Crash is back, and this time on mobile, which makes absolute sense, given the format of the game. Crash Bandicoot: On The Run was released the other day on iOS and Android, it’s been delevlope by the giants of mobile gaming, King (Candy Crush Saga) and it’s free to play.
Loading into the game for the first time, there is a tutorial, which I found somewhat repetitive but it’s not that long and does run you through the basics of the game. For the core game, you play as Crash and you go through multiple levels, collecting fruit, killing enemies etc and you are continually running. The run is automatic, you just need to control Crash by moving left & right, between the three available lanes. Sliding up to jump, sliding down to slide and tapping to spin. You need to collect items, break boxes, jump and slide, to the end of the level, where you need to kill the boss. There are four levels, with their own mini-boss, and once completed, allows you to kill the bigger boss and once completed, move onto the next section.
There is a base of operations, which includes a number of items to interact with, some are ‘coming soon’ though. The important ones are the TV/Computer, which is where you track the bosses/levels, and then three labs. These labs allow you to create items, potions or serums they call them. To create these, you need to find the materials within the levels and then drag them into the lab to create said serum. You then have to wait for this serum to be made and then you can use them to open levels. You will need multiple serums to start a level, so this is where the time limation is, having to wait to play or…you pay.
At the top of the screen, you’ve got trophies, power gems and the icon purple crystals. Power gems can be obtained by defeating bosses, and then you can purchase purple crystals. They do various bundles for crystals and they start at £1.99 for 45 crystals, £99 for 3250. There are ways of getting free crystals, watching ads etc if you wanted to. Ad’s, King have been cheeky and I’ve seen their own ads pop up in game, ads to play Candy Crush or whatever it was. Tad annoying. With crystals, you can speed things up, your serums, you can unlock a second slot, so two serums cooking at once. You can also mod your Crash, there are different skins or you can use them to continue a level if you die.
The gameplay is good, the controls work well and it can be quite challenging which is nice. Graphically, the scenery looks good, although it gets very repetitive for each level. However, get 30 power gems and you can unlock the next world, which is snow. If you grew up with Crash, you’ll love playing it and the nostalgia will set in. However, it is like any other mobile game, you have to wait to play or pay. The serums take longer to be made, so you have to be committed and willing to dip in & out of the game to progress, or pay and speed things up.
So far, I’ve really enjoyed playing it and I will keep at it, try to get to the end of the game where I assume Dr Cortex is waiting for me…
