‘Crash Tag Team Racing’
[MULTI] [UK] [MAGAZINE] [2005]
“Crash Tag Team Racing does not raise the bar of the genre as one might hope, but it does at least introduce a number of interesting elements that make the game feel fresh and fairly new. In somewhat similar fashion to Diddy Kong Racing, the races are accessed by actually going up to the entrance of a track area and unlocking it in a sort of 3D overworld. But instead of being in some vehicle 100% of the time, this segment of the game is controlled with Crash on foot.
You will actually be on foot so much you'll begin to wonder if this isn't primarily a Crash platformer and secondarily a racing game. You're easily walking around just as much as you are driving. That's not to say this is such a horrible thing, though. The platforming controls are moderately tight and intuitive, and you might have a bit of fun collecting coins, defeating enemies, and navigating some treacherous areas. Still, it feels a little shallow. There are really no major "levels" to complete, just small segments between race tracks that are mostly unchallenging.
In fact, the developers apparently thought it was funny to include a ridiculous number of "sudden death" moments in which Crash is suddenly killed from something like a falling anvil. It might have been amusing if there was actually a reason for it, but the only thing I can figure is that the game's "life" is slightly extended since you lose coins every time you die. Frankly, I found it quite annoying.
The racing half of the game is merely decent. The control doesn't feel anywhere near as tight as Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, nor is it as innovative as Diddy Kong Racing's planes and hovercrafts were. Everything is firmly grounded with tires (aside from jumps, naturally) and in fact the handling feels a little on the stiff side. It's also terribly easy: on anything but the very hardest difficulty level, getting below 2nd or 3rd place regularly is a joke.
The most interesting aspect of the racing is what the game calls "clashing." By pressing a button your kart will begin to turn a ghostly, transparent blue, and colliding with the nearest kart will cause both of you to transform into one gnarly beast of a kart, with one person controlling the steering and the other manning a giant turret on the back of the kart.
(...)Crash Tag Team Racing is by no means a masterpiece of a game. It will probably be forgotten quickly by most, even those who spend some time with it. While it is honorable that it at least attempts to make an interesting piece of a game, with platforming and racing mixed together and a nifty clashing element thrown in, the core gameplay just isn't strong enough to really make this terribly memorable. It could be great for kids, though: with characters straight out of a cartoon, fairly easy gameplay, and simpler platforming segments, it's definitely worth looking into for a younger one in the family. The rest of us may as well skip it and continue waiting for another great kart racer.” ~Justin Raymond, Worth Playing
Source: Nintendo Official Magazine (UK), December 2005 (#160) || Internet Archive; GameMakerArchive
