The match was too close to call – 1990 to 1995 – but I wasn’t keeping track. All that stood between my team and victory was a chubby crocodile with a vacuum. I danced and jumped around him as he used his big belly and Luigi’s Mansion-like hoover to bounce me around like a loose piece of cat fluff. I just needed a few moments to deposit my Wumpa Fruit, and victory would be ours. I had my blinders on, and that was a mistake. The enemy team’s Wumpa Fruit meter quickly filled to 2000, and the match was over. My team had been defeated, but I was still hungry for more of Crash Bandicoot’s favorite fruit.
Crash Team Rumble, like Crash Bash and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled before it, is a hectic multiplayer take on the famously difficult 24-year-old platforming franchise. It pits two teams of four against one another in a race to see which team can collect and deposit 2000 Wumpa Fruit first. It’s a simple formula, enhanced by streamlined controls, that makes for a delightful bite-sized and competitive multiplayer experience.