Crash Bash is a 2000 party video game developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software in association with Cerny Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the fifth title in the Crash Bandicoot series and the first entry in the series in the party genre. The game includes a collection of 28 mini-games playable within three modes of gameplay, as well as eight playable characters from the Crash Bandicoot series.
Crash Bash is the first game in the series not to be developed by Naughty Dog, as well as the last Crash Bandicoot game to be exclusively released on a Sony console, with subsequent installments being released on a wider variety of platforms. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who widely noted its similarity to Mario Party, but regarded it as an enjoyable multiplayer experience despite a perceived lack of depth and originality. The mini-games were determined to be varied but repetitive, and the graphics were appreciated for replicating the look and feel of previous Crash Bandicoot titles.
Gameplay
thumb|left|An example of a mini-game in Crash Bash, featuring (from left to right) [[Crash Bandicoot (character)|Crash Bandicoot, Doctor Neo Cortex, Koala Kong, and Rilla Roo playing a game in the "Ballistix" category]]
Crash Bash is a party video game featuring eight playable characters with differing powers and skills: Crash, Coco, Tiny, Dingodile, Cortex, Brio, Koala Kong, and newcomer Rilla Roo. The gameplay consists of 28 different mini-games divided into seven categories with multiple variations each. The categories consist of: "Ballistix", in which players pilot hovercraft to deflect steel balls away from their goal; "Polar Push", in which players riding polar bear cubs must knock opponents off of an icy arena; "Pogo Pandemonium", in which players navigate a grid on pogo sticks to paint squares with their color; "Crate Crush", in which players throw or kick stone crates at their opponents to deplete their health and eliminate them from play; "Tank Wars", a tank battle involving mines and missiles; "Crash Dash", a multi-lap race on a circular track; and "Medieval Mayhem", a variety of challenges played within a circular arena. Crash Bash includes multiplayer compatibility for up to four human players with the use of the PlayStation Multitap.
Crash Bash features three distinct modes of play: "Adventure", "Battle" and "Tournament". In the Adventure mode, one or two human players must win all 28 mini-games and retrieve trophies, gems and crystals by accomplishing certain challenges presented for each mini-game. The mini-games are accessed from a series of "Warp Room" hub areas, with the first Warp Room consisting of four mini-games. A trophy is won by achieving victory in three rounds of any given mini-game. After obtaining a trophy, the player(s) can return to the mini-game and receive a gem or crystal by winning one round under special conditions. When a minimum number of trophies, gems and crystals have been won, the Warp Room's "Boss Arena" becomes accessible, in which the player(s) must defeat a boss character by depleting his health. Winning a Warp Room's Boss Arena will grant entry to the next Warp Room. When three of the game's four Boss Arenas have been won, mini-game challenges become available in which the player(s) can win gold or platinum Relics by defeating advanced computer-controlled opponents. The Adventure mode is completed when all trophies, gems, crystals and relics have been won.
The Battle mode is a quick match within any mini-game that has previously been won in the Adventure mode. The mini-games within this mode can be played as a free-for-all or in teams. In the Tournament mode, players compete in four consecutive mini-games and accumulate points; the player with the most points wins the tournament. In both the Battle and Tournament modes, the number of rounds needed to win a mini-game can be adjusted between two and seven, and the skill level of computer-controlled opponents can be adjusted between "easy", "medium" and "hard".
Plot
The Adventure campaign features a story centering on Aku Aku and Uka Uka, who seek to resolve their feud via a contest between teams who battle in their stead, as the brothers are forbidden from fighting each other directly. During the course of the campaign, Uka Uka plots to use the crystals obtained by the player, a scheme which Aku Aku becomes wise to. The ending is determined by the player's choice of character. If the player chose a character from Aku Aku's team, Aku Aku locks the crystals away and banishes Uka Uka into the vacuum of space, but if the player chose a character from Uka Uka's team, Uka Uka wields the crystals' destructive power to his own ends. If two players complete the campaign with a character from each team, the characters are subject to a special tie-breaking game to decide which team prevails.
Development and release
Following the release of Crash Team Racing in 1999, Crash Bandicoot creator Naughty Dog began development on Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy for the PlayStation 2, and were soon acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment, with Universal Interactive retaining control of the Crash Bandicoot intellectual property. As Naughty Dog's deal with Universal expired, Universal president Mark Cerny departed the studio and formed the independent consultancy Cerny Games to continue his relationship with Naughty Dog and Sony.
Universal's first Crash Bandicoot game without Naughty Dog's involvement would be the Eurocom-developed Crash Bash, with Cerny and Michael John of Cerny Games acting as designers. Eurocom's Jon Williams, Sony's Grady Hunt, and Universal's Vijay Lakshman served as producers. The programming team consisted of Dave Pridmore, Stuart Johnson, Julian Walshaw-Vaughn, Steve Bak, and Kris Adcock. The graphics were created by Matt Dixon, Steve Bamford, Clive Stevenson, and Jon Parr, while the audio was created by Steve Duckworth. Universal's Sean Krankel and Ricci Rukavina provided additional mini-game design. The character Rilla Roo was created due to the lack of suitable player characters from the Naughty Dog games. Dixon credited the character's concept to Cerny and the design to lead character artist Bamford. The game was showcased at E3 2000, with a European release following on November 29. It is the final Crash Bandicoot game to be released exclusively for a Sony console, with subsequent installments being released on the Xbox and PlayStation 2. an alternate input entered at the demo's title screen unlocks a debug menu, granting access to a near-complete beta copy of the game. While all the game's levels are available, the Adventure mode's final hub area is missing, necessitating use of a GameShark to access its levels. The Japanese version of the game features Fake Crash – an odd doppelganger of Crash who had made cameos in previous Crash Bandicoot games – as an unlockable character.
Reception
Crash Bash received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. In the United Kingdom, the game received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies.