Naughty Dog ultimately created three platforming entries in the Crash franchise, with the third, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped being the median of the three in terms of quality and enjoyability. Similar to how Crash 2 built greatly upon the original in terms of new features, Crash 3 adds even more to proceedings. Why then, is it ranked lower than its immediate predecessor? Overload. Almost all over the levels in the first Crash Bandicoot were traditional platforming levels, tasking the player with jumping and spinning their way through to the end. Crash 2 had a larger proportion of 'special' levels, which saw Crash do things such as mount a polar bear or strap on a jet pack, but its core was still jumping and spinning (with the addition of sliding, double jumping and bodyslamming). The traditional platforming elements of Crash 3 are undoubtedly the best in the series, but they are far too few in number, as Crash (or his sister Coco) are far too frequently forced to eschew jumping in favour of snorkelling, jet-skiing, motorcycling or piloting a plane, and the game mechanics is such levels are unrefined, to say the least. Still, the third Crash was a high point for the platforming genre, and ranks up there with the finest games that were released on the Playstation. There were better, however, some made by the same developer...
