Crash Tag Team Racing

Crash Tag Team Racing
Developer(s)	Radical Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Vivendi Universal Games[a]
Producer(s)	Joel DeYoung Tim Bennison Vlad Ceraldi
Designer(s)	Joe McGinn
Artist(s)	Zeljko Duvnjak
Writer(s)	Jordan Reichek Chris Mitchell
Composer(s)	Marc Baril Spiralmouth Michael Neilson
Series	Crash Bandicoot
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2 Xbox GameCube PlayStation Portable
Release	PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube NA: October 21, 2005 AU: November 3, 2005 EU: November 4, 2005 PlayStation Portable NA: November 9, 2005 EU: November 25, 2005 AU: December 9, 2005
Genre(s)	Platform kart racing vehicular combat
Mode(s)	Single-player multiplayer

Crash Tag Team Racing is a 2005 kart racing game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games under the Sierra Entertainment label for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation Portable (PSP). The game was released in North America on October 21, 2005 and in Europe on November 4, 2005. The PlayStation 2 version was re-released in the three-disc "Crash Bandicoot Action Pack" compilation (alongside Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Twinsanity) in the United States on June 12, 2007 and in Europe on July 20, 2007.^[1] Crash Tag Team Racing is the third racing game in the Crash Bandicoot video game series, following Crash Nitro Kart. A version for the Nintendo DS by Sensory Sweep Studios was also planned but never released.

The game's story centers on the exploits of the protagonist, Crash Bandicoot, who must win the ownership of a dilapidated theme park by finding its missing Power Gems before his nemesis, Doctor Neo Cortex, can.

Crash Tag Team Racing received generally mixed reviews; while its visual style, humor and supplementary content were generally praised, the racing mechanics and track designs were criticized for being uninspired, and the game's graphical quality was deemed to be inconsistent. Content from the game was later remastered as part of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, released on June 21, 2019.

Crash Tag Team Racing is a kart racing game with platformer elements.^[2] Set in a theme park owned by the cyborg Ebenezer Von Clutch, the game follows Crash Bandicoot and his friends as they compete in races and explore the park to recover a Power Gem from each of the park's five themed areas.^[3][4] In the game's single-player campaign, the player controls Crash on foot in a theme park hub, from which he can enter the five areas.^[5] Each area includes gates that grant access to race tracks, battle arenas, stunt tracks, and driving minigames. The player earns coins and Power Crystals by playing the minigames, which include Fast Lap (driving for the best lap time), Crashinator (crashing into as many obstacles as possible), Run and Gun (shooting at trackside objects), and Rolling Thunder (shooting at moving cars).^[4][6] Coins can be exchanged for rewards such as new clothing for the characters, while Power Crystals are needed to unlock the location of an area's Power Gem, which in turn unlocks the next area of the park.^[4] Coins can also be collected by smashing crates scattered throughout the area, and drinking Wumpa Whip gives the player a temporary coin multiplier that earns extra money from coins and crates.^[4] The player can complete NPC side quests to unlock cars, weapon upgrades, clothing, or to play minigames.^[4][7] Aside from the aforementioned collectibles, the player can collect "Die-O-Ramas", small cutscenes depicting Crash's death to the park's hazards. A total of 34 Die-O-Ramas can be collected, and can be viewed from the main menu at any time.^[4][8] The park's areas are inhabited by ninja penguins who attempt to steal Crash's coins.^[4][9]

The races feature common kart racing elements such as power-sliding to make tight turns and picking up power-ups from icons on the track to use against other racers.^[10] Each car is equipped with booster rockets that can provide a powerful speed burst when filled. The player earns boost power by power-sliding, destroying other cars with weapons, accumulating multiple knock-outs, and shooting trackside targets.^[11] During a race, players can "clash" their vehicle with an opponent's by pressing a button, forming a merged vehicle with a turret. Players can choose to drive or control the turret, which fires character-specific weapons (such as Crash's Wumpa Gun and Von Clutch's Radioactive Bomblets).^[12][13] Clashing provides stronger power-ups (such as grand pianos and homing sharks) and boost power, but reduces speed.^[7][10][14] Disengaging from a clash grants a temporary speed boost.^[7]

Crash Tag Team Racing supports local multiplayer via split-screen play or over a local area network.^[7][15] The PSP version supports wireless play for up to eight players.^[7] The PS2 version can connect with the PSP version via a Mini-USB cable, which unlocks two new battle arenas and five unique PSP version cars.^[7][15]

The farewell race of Von Clutch's MotorWorld, Ebenezer Von Clutch's auto-racing theme park, is held due to the theft of the Power Gems powering the park. The Black Power Gem powering Von Clutch's cyborg body is also missing, leaving him only hours left to live. By coincidence, Crash, Coco and Crunch Bandicoot crash into the park while escaping their foes Doctor Neo Cortex, his niece Nina, and Doctor N. Gin. Von Clutch recruits all six to search for the missing Power Gems, offering ownership of the park to whoever finds them, with Cortex plotting to use the park as a new base of operations. The group also meet Pasadena O'Possum, a professional racer hired by Von Clutch to find the Power Gems, and Willie Wumpa Cheeks, the park mascot and producer of its popular beverage "Wumpa Whip".

Crash finds and returns all the missing Power Gems, officially winning ownership of the park. Cortex, Coco and Pasadena suspect the true thief has been attempting to sabotage their efforts, noting a trail of Wumpa Whip at the scene of every Power Gem theft. Crash is initially suspected due to his heavy consumption of the drink, but a frustrated Willie reveals himself to be the culprit. With the Black Power Gem in his possession, Willie flees to Astro Land and prepares to escape into outer space through Astro Land's largest rocket. The heroes give chase, while Von Clutch finally runs out of power and shuts down.

In Astro Land, Willie prepares to launch the rocket, but Crash pulls a nearby lever that aborts the launch. Before they can interrogate Willie about the Black Power Gem's location, Cortex and his team appear in their own ship and shoot Willie, liquefying him. Cortex prepares to kill the Bandicoots, but Crash tosses a chicken into the ship's main rotor, causing it to malfunction, and Cortex swears vengeance as he retreats. The Bandicoots are presented the deed to the park, but Coco decides it should be returned to Von Clutch, though due to the loss of the Black Power Gem, Pasadena confirms Von Clutch will remain deactivated. Crash accidentally finds the Black Power gem in the Wumpa Whip from Willie's remains while attempting to drink it. He revives Von Clutch, who gives the Bandicoots free lifetime passes to the park in gratitude.

The development of Crash Tag Team Racing was announced by Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) on April 7, 2005, with planned fall releases for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube by Radical Entertainment, and for the Nintendo DS by Sensory Sweep Studios.^[16] The PlayStation Portable version was announced on July 19.^[17]

The story was written by Jordan Reichek, the writer of Crash Twinsanity.^[16] Željko Duvnjak served as the conceptual artist.^[18] The full-motion videos were created by Red Eye Studios, who had previously animated the cutscenes for Crash Nitro Kart and Twinsanity. The environments of the game were built by Sarah Meagher and Vincent Chin, while the vehicles were built by Kevin Fink. The game's soundtrack was composed by Marc Baril and Spiralmouth (the latter reprising their music role from Crash Twinsanity), with Michael Neilson providing additional music; Gabriel Mann of Spiralmouth doubled as the soundtrack's producer. A fifteen-track soundtrack was released on March 6, 2007, and is available in the iTunes Music Store.^[19] The sound design of the game was provided by Cory Hawthorne. The game's voice actors were cast and directed by Chris Borders at Technicolor Interactive Services. Lex Lang and Debi Derryberry reprised their respective roles as Dr. Cortex and Coco, while the roles of Crash, Crunch, N. Gin and Nina were inherited by Jess Harnell, Chris Williams, Nolan North and Amy Gross. The new characters Von Clutch, Pasadena and Willie were respectively voiced by Danny Mann, Shanelle Workman and Roger L. Jackson.

VU Games showcased the game at E3 2005 and the 2005 Leipzig Games Convention.^[20][21] The Nintendo DS version was cancelled near its completion due to concerns about competing with the upcoming Mario Kart DS.^[22] The console version was shipped in North America on October 21, 2005,^[23] in Australia on November 3,^[24] and in Europe on November 4.^[25] The PSP version was released in North America on November 9,^[26] in Europe on November 25,^[27] and in Australia on December 9.^[24]

Crash Tag Team Racing received "mixed or average" reviews across all platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic.^{[28][29][30][31]}

The clashing feature was widely praised as innovative and fun. Michael Knutson of GameZone, Charles Onyett of IGN, and Ellie Gibson of Eurogamer highlighted its uniqueness, with Steve Thomason of Nintendo Power noting it added a strategic layer and differentiated the game from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.^{[6][7][13][38]} Knutson and Xplay's Justin Speer particularly enjoyed the selection of character-specific weapons.^[6][9] However, clashing was said to oversimplify races, reducing the focus on traditional racing skills like power-sliding or track navigation. Critics noted that staying in clash mode made races too easy, especially on lower difficulties, diminishing the challenge.^[b] Kristan Reed of Eurogamer and Karl Castaneda of Nintendo World Report criticized the lack of depth,^[32][39] with Onyett adding that clashing overshadowed racing dynamics and made tracks feel secondary.^[7] The lack of a learning curve or need for skillful driving disappointed Gibson and Reed, the latter comparing it unfavorably to Mario Kart DS's depth.^[6][32] The single-player campaign was said to be short, with estimates falling within 5-6 hours.^{[7][8][10][42]}

The integration of platforming and racing was appreciated for adding variety. Thomason and PALGN's Luke Van Leuveren commended the platforming segments for breaking up the racing and providing a richer experience,^[8][38] and Onyett saw the exploration and collection aspects as an entertaining diversion.^[7] Reed, Electronic Gaming Monthly's Kathleen Sanders and GameSpy's Hector Guzman argued the platforming felt forced and poorly executed, with clunky camera controls and repetitive fetch-quests.^[2][5][32] Castaneda called the overworld exploration "ill-conceived", noting it detracted from the racing focus.^[39]

The colorful, cartoony presentation was well-received. Van Leuveren, TeamXbox's Matthew Fisher, and GameSpot's Alex Navarro praised the vibrant track designs and smooth animations, especially during clashing sequences and car explosions,^[8][10][43] though Onyett and Castaneda found the graphics unremarkable,^[7][39] and occasional frame rate drops were noted.^[c] The PSP version, although considered by Van Leuveren to be an impressive port, was criticized for its choppy performance and excessive loading.^[32][35][42] Reactions to the voice acting were generally positive. Knutson regarded the voice acting as solid,^[13] while Onyett found some of the character voices, particularly that of Pasadena O'Possum, to be annoying.^[7] Although Navarro found some of the voice acting to be obnoxious, he and Castaneda commended its comedic quality, with Navarro singling out the henchmen and chicken commentators.^[10][39] Fisher felt that the voice work was merely passable.^[43] The music and sound effects were largely dismissed as unremarkable and forgettable,^{[7][10][39][43]} with the exception of Gibson, who praised them.^[6]

The multiplayer was seen as underdeveloped, with Knutson and Navarro pointing out its limited depth.^[10][13] Speer highlighted the fun of clashing and betraying opponents in multiplayer, but was perplexed by the inability to carry over unlocks from the single-player campaign.^[9] The lack of online play across all platforms was a significant drawback.^[d] Van Leuveren cited the PSP's support for wireless multiplayer as an advantage over the console versions.^[42]

• Crash Tag Team Racing instruction booklet. Vivendi Games. 2005.

• Crash Tag Team Racing at MobyGames