Crash Nitro Kart Review for Game Boy Advance (GBA)
Posted on Sunday, December 07, 2003 @ 08:51:49 pm E.S.TRight away this game sounds like another Mario Kart rip, right? Besides a minor flaw in the game’s engine, Crash Nitro Kart offers some competition to Mario Kart: Super Circuit for Game Boy Advance. Also keep in mind, this is the first Crash racing game to hit stores since PlayStation’s Crash Team Racing.
Crash and a dozen of his other buddies are back and playable on 13 tracks in two different modes. You can jump in the driver’s seat and start racing in the Arcade mode. But you will have to complete going through the Adventure mode first if you want all the tracks and characters available. 13 tracks may not seem very appealing compared to Super Circuit’s amount, but they are tricky enough to make up ground.
The Adventure Mode has many different options: standard races, races vs. bosses, cup races, etc. Against a CPU opponent you have obtain three letters: C, N, and K (Similar to collecting S-K-A-T-E in THPS.) In the Arcade mode you start out with only 9 racers and a few courses. You will be able to use them in time trials, single races, and different cup circuits. From the cup circuits you can earn trophies which will allow you to unlock the other characters and tracks. You will be able to get an extra two tracks if you have the equipment to connect your GBA with a GameCube.
Another great feature is the keeping of a worldwide ranking system. During time trials you will receive codes to enter at the Vicarious Visions site. Once you enter your code your time will be ranked with other players around world.
It may take a few rounds around a track to figure it out since there are many surprises. Like most kart games, there is a slide move to help you around sharp corners and such. The good thing about Nitro Kart is that there’s a meter for when you do the powerslide. Once the meter reaches the red, you will have to stop sliding. There are an array of weapons with each weapon having a few different uses. There will also be the wumpa fruits to snatch which will help you go faster and make weapons more powerful.
You may encounter problems with the game’s engine if there’s too much going on at one time. If all or most of the drivers are on the screen at once, it may cause the game to slow down. It doesn’t happen too often, but this can have a reasonably big effect. You may mess up on your timing when using a weapon, making a slide, etc. This problem doesn’t stop the game from bringing good graphics though. Crash Nitro Kart uses the same graphics system as Mario Kart: Super Circuit (mode 7). Therefore it has flat tracks and the camera is angled to make it look 3D.
Any fan of Mario Kart: Super Circuit shouldn’t be afraid to give Nitro Kart a shot. It will keep you going for a while, especially with the world ranking system. With plenty of modes and unlockables, it's worth at least giving it a try. Review By: Jay Singh - 2052 Reads
Crash Nitro Kart Review Scores for GBA :
Gameplay |
| 8 |
Graphics |
| 7.5 |
Sound |
| 7 |
Replay |
| 7.5 |
Overall |
| 7.3 |
|
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