top out, you can trigger the power-up, which will give you instant access to random power-ups for a limited amount of time. The power-ups you'll get from the team power-up can also be found in the crates on the track, and they are largely the same types of offensive and defensive power-ups found in Crash Team Racing. For the most part, CNK is good, clean, kart-racing fun, though like its predecessor, it has a habit of granting power-up preference to players who are lagging behind, which can be great if you're in last place but frustrating if you've maintained first place the whole race, only to be passed up at the last second.
It\u2019s not a kart racer without items, and all 11 CTR favorites are back (two of which are exclusive to the Battle modes). Most of these items function in predictable ways given the genre: one provides invincibility and increased speed, turbos give a boost, beakers function as traps on the track, and so on. But I\u2019ve always loved how much the Crash racing series draws from the story and world of mainline Crash Bandicoot platformer games. The Aku Aku mask generally provides invincibility, but when Dr. Neo Cotex picks it up it\u2019s the Uka Uka Mask instead. TnT Crates crates take a few seconds to explode once touched, just like in the platformer. But once you drive into it the crate is placed on your head, allowing you to jump over and over again with the hope of getting it off of you before it explodes. Likewise, wumpa fruits may seem like \u201cbasically coins in Mario Kart\" but, in addition to increasing top speed, once you\u2019ve collected 10 you\u2019ll earn \u201cJuiced Up!\u201d power-ups. For example, TnT crates become nitro crates that explode as soon as you touch them and green beakers become red ones that don\u2019t just spin you out. Instead, these souped-up beakers also add a rain cloud above your opponent's head to slow them down for several seconds after they recover.