Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is the fourth installment of the Crash Bandicoot series. Being the first Crash title on the PlayStation 2, some gamers might have expected Crash to finally enter the third dimension. For better or worse, Crash 4 uses the same not-quite-3D gameplay perspective that made the original so popular. Surprisingly, Crash 4 was not developed by the original games' creator, Jason Rubin. Naughty Dog's contract with Universal was up and Jason felt that it was time to move on and develop an entirely new game. Other than Nintendo or Sega, who could possibly be good enough to fill Naughty Dog's shoes and bring Crash into the next generation? Sony showed no interest in developing the game themselves. Konami didn't either (one can only imagine what a Crash Bandicoot game from Hideo Kojima would be like).

So Universal decided to employ European game developer Traveler's Tales. Traveler's Tales is the company responsible for developing the video game version of Toy Story 2 for the PSone, Dreamcast and Nintendo 64. It wasn't perfect, but as a whole, Toy Story 2 was a really good game that captured some elements of the movie. The game was released a few weeks before the movie hit theaters, which was great because I got to see some of the best scenes from the movie before everyone else.

Traveler's Tales is obviously an experienced game developer, but are they ready to take on the task of developing the latest sequel to one of the most successful game franchises of all time? We wouldn't know the answer for another 18 months. Now the wait is over. Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex has finally landed on store shelves and is ready to be played by the gaming public. Does it live up to the hype? If you followed the game's development closely and thought about it every second of every day, then the answer is no. No game is that good -- not even Devil May Cry could have lived up to the hype if I had thought about it non-stop before its release. But if you liked the Crash Bandicoot games, read an article or two about the sequel and hoped it'd be an enjoyable game, you're in for a real treat.

Everything you know and loved about the old Crash games is back. All of the levels are linear, so the basic way of defeating them is by getting from one end to the other. But that isn't really "beating" them. To finish each level, you must bust every crate and collect every Crystal, Relic and Gem found inside. Destroy every crate in each level or complete a secret to win a Clear Gem. Colored Gems are only found in special levels and will transport you to hidden areas. Crystals are obtained very easily -- explore the level the best you can, and by the time you reach the end of it, the Crystal should be yours. Crash 4 cannot be beaten without all 25 of the Crystals, so if you miss one, go back and find it.

You earn a Sapphire, Gold or Platinum Relic by completing each level in a record amount of time. After the level has been beaten once, a clock is added at the start of the level that activates the Time Trial mode. Yellow crates that temporarily stop the clock are dispersed throughout each level in Time Trial mode. Even if you hit every yellow crate, you're still going to have to "haul bandicoot" if you expect to earn the Platinum Relic. What is the point of all of this? If you collect enough of the Relics, you'll pen up a secret level! And beating those secret levels is the only way to get 100% completion of the game.

Crash is more Mario-like than ever with the combination of old and new special moves. Everyone expects their favorite marsupial to be able to run, spin and jump. But what they might not have expected him to do is jump twice as high with a new Double Jump move, tip toe around nitro crates or glide in the air by spinning faster than he ever has before. Those new come at a price, though, as Crash must beat one boss at the end of each world to acquire the special powers. Some of the levels can't be entirely completed until you've acquired the Double Jump, which means you'll have to come back later in the game if you want to finish it. Sound familiar? Mario 64 had similar restrictions. Of course, no one would want to be able to complete each level in one sitting, because then they wouldn't have anything to do later.

Speaking of levels, Crash 4's level design is excellent. Crash 4 introduces some new level styles to the series, with new controllable vehicles and a Bandicoot-size sphere! Bamboozled is by far the best sphere level in the game. The ball is extremely sensitive and can reach speeds nearly as fast as some of the older Sonic games. It's like a Crash Bandicoot roller coaster ride. After playing that level, you'll wish that all of them were like that. Some of the sphere levels are filled with obstacles, forcing you to carefully navigate the area. Otherwise you'll likely get blown up. The increased challenge is nice, but I would have preferred more levels like Bamboozled.

What goes up, must come down, so what are the downsides to this wonderful game? Traveler's Tales knows how to make fun games, but they still haven't learned how to smooth out the controls. The same problems that plagued Toy Story 2 are bringing Crash down as well. Ever since Mario 64 was released, I haven't been able to accept a game that didn't have controls that were just as smooth and responsive as Shigeru Miyamoto's masterpiece. Unfortunately, there aren't any platformers -- except for maybe Jak and Daxter -- with controls as good as Mario 64. With that said, the Naughty Dog-developed Crash games were closer to Mario's smoothness. On the other hand, Crash 4 has more moves, better level design and better gameplay that closely resembles the Sonic and Klonoa games.

The load times are ridiculous. They're so long, that you may ask yourself, "Is this a next-generation console I'm playing or the Sega CD?" Crash 4's load times are never any less than 35 seconds, and some levels can take as long as 55 seconds to load! Not just 35-55 seconds going to the level -- it'll take you that long to exit the level as well. This is one part of the game that makes absolutely no sense. None of Traveler's Tales' PSone games took this long to load. I don't care if Crash 4 has "more polygons than ever," because Metal Gear Solid 2 crams more polygons onto the screen than 99% of the games out there it loads the fastest.

Problems aside, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is an excellent game. Now that Traveler's Tales has managed to top the original Crash Bandicoot games as a whole, I hope that they can master Miyamoto's touch and create the ultimate platformer next. For now though, I'm going to continue enjoying the latest Crash game.

 Gameplay: 8
Crash is back and he's better than ever! Traveler's Tales did what many thought was impossible (myself included) and created a Crash game that is actually better than the ones developed by Naughty Dog, the original creator of the series. The new levels, special moves and vehicles are all welcome additions that I hope to see more of in the future. Traveler's Tales could develop a whole game based on the sphere levels alone (think Super Monkey Ball with a bandicoot). Needless to say, I am thoroughly impressed by this game.

Graphics: 7.5
Crash 4's conservative style may not appeal to everyone, but anyone who plays the game for a few hours will see that the graphics aren't that conservative after all. The X-ray effects are hilarious, and some of the water and lava levels have a wavy screen effect that is really impressive.

Sound: 5.9
Sound and music has never been one of Crash Bandicoot's strong points. It is really annoying to hear a child say, "Whoa!" every time you fall in the water, especially when you realize that the child's voice is supposed to be Crash. Less than half of the songs are worth listening to, so I recommend that you hit the mute button on your television and play a CD instead.

Difficulty: 7
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is the hardest Crash game ever made. That isn't saying much, considering how easy the first three games were. But Crash 4 is still pretty difficult at times. The second boss is super-cheap, so be sure to stock up on a ton of extra lives before taking him on.

Concept: 7
Develop a Crash game that matches/surpasses the quality of the original. The results speak for themselves. Traveler's Tales should be given a bonus for doing such an excellent job of bringing Crash to the PlayStation 2.

Overall: 8
Any Crash Bandicoot fan would be a fool not to go out and buy this game. I started playing at 2am one night and did not stop until three in the afternoon! Granted, I took a few breaks and wrote most of my review that night, however, I spent the majority of the time playing Crash 4. I couldn't stand to play the other Crash games all night long if my life depended on it, but Crash 4 is so entertaining that I just couldn't stop.