The Characters
There are 8 characters to choose from in this game. You can play as Crash, Coco, Crunch, N. Gin, Nina, Cortex or the two new characters Ebeneezer Von Clutch and Pasadena O'Possum. Each character has 3 cars and their own weapons that can be upgraded.
Non-Playable characters include Willie Wumpa Cheeks and news reporter chickens Chick and Stew.
Chick and Stew add humor to the game with hilarious quotes and catchphrases and one of them keeps changing his hairstyle every time they appear on the screen during the cut-scenes. They also give you hints and tips and show you how to play the game and teach you the basics of the controls. They also star in a Die-O-Rama where Crash spins into one of them, forcing that one of them to flatten him then kick his flattened corpse away.
Game play
In the previous Crash Bandicoot racing titles, you drive around in your kart towards each race and there are warp pads that warp you to the track. In CTTR however, you walk to each race, and there are doors to let you in. When walking round the Mid-way or each of the hubs which are:
- Mystery Island
- Happily Ever Faster
- Tyrannosaurus Wrecks
- Tomb Town
- Astro Land
You are playing as Crash and you walk around collecting coins and completing missions for other characters to unlock other cars or get crystals.
When playing on tracks, for example, Tiki Turbo or Rings Of Uranus, you get to play as any of the 8 characters that you want, as long as you have unlocked them first.
What makes CTTR better than the other 2 racing titles is that besides the race, you have some new challenges to complete. 2 of them give you the chance to practice being a driver while the other 2 give you the chance to practice being a gunner.
Crashinator is where you drive around the track smashing targets that are laid out all around you within the time limit.
Rolling Thunder is where you drive around the track with the other racers, 1 of them plays as your driver and the other six try to escape your weapon's bullets. You have to destroy the other 6 drivers a set number of times to win. I always play as N. Gin for this one because he has the best weapon in the game.
Run and Gun is the only challenge where your player is automatically selected for you. You have to drive around the track shooting targets that are floating around the track. You have an automatically selected driver who drives you around the track as you shoot the targets.
Fastest Lap is similar to Time Trial. You basically drive around the track trying to beat the set time!!!!
New Features
Gags, Mini Games, Die-O-Ramas, Shortcuts and Outfits.
During the game, you will find Park Drones with Red Balloon icons over their heads. This means that you can play a mini game. Mini Games range from bowling to shooting ranges.
If you see a Park Drone with an orange shirt icon above their heads, it means they have an outfit to sell to you. All the characters have one outfit each, except for Crash who has several outfits.
A Gag is a mini clip showing Crash treating the Park Drones or another character badly or doing something random like running into a photo booth or using a love tester machine and frowning at his result.
An example of one of the gags, is Shark Bait, found in Mystery Island. Crash is standing on a platform looking at some Park Drones standing on a bridge. Without thinking, he pulls the lever next to him causing the bridge to collapse and the Park Drones to fall in the water. The Park Drones get eaten by Sharks causing Crash to start laughing.
Die-O-Ramas are hilarious mini clips showing Crash dying in hilarious ways such as being eaten by sharks 3 times, being crushed by a piano, drowning in a pot of cheese, being eaten by snow apes 3 times, being crushed by the planet Uranus, having laser surgery, being sucked out of a window, being crushed by a vending machine, exploding 3 times, being strangled by the tail of a cow, being crushed by a fat guy licking an ice cream, getting thrown off a cliff by a snow ape, being crushed by a tree, being crushed by a safe, losing balance on a bridge and falling backwards only to be flattened by a set of gears, the list is endless.
You get a Baby Crash outfit for unlocking all of these hilarious Die-O-Ramas.
There are also tracks that have shortcuts that you have to unlock by finding switches to activate them.
These tracks are:
- Deep Sea Driving (Mystery Island)
- Once Upon A Tire (Happily Ever Faster)
- LaBrea Car Pits (Tyrannosaurus Wrecks)
- Crash Test Mummies (Tomb Town)
- Craters On Uranus (Astro Land)
Overall, I rate this game 10/10 and I give it 5 Stars. If I was asked if I would recommend Crash Tag Team Racing, then my answer would be yes, of course I will!!!!!!
