Crash Bandicoot: Wrath Of Cortex Is A Hidden Gem You ALL Missed

Looking fresh

As undeniably great as the first three Crash Bandicoot games are, there's no denying that they all look pretty similar to one another. With all three games coming out in the space of fewer than three years, it's hardly surprising, but with exception to a few of the more notable levels in each of the games, there's no real way of a player being able to tell their Cortex Strikes Backs from their Warpeds.

That all changes with Wrath of Cortex, however. Despite it only being released two years after Warped, Wrath of Cortex benefitted from the technical capabilities of a shiny new generation of consoles, and it really shows in the vibrant colour palette, more flashy animations and far more detailed visuals.

Whilst the PS2 version is obviously a big step up from its PS1 counterparts, the Xbox version of the game (released six months after the PS2 version) is where these visuals really stand out. The detail in Crash and the levels really is an underrated step up for the series and one that deserves more attention on it.

Of course, visuals don't, and definitely shouldn't, save a game that is lacking gameplay substance, but Wrath of Cortex is perhaps the first game in the series after the original to really establish an actual identity for itself. Whilst the other games in the original franchise struggle to stand out for themselves, any player can take a look at any level from Wrath of Cortex and instantly name the game it's from.