Crash: Mind over Mutant

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Crash: Mind over Mutant
Developer(s)	Radical Entertainmen
Publisher(s)	Activision Blizzard
Platform(s)	Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS
Release date	USA: October 7, 2008 Europe and Australia: October 31, 2008 Japan: Unreleased
Genre	Combat Platformer/Action-adventure
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone 10+ PEGI: 7+
Mode(s)	Single player Multiplayer: 2 players

Crash: Mind over Mutant is the fifteenth installment in the Crash Bandicoot series, although this is the seventh chronologically. The game's story centers on the arrival of a popular technological device (a parody of such devices as the iPhone and the BlackBerry) that puts whoever uses it under the control of the device's creators and antagonists of the story Doctor Neo Cortex and Doctor Nitrus Brio. The protagonist of the series and the only one unaffected by the device (other than his magical mask friend Aku Aku), Crash Bandicoot, must free his friends from the control of the device and put an end to Doctor Cortex's plot.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Combat 1.2 Cooperative play 2 Story 2.1 Act One 2.2 Act Two 2.3 Act Three 3 Cast 3.1 Minions 4 Quotes 5 Real World References

[edit] Gameplay

Crash: Mind over Mutant is a platform game in which the player controls Crash Bandicoot, whose main objective is to explore his home, Wumpa Island, and surrounding environments to uncover the mystery behind the "NV", a personal digital assistant created by Doctor Neo Cortex. The game is played in a free-roaming format rarely seen in previous games and is a mission-based game as opposed to Crash of the Titans's level-based structure, with goals being given by non-playable characters. Characters with exclamation points (!) over their heads, when talked to, give out important information that is needed to continue the story. Scattered throughout the world are special items that empower Crash in one way or another. Golden stopwatches trigger a time-limited nanogame, which usually involves collecting objects or breaking things to earn bonuses. Red running shoes serve to temporarily power up Crash's kick attack and cause him to move faster, and the "Quad Damage" power-up can be used by Crash to temporarily multiply his attack power by four.

[edit] Combat

Crash has a light-powered attack and a heavy-powered attack and can also block, dodge-and-counter, or break an enemy's block. When he defeats enemies or destroys objects, a magical substance known as Mojo is released. When Crash collects enough Mojo, his abilities will be upgraded.

While small minions require only a single combo attack for Crash to defeat, larger enemies, known as "Titans", require more effort to subdue. Each of the unique Titans in the game possess a star meter that indicates how close they are to being stunned. When the meter is full, the Titan is stunned and susceptible to "jacking", meaning Crash can mount the creature and control it. While controlled by the player, the Titan possesses a similar moveset to Crash, although some jacked Titans can shoot projectiles. Besides a greater health, the Titans controlled by Crash have a purple Titan Meter. When this meter is full, players can make the Titan unleash a special attack, which fully drains the meter in the process.

A feature new to the series involves Crash storing a Titan in his pocket and utilizing it when it is most advantageous. When Crash is riding a Titan, any Mojo collected goes to the Titan. If enough Mojo is collected, the Titan's abilities are upgraded rather than Crash's.

[edit] Cooperative play

Like Crash of the Titans, a player using a second controller can join in the game at any time. In the Wii and Xbox 360 versions of the game, Crash's sister, Coco Bandicoot, fills in the role of the second player, while a white-furred version of Crash known as "Carbon Crash" takes on this role in the PlayStation 2 version. Coco is not available for play until she is defeated in a boss fight, after which she is fully playable.

[edit] Story

[edit] Act One

The game begins with Doctor Neo Cortex dropping his niece Nina Cortex off at an Evil Public School that he owns. He subsequentially reconciles with his old colleague Doctor Nitrus Brio, who invents a helmet-like device capable of transforming whatever wears it into a ferocious bloodthirsty creature. Cortex realizes the marketability of the device and has it mass-produced.

At the Bandicoot home, Coco is struggling with the eye of the Doominator, which is still sprawled out in front of their house. Crunch decides that they'd better clean the place up, as it has been a metric year since they've done so. Coco snidely refuses to follow Crunch's orders, entertaining Crash. Crunch, defeated, resigns himself to saying catchphrases. After briefly catching on fire (a problem quickly solved by Crunch and his fire extinguisher), Coco declares her intent on converting the Doominator's eye into "the best entertainment system of all time". With the ability to play games, watch movies and dispense butter, the system would be "the mother of all TiVos". This excites Crash and Crunch, whose short-term memory loss causes him to forget where he got a fire extinguisher from. Coco then gives Crash a list of parts that are needed to make the entertainment system functional. Crash goes out into the jungle and retrieves the parts for Coco, encountering the now-feral Ratnicians, who have been abandoned by Cortex, along the way. Crash returns to the Doominator and gives the parts to Coco, who is now able to create the entertainment system. As the Bandicoots turn on the new entertainment system and ready themselves for watching NASCAR, an advertisement airs asking the viewers if they're tired of having too many gadgets cluttering up their lives. A simpler solution is offered by a disguised Doctor Cortex in the form of the "NV", which allows the user to access any file, talk to friends, watch pay-per-view and julienne fries. After assuring the audience that this is not an evil plan, Cortex announces that the NV will arrive at the doors of Wumpa Island inhabitants free of charge, and will soon be available everywhere but Arkansas. The Bandicoots are amazed by the device and decide to get some, after which the device immediately arrives in the mail. Coco and Crunch hastily don the NVs and already begin sending text messages to each other. Crash tries to use the device, but ends up electrocuted with each attempt. Aku Aku guesses that the NV doesn't "like" Crash and tries on the NV himself, but because the NV is too small to go over Aku Aku's eyes, he is unable to see what the big deal is. As Coco begins receiving 400 text messages a minute from ordained clergy, Doctor N. Gin, briefly impersonating a Tusken Raider, appears out of nowhere with a gang of Ratnicians and commands them to kill the Bandicoots. Aku Aku attempts to call the Bandicoots into action, but Coco and Crunch are too distracted by their NV devices to be of any assistance. Crash successfully fights off the Ratnicians himself, forcing N. Gin to flee the scene.

Crash and Aku Aku follow N. Gin to a large observatory in the middle of the island. When Crash and Aku Aku barge into N. Gin's quarters, he orders them both to leave, as he has yet to clean up the room, let alone shave his face. Slightly amused by N. Gin's poor state of living, Aku Aku asks N. Gin what he's doing here. N. Gin reveals that he was left here by Doctor Cortex when he escaped the Doominator. Refusing to be ignored, N. Gin began watching the Bandicoots and collecting information on them, which makes Crash feel personally violated. Crash and Aku Aku listen on with increasing incredulousness as N. Gin raves of his delusion that he will be rewarded when Cortex is triumphant, expecting a shower of gifts and to be made king of Wumpa Island. It is when he compares himself to Serpentor that Aku Aku declares N. Gin to be "totally nuts" and orders Crash to punch N. Gin in the throat. Before Crash can do so, N. Gin orders his Ratnicians to lead Crash and Aku Aku out of the observatory and do away with Crash. Crash fights off the guards and confronts N. Gin once more. N. Gin, believing himself to be too pretty to be thrown punches, attempts to seek sympathy from Crash and Aku Aku, telling that he's been watching and stalking them for a lowly year with only the Ratnicians as company. Unconvinced, Aku Aku sternly tells N. Gin to leave the island, to which N. Gin reluctantly complies. With N. Gin out of the way, Aku Aku uses N. Gin's telescope to observe Coco and Crunch, who are still addicted to their NV devices. Crunch is receiving reports of hot weather, while Coco is attending a symposium on the effects of Hungry Hungry Hippos on children. Suddenly, the NVs begin to buzz and shake violently. Crunch displays slight worry over this occurence, but is assured by Coco that it's probably a feature. As the NVs begin sparking, Coco and Crunch are transformed into large, monstrous versions of themselves. Crash and Aku Aku hurry back to the Bandicoot home and find Coco and Crunch on the back of the Doominator, where a basketball court has been installed since the Doominator's fall. Crunch runs off, leaving Coco to battle Crash with a large basketball-launching machine. Crash is able to defeat Coco and return her back to normal. Aku Aku reveals that he felt his brother's influence pervading Coco, leading him to conclude that the NV was loading Coco with some sort of dark Mojo. Coco is immensely disappointed upon learning that the "best gizmo in ages" is evil. Aku Aku reminds Crash and Coco that Crunch is still under the NV's control and that they need to find out where he's going. Assuring Crash and Aku Aku that she's got a plan, Coco uses the Doominator's eye to hack into the villains' network and discovers a video posted in Cortex's blog, a concept that is somewhat foreign to the ancient Aku Aku. The video displays Neo Cortex and Nitrus Brio presenting the NV to an audience of Uka Uka and some Ratnicians inside a new space station, using a Sludge as a guinea pig. Cortex uses the NV-influenced Sludge to incapacitate Uka Uka, allowing Cortex to resume control of his own operations. He then reveals a secondary reason for capturing Uka Uka: he requires a source of bad Mojo to fuel the NVs, of which Uka Uka is. N. Brio brings up the question as to how they'll get the NVs onto mutants' heads, leading Cortex into revealing that they'll "give it to them", at which point the video ends. Coco, deducing that the NVs could be all over the island by now, declares that they need to find a way to take them out at the source. She reluctantly decides that Nina is the only one that can help them at this point. Aku Aku is incredibly skeptical of this idea and is convinced that the NV gave Coco brain damage, but Coco assures him that Nina, besides being their only lead, will be on the outs with Cortex after her shenanigans in Crash of the Titans. Crash is estatic and goes off to find Nina.

[edit] Act Two

Crash makes his way to the Frozen Coast, where the Brat Girls, now independent of Nina, are busy bringing the Ratcicles under NV control. Eventually, he reaches the Ratcicle Kingdom, where more civilized Ratcicles dwell. Here, an elderly broom-wielding Ratcicle speaks of a nearby prison supervised by the Brat Girls, leading Aku Aku to believe that there might be some link between the prison and the Evil Public School. Crash goes and infiltrates the Ice Prison, where he eavesdrops on two conversing Brat Girls and learns that the entrance to the School is near the Ratcicle Kingdom. Crash escapes the Ice Prison and returns to the Ratcicle Kingdom, but is unable to make his way past the gate that leads to the Evil Public School due to its odd mechanics. A meek, masochistic Ratcicle nearby tells Crash about spinning Titans in the desert that're able to open the gate. Crash accesses the Wasteland through Wumpa Island and makes his way to the Rhinoroller Village, where he is able to recruit a Rhinoroller to bring back to the Ratcicle Kingdom gate. However, he encounters a group of Spikes attempting to dig their way into the underground home of a family of Rhinorollers. When Crash does away with the Spikes, the elderly Rhinoroller underground thanks Crash by having the stone bridge leading out of the Wasteland repaired.

Taking the Rhinoroller back to the Ratcicle Kingdom, Crash is able to open the special gate, which leads him to the Evil Public School, where students are trained in the basics of the negative principles that run society. Crash and Aku Aku infiltrate the school and encounter Nina, who angrily accuses Crash of ruining her life. Aku Aku informs Nina of her uncle's latest evil plan to control mutants, but is initially refused help from Nina. Desperately, Aku Aku tells Nina that they'll do anything to get her to help. Nina, hoping to be amused, forces Crash and Aku Aku to kiss each other, taking a photograph of them performing the act as well. Nina then gives Crash the task of protecting her evil science fair project from the turkey-launching cannons surrounding it. In return, Nina tells Aku Aku that Cortex made up with his old lab partner N. Brio and uses her science project to track down their exact location at the moment. Upon returning to the Ratcicle Kingdom, Crash and Aku Aku are informed by the masochist Ratcicle that Mutants are attacking Wumpa Island. They hastily return to Wumpa Island to find that their home is being invaded by various Titans. Aku Aku deduces that the only way to scare off the Titans is to take out the leader. Crash defeats a group of Spikes and obtains a key that unlocks a metal gate in the Wasteland. Crash and Aku Aku return to the Wasteland and unlock the gate, which leads them to the Junkyard, where Brio is recycling parts to create new NV devices. Crash and Aku Aku eventually find Crunch and N. Brio inside the remains of N. Gin's Weapons Factory. Aku Aku tries to convince Crunch to take the NV helmet off, but Crunch is too enraptured by monkeys to do so. Brio then orders Crunch to attack Crash. Through the use of the TK Titan, Crash destroys the factory's missile systems by chucking explosive TNT Crates at them and subsequently attacks Crunch by throwing him into a set of grinding mechanisms. Crash then jacks Crunch and takes on N. Brio, who retaliates by sending out his kamikaze Doom Monkey soldiers. Crash removes the NV from Crunch's head, returning him to normal. Aku Aku confronts N. Brio and learns that he and Cortex are obtaining negative Mojo from his brother Uka Uka. Brio is then forced to leave the island, but promises that it is not the end.

[edit] Act Three

Crash and Aku Aku travel to Mount Grimly, where Uka Uka is being siphoned for his Mojo. The Grimlies are informed by Cortex that Crash Bandicoot has entered the premises and orders his demise. Then they go to the Grimley Mountains where they find Uka Uka who bad mojo was sucked and stored in the mojo collectors. With the help of the jacked yucktopus,they managed to destroy the collectors and set free Uka Uka,who askes them for his revenge and for his mojo bones which were stolen by the [worst titans oof the wumpa island. Aku Aku and Crash decides to help him and so in return,Uka Uka transports them to the space station.There he fights Neo Cortex in superhuman form.Crash manages to defeating him by jacking him by using the grimley's time slow power to survive the spin and beat him and then uses him to beat the minions andd make him press the button from the tall spinning platform.Cortex,in anger, starts beating the floor very hardly which hits the vital part of the space station on which Cortex flees with a mutant and Crash and Aku Aku were there in the falling space station.Miraculously, they survives the fall and it was fallen near their home so Coco and Crunch arrived and the story ends with the words of Coco:"We`re  still not  going to clean up."

[edit] Cast

• Jess Harnell as Crash Bandicoot, the main protagonist of the game. As one of the only people not affected by the NV, he must defeat Doctor Cortex and free the Titans from the control of Cortex's new device.

• Greg Eagles as Aku Aku, an ancient wooden mask who can take control of Titans by entering their heads.

• Debi Derryberry as Coco Bandicoot, Crash's genius sister. Brainwashed by an NV at one point, she becomes a playable character after defeating her.

• Chris Williams as Crunch Bandicoot ,Crash's muscular cyborg friend who lives on Wumpa Island with Crash and Coco. He is also brainwashed and is freed from Cortex's control after being defeated.
  • Williams also voices Tiny Tiger, whose voice can be briefly heard in the credits.

• Lex Lang as Doctor Neo Cortex, the main antagonist of the game. He is a mad scientist who plans on taking control of the denizens of the Wumpa Islands by marketing a mind-controlling mobile phone, the "NV", to them.

• Maurice LaMarche as Doctor Nitrus Brio, an old colleague of Neo Cortex. He claims to have invented a number of things, including Slinkies and endings.He also invented the NVs.

• John DiMaggio as Uka Uka, Aku Aku's evil twin brother and the unwilling source of the Mojo necessary to take control of those using the NV.

• Amy Gross as Nina Cortex, Neo Cortex's niece. She is sent to Evil Public School has punishment for her betrayal in Crash of the Titans. Her Brat Girls have also betrayed her.

• Nolan North as Doctor N. Gin, Cortex's crazy henchman. He was left on Wumpa Island after Cortex's loss in Crash of the Titans. He now observes Crash and his sister from his observatory, wishing to become ruler of Wumpa Island.

[edit] Minions

Ratnicians - Having gone feral and vegetarian since Crash of the Titans, they now work for Doctor N. Gin.

Brat Girls - They have betrayed Nina after the events of Crash of the Titans and now run the Evil Public School and supervise the Ratcicles in the Ratcicle Kingdom.

Doom Monkeys - They now work for Doctor Nitrus Brio in the Junkyard.

Znus - Bulbous, purple creatures with eye beams that work for the Grimlies.

Slap-Es - Hand-shaped robots that share Doctor Neo Cortex's memories and personal problems.

[edit] Quotes

Main article: List of Quotes in Crash: Mind over Mutant

[edit] Real World References

• Coco proclaims that her upcoming entertainment system will be the "mother of all TiVos". TiVo is a digital video recorder that provides an electronic television programming schedule and a range of features when connected to a home network, including movie and TV show downloads, advanced search, personal photo viewing, music offerings, and online scheduling.
• Upon completing the entertainment system, Coco plans on watching NASCAR, a brand of stock car racing events.
• The commercial advertising the NV claims that the device is from the creators of "I Can't Believe It's Not Tolstoy!". The name references both I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, a brand of margarine, and Russian author Leo Tolstoy, who is best known for his 1,225-page novel War and Peace.
• The cutscene "N. Coming Message" is animated in the style of The Animatrix, a collection of nine animated shorts based on the Matrix series of films. The cutscene opens and closes with Matrix digital rain, a rain of falling green computer code characteristic of the series.
• When Doctor N. Gin makes his first appearance in the game, he briefly impersonates the bray of a Tusken Raider from the Star Wars series of films. Adding to the reference is the staff N. Gin wields in this sequence.
• After Doctor N. Gin explains his plot to Crash and Aku Aku, he proclaims that he's "gonna be like Serpentor," a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed action figures.
• Before becoming controlled by the NV, Coco uses it to attend a symposium on the effects of Hungry Hungry Hippos on children. Hungry Hungry Hippos is a board game in which the goal is to force the hippos to consume as much plastic marbles as possible.
• The basketball machine Coco uses when brainwashed features a plastic container of "Bandiade", the name and logo of which are parodies of sports drink brand Gatorade.
• While urging Doctor Cortex to go through with overthrowing Uka Uka, Doctor Nitrus Brio recites the phrases "Eye of the Tiger" (a 1982 hard rock song by Survivor) and "Hadōken" (a special attack used by a number of characters in the Street Fighter series of video games).
• When the TK Titan is released from the Ice Prison, it proceeds to perform the Moonwalk and dance routines from the music video Thriller, both made famous by pop music artist Michael Jackson, who died eight months after the game was released.
• In the Evil Public School, Doctor Cortex states over the intercom that the winner of the evil science fair will receive an "explosive space modulator", a device often used by Looney Tunes character Marvin the Martian.
• In the Evil Public School, a frustrated Doctor Cortex tells his mutants over the intercom that they "can't has cheeseburger" and to stop asking about it, muttering to himself that "it's a stupid meme, anyway". He is referring to the weblog I Can Has Cheezburger?, which features comical pictures of cats with captions and other animal images."
• The name of the cutscene "Crunch Get" is a reference to countless cases of poor English adaptations of Japanese games, most noticeably the Japanese version of Super Mario Sunshine with its line "Shine Get", which appears whenever the player collects a Shine.
• The cutscene "Crunch Get!" ends with Doctor Nitrus Brio hitchhiking down a road while sad piano music plays in the background. This is a reference to the television series The Incredible Hulk, in which most episodes would end with Doctor David Banner hitchhiking in a similar manner.
• The cutscenes "I'm Not Your Buddy, Guy" and "I'm Not Your Guy, Friend" are animated in the style of animated television series South Park. Additionally, the names of the cutscenes are derived from an argument between characters Terrence and Phillip and Stephen Abootman in the South Park episode "Canada on Strike".
• One of the lines said by the Znus includes "Tonight, we dine over there!", a parody of a line shouted out by King Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler) in the film 300 (the original line is "Tonight, we dine in hell!").
• Doctor Neo Cortex makes an exceptionally explicit reference to the Star Wars franchise with the following announcement he makes over the Space Head intercom: "Minions, I have detected a disturbance in the Force! This is surprising because I'm not actually a Jedi. It may be gas, but just in case, thought I should mention it."
• The cutscenes "Fists of Orange Fury" and "Home Pun" are animated in the style of the Dragon Ball series of manga and anime, particularly the Dragon Ball Z sub-series.