"As compared to, say, Mario Kart, which is pretty much designed to be a party game that anyone can pick up and get the hang of almost immediately, regardless of how much experience they’ve had with the series before, CTR is a game that focuses more on skill. "Ĭrash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled also has a great deal of content on offer.
Every track in Nitro-Fueled looks amazing, and it’s clear that Beenox have put in an incredible amount of effort to make sure that courses’ looks are good enough to do justice to their great design. On a more zoomed in level, there’s an immense level of detail here, lending each track even greater personality and charm than they had two decades ago. Tracks in Nitro-Fueled look absolutely amazing- from a macro perspective, the art design on display here is something to behold, and the way Beenox have filled in the blanks that Naughty Dog couldn’t on the PS1 due to technical constraints really livens up the surroundings like never before. Then there’s the more noticeable improvements, the most drastic of which becomes immediately apparent the second you lay eyes on any one of the classic tracks, remade, touched up, and absolutely crammed with detail.
There’s the little things, like how infamous glitches and exploits have been removed to make sure that races and tracks actually function the way it was always intended, or how the UI has been glossed up and made slicker and more informative, or how the game now also has a bunch of cosmetic upgrades and unlocks to dive into- if you’re into that sort of stuff. What Beenox have done, however, is take that core and polish it till it shines. Coupled with the excellent track design that we all remember, which has clearly aged very well, and a sense of speed that’s hard to find in any other kart racer, Nitro-Fueled feels entirely on par with its contemporary competition. When you’re in the flow and Power Sliding around corners with perfection, using “Juiced Up” items with the maximum amount of Wumpa Fruit you can hold, and making use of items strategically based on your offensive and defensive needs, Nitro-Fueled provides some truly excellent kart racing thrills. "Every track in Nitro-Fueled looks amazing, and it’s clear that Beenox have put in an incredible amount of effort to make sure that courses’ looks are good enough to do justice to their great design." From the way the karts handle, to the way the tracks demand skill and precision from the player, to the excellent Power Sliding mechanic, the systemic core of Crash Team Racing has been kept intact. For those who’ve clocked in dozens, if not hundreds, of hours into Crash Team Racing, Nitro-Fueled will feel like slipping into a pair of old and comfortable boots. What really sells it is the love and dedication with which all this content has been recreated.
Make no mistake, this is still very much a remake of the first game, and the first game alone- but a lot of contents – such as a significant number of tracks – is pulled in from its PS2 follow up. Nitro-Fueled feels like a victory lap for Crash’s kart racing games, taking content not only from the PS1 title, but also from PS2’s Crash Nitro Kart. It’s a difficult balancing act, but Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled achieves it nonetheless. Under the guidance of Activision, developers Beenox have taken what is one of the most beloved – yet aged – kart racing games of all time, and they’ve attempted to modernize it for current hardware, while also being tasked making sure that the quality and integrity of the original isn’t tarnished. More than twenty years later, the bandicoot’s first outing behind a wheel is being revitalized, much like the original Crash trilogy was a couple years ago with Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy.