Crash Tag Team Racing

Crash Tag Team Racing
Developer(s)	Radical Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Vivendi Universal Games[a]
Director(s)	Cary Brisebois Kathy Carter-Humphreys
Producer(s)	Joel DeYoung Tim Bennison Vlad Ceraldi
Designer(s)	Joe McGinn
Artist(s)	Darren Woo
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 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation Portable (PSP). A version for the Nintendo DS by Sensory Sweep Studios was cancelled near its completion. It is the third racing game in the Crash Bandicoot video game series, following Crash Nitro Kart. The game's story takes place in a racing-based theme park, in which Crash Bandicoot must recover its missing Power Gems to claim the park's ownership.

Crash Tag Team Racing received mixed reviews upon release. Praise went to its clashing mechanic, genre-blending approach, visuals, voice acting, and humor, while criticism went to its lack of depth, low difficulty, the execution of its platforming elements, and technical issues on the PSP version. Crash Tag Team Racing was the first Crash Bandicoot title developed by Radical Entertainment, who would subsequently develop Crash of the Titans and Crash: Mind over Mutant. Content from the game was later remastered as part of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled in 2019.

Crash Tag Team Racing is a kart racing game with platformer elements.^[1] 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.^[2][3]

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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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).^[6][7] Clashing provides stronger power-ups (such as grand pianos and homing sharks) and boost power, but reduces speed.^[4][8][9] Disengaging from a clash grants a temporary speed boost.^[8]

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.^[10] 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).^[3][11] 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.^[3] 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.^[3] The player can complete NPC side quests to unlock cars, weapon upgrades, clothing, or to play minigames.^[3][8] 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.^[3][12] The park's areas are inhabited by ninja penguins who attempt to steal Crash's coins.^[3][13]

Crash Tag Team Racing supports local multiplayer via split-screen play or over a local area network.^[8][14] The PSP version supports wireless play for up to eight players.^[8] Multiplayer modes include standard races, arenas for last-man-standing combat, Grand Prix race series, and stunt tracks in which players score points via tricks.^[7][15] 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.^[8][14]

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.

Crash Tag Team Racing was in development by Radical Entertainment at the time of its acquisition by Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) on March 23, 2005.^[16] VU Games announced the game's development on April 7, with planned fall releases for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube by Radical Entertainment, and for the Nintendo DS by Sensory Sweep Studios.^[17] The PlayStation Portable version was announced on July 19.^[18]

The game was produced by Joel DeYoung, Tim Bennison, and Vlad Ceraldi. Radical Entertainment's Cary Brisebois and VU Games's Kathy Carte-Humphreys were the game's respective technical and creative directors.^[19] Darren Woo was the art director, with Željko Duvnjak serving as the conceptual artist.^[19][20] The game was designed by Joe McGinn. Chris Mitchell was the game's writer, with Crash Twinsanity writer Jordan Reichek serving as a creative consultant. The environments of the game were built by Sarah Meagher and Vincent Chin, while the vehicles were built by Kevin Fink.^[19]

The 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.^[19][21] 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. The full-motion videos were created by Red Eye Studios, who had previously animated the cutscenes for Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Twinsanity.^[19]

VU Games showcased the game at E3 2005 and the 2005 Leipzig Games Convention.^[22][23] The Nintendo DS version was cancelled near its completion due to concerns about competing with the upcoming Mario Kart DS.^[24] The console version was shipped in North America on October 21, 2005,^[25] in Australia on November 3,^[26] and in Europe on November 4.^[27] The PSP version was released in North America on November 9,^[28] in Europe on November 25,^[29] and in Australia on December 9.^[26] In 2007, the PlayStation 2 version of Crash Tag Team Racing was re-released in the three-disc Crash Bandicoot Action Pack compilation alongside Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Twinsanity.^[30]

Crash Tag Team Racing received "mixed or average" reviews across all platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic.^{[31][32][33][34]}

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!!.^{[7][8][11][43]} Knutson and Xplay's Justin Speer particularly enjoyed the selection of character-specific weapons.^[11][13] 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,^[35][44] with Onyett adding that clashing overshadowed racing dynamics and made tracks feel secondary.^[8] 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.^[11][35] The single-player campaign was said to be short, with estimates falling within 5-6 hours.^{[4][8][12][47]}

The integration of platforming and racing was seen as ambitious and adding variety, with Speer and Jeuxvideo.com's Romendil commending the seamless mix and exploration in the amusement park hub.^[41][13] Thomason, GameSpot's Alex Navarro and PALGN's Luke Van Leuveren regarded the platforming segments as a refreshing break from the racing.^[4][12][43] and Onyett saw the exploration and collection aspects as an entertaining diversion.^[8] 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.^[1][10][35] Castaneda called the overworld exploration "ill-conceived", noting it detracted from the racing focus.^[44] Official Xbox Magazine perceived a lack of polish in the platforming compared to previous Crash titles.^[46]

The colorful, cartoony visuals were well-received for maintaining the Crash Bandicoot aesthetic, with detailed environments and smooth animations during races.^[4][7][41] Van Leuveren and TeamXbox's Matthew Fisher described the tracks and character designs as vibrant, though not groundbreaking.^[12][48] Onyett and Castaneda found the graphics unremarkable,^[8][44] and occasional frame rate drops were noted, especially in the PSP and GameCube versions.^[c] The PSP version was praised by Navarro and Van Leuveren for closely matching the PS2 version's visuals, but was criticized for its choppy performance and excessive loading.^{[35][38][42][47]} Gibson found the environments gloomily-lit in parts.^[11]

Reactions to the voice acting were generally positive. Knutson regarded the voice acting as solid,^[7] while Onyett found some of the character voices, particularly that of Pasadena O'Possum, to be annoying.^[8] 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.^[4][44] Matthew Fisher of TeamXbox felt that the voice work was merely passable.^[48] The French-language version's dubbing was noted by Romendil to enhance the game's charm.^[41] The music and sound effects were largely dismissed as unremarkable, repetitive, and forgettable,^{[4][8][44][48]} with the exception of Gibson, who praised them.^[11]

The multiplayer was seen as underdeveloped, with Knutson and Navarro pointing out its limited depth.^[4][7] 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.^[13] 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.^[47]

The humor was a strong point,^[4][8][41] with Thomason appreciating it not becoming excessive.^[43] However, Sanders and Jeuxvideo.com's Logan saw the burping and farting functions during load screens as juvenile, with Logan regarding it as disrespectful to Crash's legacy of a broad appeal.^[1][42]

Radical Entertainment would develop two more installments in the Crash Bandicoot series, releasing Crash of the Titans in 2007 and Crash: Mind over Mutant in 2008.^[49][50] Ebenezer Von Clutch and Pasadena O'Possum appeared as playable characters in the 2019 Crash Team Racing remaster Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled.^[51]

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

• Crash Tag Team Racing at MobyGames