If you read my previous review of Crash: Mind Over Mutant for the Xbox 360, then you already know that Crash and his friends are back. If you've played the 360 version though, don't go looking for the same game on the DS. Even though they have the same titles and the same basic plot, they are completely different games.

Graphically, I am somewhat disappointed in Crash: Mind Over Mutant on the DS. Given that they already had the cutscenes made for the 360, I would have thought they would use those. They were well done and pretty. I do realize that the DS has limited room on the cartridge, but they shrank Viva Pinata just fine. You can skip the cutscenes if you want, so at least you're not forced to watch them. The scenes in the levels are somewhat boring. They get very repetitive quickly.

Another thing that I miss is the voice acting. There are no real voices in Mind Over Mutant on the DS. Instead, each character has a different grunting noise that they make. These noises make the cutscenes even more painful to watch. I would highly recommend playing the game without sounds, since they really don't help you in the gameplay at all.

Crash: Mind Over Mutant has very linear gameplay. After the intro which explains that Dr. Cortex is back and trying to take over everything again, you are taken to the World screen. You first select the area and then the level. Each area consists of several different parts and the game is side-scrolling. Crash starts at one end and has to jump over pits and avoid enemies to get to the other end. After a few parts, you'll get a check point. If you fail after that point, then you'll start back at that check point.

There are a few different ways that you can die. The quickest is to fall off of a cliff. Sometimes, however, you're going to want to jump down there anyway. If you don't, then you won't find all the hidden things like more mojo. Mojo is used to get extra power for a temporary time and to upgrade the mutants that you have jacked. To apply the mojo towards the mutant upgrades, simply collect the mojo while you are controlling the mutant. You can also apply the mojo Crash has collected by tapping the mojo button in the middle of the touch screen while you are controlling the mutant.

The other way you can die is to lose all your hit points as Crash. You lose points when you get hit by enemies. If you're controlling the mutant, then it will take away from the mutant's hit points instead of Crash's. When your mutant loses all its hit points, then it just dies and Crash is on his own until he jacks another mutant.

After you beat a level, it will open up another one for you. Continue this pattern until you get to the boss of that area. After you beat the boss, another area will be opened up for you. It doesn't really feel like these areas or the enemies have much to do with the storyline, though. There are also mini-games that you can play after you unlock them. They will show up on the World map as an orange star. These mini-games can provide a nice break from the Story mode.

Crash: Mind Over Mutant is not hard to play at all. Most things can be jumped over with only a single jump. Usually you don't even have to worry about double-jumping. The smaller enemies Crash can take out with ease. Even if you get large groups of them, his spin attack still works great. Just don't use it for too long or he will get dizzy and be very vulnerable. The big mutants are a little difficult to beat. But once you've beaten one, you can jack it. After that you can use one mutant to beat the next one. Mutants are much easier to beat when you've already got a mutant under your control.

The bosses were slightly more difficult than I was expecting based on how easy the levels were. You pretty much have to use a jacked mutant to beat them. If you lose, you'll lose your mutant too. But luckily, usually they were nice enough to put one in a level very nearby. That way, it is easy to go back and get another mutant to try again. With a little persistence, you should be able to beat all of the bosses.

The mechanics in Crash: Mind Over Mutant are easy to use and for the most part, quite intuitive. Pressing left or right on the D-pad will move Crash backwards and forwards. There is no need for up and down since you can't move in those directions anyway. Crash's light attack is activated with the (Y) button. To perform his famous spin attack, press up on the D-pad while pressing (Y). As I said before, don't use spin for too long. If you do, Crash will get dizzy and be left vulnerable. The (X) button will let Crash do a heavy attack. It is much more powerful, but quite a bit slower than the light attack. There are quite a few more moves that Crash can do, but the game explains them very well as you're playing.

The one other thing that is still important is mutant jacking. To jack a mutant, simply defeat it in battle and then press (A). The mutant can dodge an attack by pressing the (L) button and it can block and attack by pressing the (R) button. Blocking and dodging are quite helpful in the boss battles, so I would recommend learning how to use them.

If you're dying to be able to take Crash with you and play on your DS, then maybe I would recommend getting Crash: Mind Over Mutant on the DS. Otherwise I would say that you should get console version. It is a much more robust game.