The manic marsupial's first adventure turns out to be a corker! Now where did that Hog go?
Crash Bandicoot is a (by now classic) PSone platform, adventure by Naughty Dog. After an experiment (concerning the Evolv-O-Ray) goes wrong Crash ends up being ejected from Dr. Neo Cortex's lab. He washes up on 'Sandy Beach', determined to defeat to save Tawna, his beloved bandicoot girlfriend and stop Cortex's diabolical schemes. It features over 20 levels in a 'action-oriented obstacle course' style. While mostly linear (due the fact that you cannot stray from the beaten-path), with much of the game comprised of get-to-end gameplay and little collection involved. However, the game is wonderful structured with a wide variety of different environments and interesting environmental challenges. The enemies too are colourful and funny but each harbours his own weakness which you will have to exploit. Later no some of these become very challenging!
Directly linked to this is the gameplay, where this Bandicoot really shines! Simple but effective controls allow you perform all kinds of 'leaps of faith' and killer attacks with Crash. Within the first 10 mins you should get quite comfortable with the controls and be ready to take on a few bosses!
The bosses in this is game are brilliant! While that could be nostalgia talking I honestly think the boss in this game (and indeed the whole Crash trilogy) are some the most entertaining and interesting bosses on the PlayStation. Starting easy with Papa Pupu, they steady get harder before reaching the big (or small) man himself, Dr. Cortex! But while challenging at first you'll quickly pick up on their patterns and with a dodge here or there you'll have them face down in the dirt. Ripper Roo and his Waterfall creek battle is my favourite boss from this Crash game. The sound effects and lighting are pretty good. While still very limited, they set a good tone of the game and the series in general. The music in particular is evolved in 'Crash 2'. (I've kept this brief but I'll expand it for 'Crash 2')
So there you have it, a run down of one the best PSone games ever made. Thanks for reading, now get out there and break some more crates!