Some really good ideas, with really poor execution.
This game had so much potential. So many things going right with it...but in the end, it's a crappy piece of crappy poop.
Here's what happened: They took a fairly successful franchise, and filled it with interesting characters. They played on those characters perfectly. They got some writers to write some hilarious dialogue and some really funny sight gags. And they made sure it all worked within the context of the game.
Then they made sure they had great graphics. They made a fun little cartoony world. They made it lush with design and colors. They made all of the animation look vivid and bouncy and exciting. They made it a joy to look at the levels.
Then they did something unique with the music...making a sort of fake rockapella. They made sure the music was hilarious, catchy, and respectable all at the same time. What a feat!
And finally they got some great design ideas! Crash and Neo working together?! GREAT! They can beat each other up in a big ball as the roll down tunnels, they can throw each other, hell...Crash can use Cortex as a snowboard! And that includes all the hilarious speculation you can think of!!
The only problem is....
THEY FORGOT TO MAKE A FUN GAME!
Everything that should be fun about this game isn't. It has so much potential in the beginning...but as you play through it, that big cheesy grin on your face becomes a look of pure hatred that would make baby Jesus cry.
The levels, while looking great, don't seem to be designed very well...what I mean is, the levels don't flow as well as they should when you run through them. A platformer should have a great sense of flow to it...you should be able to run and bounce and hit and jump and have a wonderful time....when you play this you fall and crash and backtrack and die and have a horrible time.
You die a lot in this game, because the levels are poorly designed. A lot of "blind corners" mixed with a lot of HORRIFIC camera action make you want to run into the street and spit on something. And once you die, you have to basically do an entire level over again. There is a huge gap in save points here. So once you start playing, be prepared to scream and curse for a while before you can take a break.
Plus, it takes forever to figure out how to get through some of the levels...and to make matters worse, the control sucks!! It seems like it's on a delay and the tiniest little screw up and you're dead...starting the level all over again...yelling at yourself, your life, your family, and whatever god you pray to.
Ugh. This game looked so good in the beginning. So funny. So pretty. But it's like they hurried up and made it and shipped it without even the tiniest thought put towards having it tested!! Look Traveler's Tales...we all know testers are stinky, socially retarded, nerdy degenerates...but they are VITAL to making a game! You can't sit there and tell me that you had this game tested! I don't believe you! You are a liar! A filthy liar!!
So if you like buying games made by filthy liars who don't have their games tested so that you can scream and yell and have a miserable time...buy this game!
I need a drink.