Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex - Reception

Reception

The PlayStation 2 version of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was met with mixed to fair reviews. Louis Bedigian of GameZone wrote a positive review, saying that "any Crash Bandicoot fan would be a fool not to go out and buy this game. I started playing at 2am one night and did not stop until three in the afternoon!" Doug Perry of IGN described the game as "a decent playing and pretty looking Crash Bandicoot game. It's nothing terribly special, but it's not bad, not bad at all." Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine felt that "when the strongest feeling I get from a game is the desire to play its predecessors, something's not quite right." Game Informer criticized the "outrageously bad load times", saying that they "keep the game from being average." Shane Satterfield of GameSpot concluded that the game "maintains the status quo and fails to deliver a fresh, compelling experience." Star Dingo of GamePro cautioned that "if you were hoping the new management would give Crash a big kick in the pants, however, this is one pair of pants you will find quite unkicked." Electronic Gaming Monthly criticized the trial-and-error gameplay, saying that "when forced to blindly jump, die, then discover what you missed, where I come from, that’s just cheating."

Though the Xbox version of the game rated generally higher among critics than the PlayStation 2 version, reviews remained mixed. Play Magazine noted that "they've caressed the music to great effect, made the bosses a bit more challenging, adhered to a massive replayability standard that would drive any developer to drink." Game Informer felt that "every little morsel of platforming goodness in The Wrath of Cortex has already been done to death on the Playstation." Carlos McElfish of GameZone warned that "if you are looking for an innovative and original experience that does justice to the series you’ll have to look elsewhere." Official Xbox Magazine concluded that "this is a game for those who want what Crash has always had to offer – good graphics, jump-and-spin gameplay, and tons of collectible items. Nothing more, nothing less." Hilary Goldstein felt that while Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was "a fun game for the most part," "it fails in some areas, like proper game balance and correct use of surround sound." Shane Satterfield of GameSpot passed off the game as "a slightly updated version of the orange marsupial's 1998 debut on the PlayStation." Star Dingo of GamePro concluded that "love it or hate it, Wrath of Cortex Xbox is more of more of the same." Electronic Gaming Monthly felt that "save for a few additions to WOC, like some cool hamster-ball levels, it's almost identical to its predecessors."

The GameCube version rated the lowest among critics out of the three versions. Ben Kosmina of Nintendo World Report promised that "gamers experiencing the wacky mascot for the first time may enjoy it." Michael Lafferty of GameZone described the game as "safe, sterile and redundant." Matt Casamassina on IGN concluded that "at the end of the day this is the same Crash game I played so many years ago without any real innovations or evolutions." Nintendo Power praised the "sheer variety" of the gameplay. Kilo Watt of GamePro said that "graphically, this version is slightly below the recent Xbox release but in line with the competent PlayStation 2 iteration." Electronic Gaming Monthly agreed that "Wrath on the GC is much more polished here than on the PS2," while Play Magazine denounced the GameCube version as "a shell of the other two console versions, so I beg you to pass."

The Wrath of Cortex's lackluster reception would be lampooned in a cutscene of its successor, Crash Twinsanity, where Cortex alleges that the main cause of a character's check being bounced was the game's poor sales.