Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled PlayStation 4 Game Review

Crash and his friends are back for more high octane fun! Check out Kidzworld’s review of this remade classic

Reviewed by Noah F. on Jul 02, 2019

Rating:

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a full remake of the 1999 favorite kart racer complete with tons of new features, tracks, and fully redone graphics. Check out what Kidzworld thought of the new game!

By: Noah Friscopp

Crash Team Racing was one of the most beloved games to grace the original PlayStation back in 1999, and with Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, the classic racer has been given new life with new HD graphics, new tracks and game modes to spruce up the high-speed fun. CTR is a kart racer a lot like Mario Kart, where you take control of a huge cast of colorful characters, race in varied and creative race tracks, and use powerful items to help you get ahead of the competition, but with it’s own unique feel that separates itself nicely from other games like it.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled - Gameplay Trailer

Adventure Mode

Just like the original game, Adventure Mode makes up the core of the game in single player, but with a twist. In Nitro-Fueled, you can select either the Classic Mode which lets you play through the game and defeat Nitrous Oxide as one character in the race of galactic proportions or a new, more friendly "Nitro Fueled" version that lets you swap characters whenever you want as well as tweak the difficulty to your liking. The story follows Crash Bandicoot and his friends and foes being challenged to a massive racing tournament against the alien Nitrous Oxide; The self-proclaimed greatest racer in the universe. Everyone wants a piece of the prize, so it’s off to the race track from there. The Classic version is pretty tough, so if you’re new to the series, the Nitro Fueled Mode might be the best option for starting racers. CTR is a tough game and compared to the likes of Mario Kart where you can quickly jump in and play, Crash Team Racing takes a lot of practice on each stage to take home that first place trophy. It is rare for a spin-off of a game series to have the same spirit of the original, just like the original Crash games, CTR makes you earn victory through repeating the tracks and nailing the perfect run just like the platformers. There are 20 race tracks to complete across four hub worlds that you can drive around freely to practice your skills. There are boss races, crystal challenges, and gems to collect, so there’s plenty of gameplay just in this mode alone. Hearing Aku Aku say “Welcome to the Adventure Area” brought a big smile to my face as a huge fan of the original. Boss races can be somewhat frustrating at first on Classic Mode, but the satisfaction of beating them makes it all worth it. This feeling is consistent throughout the entire adventure. It is tough but all the more rewarding when you do finally cross that first place finish line.

Aku Aku is Crash's guide through Adventure Mode and has many helpful tips

Online and Splitscreen

If you want to jump into a quick race, CTR allows for both online and local split-screen gameplay. Choose from any track, any racer you have unlocked and go. Unfortunately, the online play is where CTR Nitro-Fueled suffers the most. When partied up with your friends I didn’t have any issues, but when being grouped up with strangers, the game does suffer from some connection problems like racers being randomly removed from the game or the minimap getting out of sync with the race. Luckily, a patch was rolled out to help fix this, so be sure your game is all updated to get the best experience racing online. Splitscreen is fantastic, however. Being able to race with up to four people in the same room is a blast, and is my favorite way to play CTR. In addition to every track that was initially included in CTR, Nitro-Fueled also lets you race in Crash Nitro Kart’s selection of levels bringing the total count to around 31 tracks with more on the way. While many of the tracks are a blast, maps like Tiny Arena and Turbo Track can prove to be a bit frustrating the first few runs with super sharp turns that send you straight into the barriers if you aren’t careful. The worst is absolutely the PS4 exclusive Retro Stadium. Even if you aren’t playing with others online, Single Race, Challenges, Time Trials and Cups are there to play alone so there’s always a new challenge to tackle.

Pro Tip: Press R1 to jump off a ramp for an extra boost of speed

Battle Mode and Grand Prix

Whenever you need a break from standard racing, CTR has a Battle Mode with several different objectives. There’s Capture the Flag, the crystal collectathon Crystal Grab, battle royale like Last Kart Driving, frantic sprint to claim a flag in Steal the Bacon and the traditional hit other drivers with power-ups to score mode. Battle Modes in kart racers are fun, and provide a decent change of pace from the standard game but aren’t quite as enjoyable as the regular races. Driving around the box-like arenas just isn't as fun as barrelling down a track with your booster roaring. Grand Prix’s are new exciting limited events starting on July 3^rd that not only give you a reason to keep playing in the form of new challenges but also a new track will be added to the game at the beginning of every season. This mode has it’s own progression system built in, completing challenges gives you “nitro points,” which you can use to unlock new characters and customization options for your karts.

Tawna will be the first new character added to the Grand Prix mode

Nitro Tour Grand Prix Intro

The Pit Shop and Customization

CTR Nitro-Fueled features in-depth character and kart customization never seen before in a CTR game. As before, characters all have different stats with speed, acceleration, and turning being the main things to consider when selecting your character. I will say though, characters with low speed have a very hard time keeping up and I lost more often than not when using these ones, so I would recommend choosing either the intermediate or advanced class racers. Karts are purely cosmetic though, so customize those as much as you want. You can unlock new skins for characters, new karts, stickers and more both by playing the game naturally and heading to the new Pit Shop. The Pit Shop acts as a kind of customization store where you can exchange Wumpa Coins you earn in races to buy the new cosmetic options. Luckily, you can unlock all of the main cast by playing adventure mode, but if you want access to the new characters and different skins and patterns for your kart, you’ll have to head here. New items are added all the time, so be sure to check in often for new gear to grab. You can only earn Wumpa Coins by playing the game, so get racing! The downside is if you miss something you want before the time runs out, you have to wait for that item to come back in stock. One of my favorite customizations, one that is unfortunately exclusive to the PlayStation version is the retro versions of Crash, Coco, and Neo Cortex that takes their characters back to 1999 with their original blocky graphics. Also, good news for Spyro fans, the famous purple dragon will be making his way into the game at some point as a playable racer.

Customize your racers however you want

Final Thoughts

In the same way that the 1999 original made me grin from ear to ear, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is not just a wonderful re-imagining of a classic, but a legitimately great time. It takes everything that fans loved about the original and injects it with just the right amount of modern conveniences and features to make this new version the definitive way to play CTR. The remade graphics style is beautiful, giving new life to the characters and race tracks in ways never before possible, and with the new customization options and tracks being constantly added there are plenty of reasons to keep playing even after you take 1st place against Nitrous Oxide in the Adventure Mode. Including tracks from Nitro Kart was a great decision to keep the track rotation always different during online play, and Battle Mode is a basic but fun way to keep the game fresh. When the online issues are patched, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled will be a game worth coming back to for hours to come especially with the Grand Prix mode. It might not be as easy to get into as Mario Kart, but it has a unique feeling of its own that makes this a no-brainer grab for kart racing fans.