I must confess that never having owned a playstation (or any console since Mega Drive) this was my first serious encounter with the frenetic orange fur ball that is Crash Bandicoot, having played one of the previous games for maybe 20 minutes. Thankfully the story in the game is broad and simplistic enough that even a first-time bandicoot could hop right in. Basically, the evil Dr. Neo Cortex has tired of being whooped, and so has united all the bad-guys he can find, along with some elemental masks to create Crunch, a super-bandicoot whose sole purpose seems to be trying to kill Crash and generally destroy whatever he can. All these characters are brought to life by some wonderfully talented voice actors in the initial cut scene which summarises the plotline nicely in less than three minutes.

Crash Bandicoot is a fairly standard platform game by all accounts. Crash can run, jump, slide, belly flop, spin and sneak about the wide variety of levels available. The game is played out in a series of hubs, each relating to a particular elemental mask. Naturally the water elemental levels see Crash getting his fur wet while the fire elementals have you traversing volcanoes and the like. What sets Crash apart from the average platformer is the sheer variety within the levels. During the course of the game, Crash will take to the skies in a crop-duster, space fighter, jeep, submarine and a mech power-suit ripped right off Elanor Ripley from Alien. It doesn't stop there as you may find yourself snorkeling or as Crash's sister Coco, riding a scooter or snowboarding. Each one of these modes of transport brings with it new challenges and perspectives and often an entirely different level structure, which goes a long way to keeping the experience fresh and fun.

Unfortunately, this wide range of locomotion is let down by the levels themselves. The majority of levels are extremely short, taking only a few minutes to beat, and with the exception of the occasional bonus area, are entirely linear and cannot be explored. These bonus areas are actually quite fun, and tend to lock the camera into a fixed position which essentially converts the game into a homage to 2D platformers. This clever effect gives the game a varied feel, but again serves to contrast just how brief and artificially forced the levels are. Even in the extremely fun flying levels, Crash will often meet an invisible wall of force if he strays to far from the set area. The bonus areas go some way to giving the appearance of being open, but as they are not located in every level one still cannot help but feel frustrated by the lack of explorability.

This frustration is further compounded by the fact that Crash Bandicoot is a beautiful looking game. The levels have an amazing level of background detail, which just makes you wish you could go and explore the tantalising areas the artists have so lovingly rendered. An excellent example is an aquatic level that has Crash snorkeling below the surface. A terrific ripple-effect makes you feel immersed with Crash, and as you swim by you'll see treasure chests and mysterious caves with fish poking in and out, and the atmosphere is so perfect that you will feel genuinely disappointed you can't swim into the caves or check the shipwrecks. There are a plethora of other beautifully presented locations which makes Crash Bandicoot visually a treat to play.

All of the characters are well modeled using rich and extremely vibrant colours making Crash Bandicoot look like a cartoon. Crash himself even has visible fur textures which goes a long way to enhancing the character. Likewise enemies and vehicles are of a suitably high-gloss standard. Indeed, the word that comes to mind is polished.

As I mentioned right from the start, Crash Bandicoot has got some truly talented voice actors who breathe real cartoon vibrancy into the game characters. Veteran game-voice actors Clancy Brown and Mark "Skywalker” Hamil lend their voices as does R. Lee Emrey (the drill instructor from Full Metal Jacket) and others. I can only say how disappointing it is this amazing voice ensemble is given so few lines to speak in the game! The rest of the sound effects are the usual stable of jumping and bouncing sound effects but do a fine job of making Crash Bandicoot sound like a cartoon.

The music is of a similarly high standard. But while the tunes will get repetitious and are fairly short, they are perfect for so cartoony a game and are infectious enough that you may still be humming after you've stopped playing. There is no option for a custom soundtrack, but you shouldn't find the music to be that bad, and if you do you can switch it off.

Difficulty is where Crash Bandicoot's major problem lies. The levels are, as previously indicated, extremely short and you are guided all the way – you'll never be lost in a level. Coupled with that shortness is the fact that they aren't terribly challenging scenarios either. It may take you a few attempts just to get your footing, but once you do it will be smooth sailing throughout the level. In addition to this, there overabundance of fruit and extra lives mean you will often have a safety net of upwards of 40 lives.

In very stark contrast to this is the extreme, almost absurd difficulty of some of the boss levels. The second boss in particular is one of the most challenging I have ever faced, and that's coming from someone who found Enclave to be fairly easy. In one sitting, I went from 48 lives to 13 trying to beat this boss and only made it to the end of the second section out of four. Granted this boss in particular is probably the hardest, but the point stands that compared to the simplicity of the other 90% of the game, the bosses are ridiculously hard to beat. The main reason I'm making such a big deal about this is that it makes Crash Bandicoot hard to recommend to a specific audience...casual gamers will enjoy a comfortable challenge through the majority of the game only to be stuck on an unnecessarily hard boss, while more experienced gamers will probably be able to finish the entire game in a few solid hours of play.

Crash Bandicoot has, like most platformers, a solid groundwork of challenges to add to the replayability. Every level in the game has a Time Trial mode which is unlocked upon completing each level, and there are three speeds to beat. When you beat a time, you will gain a relic. As mentioned, some levels have a bonus section, and if you successfully complete it without dying you will open an ominously named death challenge which can unlock gems. Gems are also unlocked from breaking every crate in a level. Completing the game is only worth around half marks, to get a 100% completion rate you will need to beat all the challenges outlined above which can be quite tricky. Sadly, this replayability doesn't seem to add any new abilities, it just means you can get a 100% finishing score.