Crash Team Racing Playstation Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Developer: Naughty Dog, Inc. Players: 1-4 Difficulty: N/A Camera: N/A Additional Pictures Screen 1 Screen 2 Screen 3 Screen 4 Screen 5 Screen 6 Screen 7 Screen 8 Screen 9 Screen 10 Screen 11 Screen 12 Screen 13

Crash Team Racing Looks To Have Some Excellent Graphics As With Any Cartoony Racing Game, There Are Plenty Of Power-Ups Most Playstation Multiplayer Games Have, At Most, 2 Players, But CTR Has 4 players

There have been many games that I have loved for the Playstation. Not only do I play racing games for hours and hours a day but I have a wide range of video-game genres that I enjoy. One of them being adventure. You cannot choose a better adventure game off the top of your head the the infamous Crash Bandicoot. He has graced television screens all over the world and is considered, by some, THE mascot for the Sony Playstation. His past travels have taken him through a full 3D world through Crypts, Jungles, Sewers, and Complex Labs. But for his next adventure Crash has strayed far from his normal style of life to the driver's seat in Sony's newest racing game titled Crash Team Racing. Ami Blaire, director, product marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America, said, "CTR (Crash Team Racing) is the new must-have title for every PlayStation owner...The Crash Bandicoot character has proved its mass popularity and appeal to gamers of all ages around the world. A multi-player racing game based on this cast of characters has the potential to become one of the most popular PlayStation games available."

I am sure that most of you pure racing gamers and saying to yourself,"What in the hell or who in the hell is Crash Bandicoot?". Crash Bandicoot is a character, created a little over 3 years ago, for the original Crash game. Don't ask me what a bandicoot is but he looks like a type of marsupialThroughoutout his adventures, Crash has encountered many evcontendersesi. CTR introduces a new evil boss trying to take over the world, Nitrous Oxide. Supposedly Nitrous Oxide is a fast freak, he loves speed. He concocts a plan that involves the increase of the world's speed so that he spins until the end of time. So, of course, Crash and company try to put a fork in Nitrous Oxide's plans and win back the world.

Aside for the usual automobile racing, CTR sports go-karts. Crash will of course be included in the game along with many of his companions and adversaries from all of his previous adventures. The characters are listed below. I would expect there to be secret characters available after beating different courses. Crash fans, come back for that when the details come in.

DRIVERS AVAILABLE

Crash Bandicoot Coco Bandicoot Dr. Neo Cortex Tiny Dingodile N. Gin Pura Polar

After looking over the screenshots that have come my way I can already tell that Naughty Dog, Inc. (The Developers for the previous Crash games) has come through again in creating some of the clearest, most vibrant graphics seen on the Playstation. Backgrounds look great. One can see that there is barely any pixelation corrupting the look of the game. Creators say that many of the levels will be based on Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. Considering the fact that there are 20 tracks to choose from, CTR should be able to last a long time.

As with most racing games there is the usual modes Time Trial, Versus, Gran Prix, and Battle. But CTR has an Adventure mode as well. I am not sure what exactly all of this means as of yet but as details evolve I will report it. Sony has also said that players will have to "tune up their vehicles, pick us famed Bandicoot goodies and avoid environmental hazards like those pesky TNT boxes".

Andrew Gavin, co-founder, Naughty Dog Inc. said, "The Crash Bandicoot franchise has captivated audiences by delivering games that provide compelling graphics, state-of-the-art 3D action and endless hours of enjoyable gameplay...With CTR (Crash Team Racing), an extension of the franchise, we have continued these exceptional qualities. We have also taken Crash where he has not gone before - to a multi-player game where he races on the same team with all of his friends and foes from past games." Obviously everyone is expecting this game to be a Playstation Classic as soon as it hits the stores. I for one agree! The graphics look great and the story behind it makes it a different kind of racing game from the rest. With 4-player compatibility players who own the multi-tap device will be able to compete. This is unusual because there are not that many games available for the Playstation that utilize the multi-tap. But graphics and features are neverythinging to a game. If Naughty Dog is able to keep graphics etc. clean and sharp as well as making it able to last more then a month then the predictions for the game could come true.

-Nick Steinhauer