Fortunately,
Crash's gameplay boasts far more variety than its soundtrack ever could. Much like in earlier installments of the series, players are treated to a new mix of level types within each area of the game.
The Wrath of Cortex pits Crash against his old nemeses, Uka Uka and Dr. Neo Cortex, in addition to the four elemental masks unleashed to stop the Bandicoot once and for all; inside each element-based realm, Crash finds new vehicles and locales to explore at will.
Veterans may find themselves bored of recurring events where Crash must run away from pursuers in the background (be it a pack of animals or a tidal wave), and smashing crates and constantly collecting fruit repeatedly admittedly does get old, but it's the truly unique levels that steal the show here. Scenarios where Crash cruises around in attack gliders, submarines, and Super Monkey Ball-style rolling contraptions really set this one apart from other ordinary platformers. I could probably play 'That Sinking Feeling' around 50 times before I got sick of everything that stage has to offer.
Of course, a few aspects of the story aren't really explained too clearly, although that's to be expected. For instance, Crash's sister Coco takes over for her bro in certain levels, but we're never really told why. My only guess involves further variety, as Coco packs a few martial arts moves in lieu of Crash's spins and slides. Players can use her sweep kick to take out crates with dangerous Nitro boxes stacked above them, and well, that's really her only advantage, I guess. Still, she's a welcome addition to the Bandicoot family.
To keep replay value at an all-time high, the developers have thrown Time Trial challenges and hidden gems into already-beaten levels. Since there's no way to fully complete the game without every crystal and relic intact, this forces multiple revisits on those bent on mastering the game. To these people, however, I say you've gotta be nuts to replay every level at least three times without missing a single secret!
