I haven't really tried the first two Crash Bandicoot games(nor any of the other games that feature the characters therein), except for a demo of the second, but after playing the demo(both demos letting you play through one whole level of their respective games) to the third game, I knew I had to have the full game. Precious few demos have that effect on me. Once I did get it, I quickly beat it... but I found myself returning to it, in order to collect the various bonuses... it's rather addictive, that I must admit, and most of the time, it's also a lot of fun to play. And here I am, several years after, having just beaten it again, though this time mainly in order to review it. The first thing I want to mention in this review is the humor; it's so cartoon-y and far out that I can't see any kid playing through it without laughing. Even most adults playing or watching the game will find themselves chuckling and smiling. Most of the jokes are fine for all ages, as they are entirely inoffensive and even Crash's deaths are colorful and cute, though there is maybe one or two sexual jokes, as well. On the plus side, I don't believe there's any gross-out material. Control is simple enough, anyone used to playing on a PlayStation should be able to assume full control of Crash, the Bandicoot, within minutes. I don't really know much about the story and game-play as compared to the other games, but I rather liked both in this game. The time-traveling may not be the most original way to go, but it works very well and it lets Crash go to quite a few interesting places and time periods. The typical level has Crash running and jumping, though in some he will swim, and occasionally, the female character(whose name eludes me at the moment) will come in to ride atop a young animal for the duration of the level. The game consists of 25 levels and 5 boss enemies, one for every 5 regular levels. The difficulty slowly rises throughout the game, meaning that completely new players who don't even know the series will be able to get into it without problems(and since one of those players are yours truly, I know that very much from my own experience). However, this also means that the last few levels are, at times, incredibly hard... and they will provide about as much frustration as earlier levels provided fun and entertainment. Which brings me back to the bonus stuff; it can be darned hard to get, in some cases, and will, again, at times provide more frustration than entertainment. The vehicle control is particularly a source of the former, more than the latter... in fact, in general, levels that differ from the main ones(with the exception proving the rule being when an animal assists you), tend to be a bother(putting it lightly). It just, for my tastes, seems much too dominated by random things, especially in the boss fights. The game-play is fairly fresh and entertaining, but at times you really miss more attacks, particularly ranged ones(apart from the bazooka, which is only unlocked once you've beat the fourth boss, meaning you can use it for the last five levels, and go back and beat earlier levels with it, but that's it). Crash's main attack is spinning, and he can also jump onto some enemies(a la Super Mario, a title I believe more or less any gamer knows), and a few more are added throughout the game, but apart from aforementioned gun, they're all close-range. In addition to what you can collect for bonuses, you can also complete the levels in a timed mode. Among the stuff to unlock are several bonus levels, and the game's status window tells you how much of the game you have successfully completed. The level design is fair, though I guess most levels are reasonably simple. Visually, they're quite a treat, though, with detailed and animated backgrounds and very high LOD(Level of Detail) on all foreground elements, as well. The boss enemies are cool to fight, and nicely diverse, there aren't really any two that can be claimed to be exactly the same, if they do get really difficult to beat pretty quickly(at least each defeated one grants you a new ability, most of which are attacks, and in games where such are so sparse, getting more is a very, very good thing). The camera dynamically follows Crash as he runs, spins and jumps his way through the levels, and this works really well. The graphics are great, no doubt about that. The game is basically a 3D platform action game, with a 3rd person camera, and as such, it's a pretty good game. The sound is nice and sufficiently varied. The music is marvelous... each unique setting(in time and on Earth) has its own unique score, and they're all rather nicely done. The enemies are imaginative and diverse. Few actually follow you or actively attack you, and a number of them aren't even intending to hurt you. The creativity and imagination is a rather admirable quality of this... every world you visit, every new time, every foe, intentional or otherwise, and last but not least every untimely demise of the title character, all are well-thought out and vivid. The whole feel of the game is cartoon-y, colorful, cute and it's all fairly easily accessible, and I would guess that the game is primarily aimed at kids... but that doesn't mean adults can't enjoy it, too. All in all, highly entertaining and addictive game, but a tad too frustratingly hard in the latter part. I recommend it to kids and gamers alike, especially if they're into the comedy and the style, and I would assume that fans of the franchise will find great enjoyment in playing through this, as well. Sense of humor advised. Patience and high tolerance for annoyance required. 7/10