Late to the Party: Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time

ow that the character is over 24 years old, Crash Bandicoot has amassed a generation of fans that look at him with the same reverence as Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog—he’s a household name among Generation Z. On that token though, beyond the remastered releases and cameos, just how relevant is the property today’s gaming climate? Ironically enough, one of the biggest attractions the marsupial had over its competition was its sense of exclusivity, both in terms of gameplay difficulty and the platform brand the property wore heartily on its sleeve.

Interestingly, the Crash Bandicoot property made its bread and butter on appealing to the public as the coolest outlier on the market with the PlayStation, but as the years have passed, the marsupial mascot has evolved into a far more accessible franchise. That sentiment couldn’t be more apparent than the latest entry from developer Toys for BoB, and publisher Activision, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time.

With the success of the remastered trilogy, the developer was tasked with releasing a new sequel that would invoke the initial spirit of Bandicoot’s PlayStation outings, and thankfully, Toys For BoB answered that call with a game that successfully caters to everyone like no other entry before it, and is easily the best Crash game to date.

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QCF: Crash Bandicoot: N Sane Trilogy

hile there are dozens upon dozens of gaming franchises that are languishing in obscurity these days, none have quite sparked the sort of fiery demand that Marsupial Mascot Crash Bandicoot has. The once revered Sony icon had recently resurfaced as a cameo character in the latest Skylanders entry, and the fan service in response proved that plenty of folks had still held onto their memories of the edgy Jorts-wearing furball fondly, which didn’t go unnoticed by Activison or Sony.

Wisely banking off of the nostalgia of the Bandicoots earlier titles during his prime, the two companies had finally decided to pull the trigger, Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy, exclusively for the PlayStation 4, a remastered collection of the first three titles newly developed from the ground up by Vicarious Visions.

The question here however was never whether or not Crash Bandicoot could be brought back but rather, whether or not he SHOULD be—many of the charming elements of the series are also some of the same rough-edged quirks that relegate the games into being the clumsy 3D relics (pun gratifyingly intended) that they ultimately are.

While there are few conventions that haven’t aged well, and a few new glaring issues that weren’t there before, the trilogy still manages to iron out a lot of the wrinkles of the originals, delivering a wonderful compilation of the Bandicoot’s early outings that both fans, and new comers alike.

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QCF: Skylanders Imaginators

t some point, I think we all knew that this “Toys to life craze” was going to hit its peak much like the way Guitar Hero did around the sixth of seventh iteration—as much as we all want to deny it, we knew.

Skylanders Imaginators is a testament to that; a sequel that that promises an ambitious premise, and fails to deliver on anything more than just another Skylanders game, and that’s when the game doesn’t return to some gross old habits the series worked hard to break either.

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QCF: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5

here are certain names that you read or hear of with games, that possess a modicum of pedigree to its brand, and in turn, they’re guaranteed an opportunity to cement a legacy within the industry and culture, that will endure for years to come—Tony Hawk Pro Skater is such a brand.

Which is why the prospect of a sequel returning back to the roots of the series humble beginnings since the original release fourteen years ago, sounded like an idea that was just begging to print money for Activision this Holiday season.

Too bad that this sentiment couldn’t be farther from the truth; Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is bad, like, soul-crushingly bad, to be honest with you folks, it’s poop from a butt.

And there isn’t a single excuse for it either—regressing the physics of an engine that’s been awarded for its intuitive physics and the fundamentals of its design is an insult to the franchise that’s supposedly being celebrated for the next generation.

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QCF: Guitar Hero Live

everal times in the last week, I attempted to give my television a high five. I may have also waved at it at some point, or it waved at me maybe? To be honest I really did not expect that sort of response to the live-action that is a part of the GH Live mode in Guitar Hero Live.

Truthfully, I really thought that at first glance, that it would be cheesy and unnecessary.

Funny to find out that it creates moments that I feel like the genre was created for and is an important part of a title that creates the video game equivalent of a 24-hour music video channel, with an immediate sense of immersion that only falters with questionable paid content.

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Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 112 - Atari Protoshmups

n the Series 6 premier, we're taking a look at TEN Atari 2600 "Protoshmup"s! Strap in, scale up and "Get Ready" for a look to the very genesis of home console shooting games!

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PPR 80

ven though we are approaching the launch of new hardware to kick us off into a new generation of video games, there’s still going to be a lot of familiar franchises getting new entries with the same old gameplay in the years to follow whether we like it or not. IS that a good thing though, isn’t the idea of annual sequel to your favorite video game like the best thing ever? We talk about how it could be a good thing and spoilers; why it mostly isn’t.

The Wolf among Us, Sonic Lost World, Batman Arkham Origins, Next-generation talk, The Guided Fate Paradox, Corbin Bernsen, Quidditch, and so many other topics fly out of lips this week so enjoy it folks as we prep for the next episode—Next Generation launch impressions.

Rate and subscribe to us iTunes today, follow us on our new Twitch page, mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, and be sure to stop by at our Forums and register as well!

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QCF: Skylanders Giants

Skylanders Giants is a deceptive game; originally piloted by the notoriety of having Spyro’s name attached to the previous entry, this latest installment has made a name for itself within a little over 12 months. Say what you will, but Skylanders Giants is still a game and not just some commercial. To be fair, there’s no doubt that it cleverly implements an ulterior layer of marketing that would make most micro-transaction models found in any shameless MMO blush. Nevertheless what may be viewed as a string of money-hats is something that is, in reality, so much more. Underneath all the coy marketing lies a game that utilizes these initially unscrupulous concepts and turns them into one of the most charming pastimes in games today.

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