After a 10 year absence, Crash Bandicoot, one of the most influential video game characters of all time, is making a return to gaming in the form of “Crash N.Sane Trilogy”. This will be a remake of the first three original crash titles that were released on the PlayStation 1: “Crash Bandicoot (1996)”, “Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997)”, and “Crash Bandicoot Warped (1998)”. The collection will come out later this year exclusively for PlayStation 4. Originally, Crash Bandicoot was developed by hit developer Naughty Dog (creators of other series like “Jak and Daxter” and “Uncharted”) and published by Universal Interactive Studios. The game series was an instant success, with Crash turning into a sort of unofficial mascot for the Playstation, almost like how Mario is the mascot to Nintendo.

However, this success was quickly diminished over the years, after the series was mishandled by the original publisher and then sold to Activision in the mid-2000’s. While the first few games that were made by Naughty Dog were released to critical acclaim, the newer ones made by other developers have failed to capture the same quality. This caused Activision to stop making any more Crash games after 2007.

The majority of classic crash games (not including the racing and newer ones) are very simplistic in nature. The stories in this series are light, as they pretty much always follow Crash trying to stop an evil scientist named Cortex from taking over the world. However, the main attraction is the mix between platforming and “looney tunes” style humor. The games feature differently themed worlds, each with their own obstacles and enemies. For example, one level has you exploring an egyptian temple, complete with mummies, pitfalls, and spiked traps. Crash himself has limited ways to defend himself, such as jumping on enemies or using his iconic spin attack. The games can be rather challenging, as they require you to be quick yet precise with your movements and jumping to avoid dying.

With this in mind, Vicarious Visions (the developers in charge of the remake) should have no problem capturing the same spice that the original games had. An overhaul in graphical design is really the only change being made, and as long as the game is bug-free, I’m certain it will be a success. It is true that none of these games are new.However, if Activision deems it profitable, we can be certain that new, original Crash games will be on the way. This is a much better situation, as before we had no idea if Activision even had any plans to continue the Crash series. When the game is released later 2017, I highly recommend checking it out.