What a way to announce a new generation of console gaming than with a platformer that kept all the fundamentals that defined the genre beforehand; fun themed worlds, constant forward-momentum through levels, elaborate verticality - but bringing it all roaring into the third dimension. Suddenly, we were moving into the screen rather than from left to right, and Crash made this experience felt immediately familiar yet also breathtakingly new. While gameplay-wise the Crash trilogy didn't really evolve substantially as it progressed (aside from the inclusion of a couple of branching paths and fancy new attacks), its linear style gave it a unique identity that hasn't really been succeeded by anything else. In that sense, the game's stood the test of time better than its more open rivals, which feel rudimentary when compared to the open-world platformers of today. Within just a few short years and a trio of games, Crash had embedded itself in gamers' memories as the quintessential PlayStation platformer. These games were cool, concise and dynamic, as you span and bounced through levels that offered you the simple, joyous challenge of overcoming whatever silly obstacles were in your path. Such gameplay has helped Crash remain immortally playable to this day.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
