Crash Bandicoot (Series)

[Mr EliteL]

Crash Bandicoot game? I just wanna know what that pizza is all about!

Yeah I thought Crash could take a step back for Spyro to get a shot at something, but ah I'll just wait and see. I doubt I'd get interested in it though, wasn't at all for Crash 4 mainly because platformers don't grab me much anymore.

[Moonface]

My only guess for the pizza is a pizza party which is usually to celebrate something? Otherwise I have no clue since every other item used to tease a Crash or Spyro game has had a connection to the announcement it relates to.

I did consider if the notice on the side being wumpa flavoured is meant to hint at all to "Wumpa League" which has been in the rumour mill for ages but then went up in the air after Activision did all the stupid things they've done or been caught in the past couple of years.
If it is WL it'll take a lot for me to care about it since the idea of a Crash party game on paper doesn't interest me.

[Moonface]

Crash Team Rumble Announced
I didn't get to post this at the time it was announced so I'm a little late with this post, but a new Crash Bandicoot game was revealed at The Game Awards 2022 and is called Crash Team Rumble.



Here is an overview of the game, via Activision:

Crash Team Rumble is an all-new four-versus-four, team-based online multiplayer video game set in Crash Bandicoot’s vibrant and zany universe.

In Crash Team Rumble, fans can play as Crash, Dingodile, and a host of other friends and frenemies, each of which has their own distinct power, personality, and playstyle, as they compete across wild and varied arenas in four-versus-four team-based online multiplayer action. To lead their squad to victory, players will slide, smash, bump and bash as a team to be the “fur-st” to bank the most Wumpa fruit in their drop-off zone, while simultaneously defending the opponent team’s drop zone. Featuring cross-platform play, Crash Team Rumble will feature tons of strategic gameplay elements that will be sure to turn the tide of scoring in hilarious ways.

Crash Team Rumble is scheduled for release in 2023 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One.

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Honestly, I'm not really feeling this right now. I was already iffy on the concept this game was rumoured to have prior to this reveal (when it was being referred to as Wumpa League in said rumours), and while the trailer alone didn't really change my views on that one way or the other, finding out that this is an online multiplayer game did put the nail in the coffin for me. If there's no offline modes, and the game isn't free-to-play, I don't think the player base will last very long and I'm certainly not willing to put down money on a gamble that it will last long even if I were to adore what the game has to offer once I learn more on that front. CTR:NF's online practically died overnight the second the last grand prix event ended, with only the most utterly hardcore players sticking around, and that was a solid game that was bringing back a beloved classic. I can't trust the online of Crash Team Rumble to last very long when it's an entirely new game that has none of the appeal attached to it that CTR:NF did.

[Mr EliteL]

Yeah I need to see more but at the moment not that interested. I don't think it'll have a long life either if that's all just the 4v4 and online multiplayer. Cross-Platform is a start to help the game, but doubt that does much. I also stopped playing CTR:NF after the final grand.
Was weird to see Coco put on an Uka Uka mask though. So I guess one side will be considered the Heroes and the other Villains regardless of their usual affiliation beforehand.

[ShiraNoMai]

I'd be down to play. It looks cute and fun. Definitely one of those games I'd be more interested in if there was local multiplayer.

[Moonface]

Was weird to see Coco put on an Uka Uka mask though. So I guess one side will be considered the Heroes and the other Villains regardless of their usual affiliation beforehand.

Yeah, this one was a very interesting choice, since in any other Crash game that features opponents everyone would get a mask that corresponds to their individual affiliation, and not based on if they're part of an opposing team. My guess is that it's maybe a way to visually point out the opposing side in the event a character is being used on both teams.

Cross-play might give this game a better chance at keeping an active player base going for longer, but I still think the biggest factor is going to be how much the game costs. I also wonder if the game will require an active online subscription, or due to being online-focused will avoid it. If the game costs money to buy and requires an online subscription I can't see it doing good out of the gate since technically you're having to pay for access to it twice. Like, I don't have an active PS+ subscription currently since I don't have any games I'm playing that have an online component, and I certainly would never activate one just for this game if it's required to access virtually anything.

[Moonface]

So with the news breaking that Crash on the Run (the free-to-play mobile game that from what I can tell was one of the most downloaded mobile runners) closing down in Feb. 2023, I can't say I have a lot of faith in Crash Team Rumble getting a long shelf-life. If it's F2P, I won't be shocked for it to be closed down within two years, and if it's paid then it'll probably just be like CTR:NF and see a huge drop-off the instant new content stops coming in as people burn out and move onto something else or play it far more sporadically.

Going off these two games, it seems making them F2P or paid makes little difference to things. Both games had new content support for barely an entire year, after which the player base in both games dropped sharply, and I think the only reason CTR:NF hasn't had the servers closed yet is because it isn't a F2P title. I'm calling it now that CTRumble will get like a year of new content and then that'll be it, and whatever state the game is in after that won't be enough to entice people to continue playing in large numbers. I just know it'll have some really shady microtransactional stuff going on because CTR:NF did and that game never came to PC because of it, and CTRumble also isn't coming to PC and probably won't so that no one can get around Activision's ways of making money.

Just wanted to get this off my chest after seeing the handling of Crash on the Run despite the success it apparently had.

[aerodynamik]

Awesome. I might buy it if I find some time to play it.

[Moonface]

Awesome. I might buy it if I find some time to play it.

What other Crash games have you played?

[aerodynamik]

Awesome. I might buy it if I find some time to play it.

What other Crash games have you played?

The OG on PS1, haven't played any other since then.

[Moonface]

Awesome. I might buy it if I find some time to play it.

What other Crash games have you played?

The OG on PS1, haven't played any other since then.

Was it all the games on PS1 or literally just the first? I'd strongly recommend the N. Sane Trilogy to get a more up to date version of the original trilogy, and Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a very good remake of the original CTR that also includes new content and all of the content from Crash Nitro Kart, although unlocking cosmetic stuff in the store is a real slog even with the increased currency earnings the online modes offer which I would say is the only downside, but if you only care about just playing the game then the store doesn't matter.

Crash 4 is an okay entry that just gets brought down by some horrific difficulty spikes and a lot of the levels are far too long. If you don't intend to 100% it then it's great, but the second you try to be a completionist it becomes a very painful experience.