Crash Nitro Kart

Crash Nitro Kart is a racing game for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Xbox. The game was developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Universal Interactive in 2003. Crash Nitro Kart is an indirect follow up to Crash Team Racing. In 2007, the PlayStation 2 version was re-released as part of the three-disc Crash Bandicoot Action Pack compilation (alongside Crash Twinsanity and Crash Tag Team Racing). Content from Crash Nitro Kart would later be used for Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled.

Crash Nitro Kart was the last Crash Bandicoot game released under the Universal Interactive label, which parent company Vivendi would scrap after the game's release, in favor of their new company, Vivendi Universal Games.

Much of Crash Nitro Kart's features and gameplay are retained from its predecessor, Crash Team Racing, including an Adventure mode. The main gimmick of Crash Nitro Kart is the inclusion of anti-gravity, which allows racers to drive up certain walls and other surfaces. The game has more multiplayer competitive modes than its predecessor.

Story
Crash, Coco and Crunch Bandicoot are at home relaxing while their nemesis, Doctor Neo Cortex, ponders his next course of action to defeat the Bandicoots and achieve world domination. Suddenly, both groups are abducted by a mysterious white light that takes them to a large colosseum somewhere in another galaxy. The galaxy is ruled by Emperor Velo XXVII, who plans on having the teams race in the Galactic Circuit for the entertainment of his subjects. He promises the Earthlings that winning the races will win their freedom, but threatens them with the destruction of Earth if they refuse to race.

After both teams accept the challenge, Velo explains that the racers will compete on four worlds of his choosing, and promises a race against the galactic champion if the champions of those worlds are defeated. When Krunk, Nash, Norm, and Geary, the champions of Terra, Barin, Fenomena, and Teknee respectively, are defeated, the Earth racers go up against the galactic champion, Emperor Velo. The racers defeat Velo, but he refuses to send them back to Earth unless they win all of the time relics and defeat him again. Velo loses again to the Earth racers and literally explodes in a bout of fury, revealing himself to be a robot suit controlled by a small gremlin-like version of himself.

If Team Bandicoot win the race, Velo, having lost his influence over his subjects, dejectedly relinquishes his empire to the Bandicoots. Crash considers becoming the next emperor of the galaxy, but decides otherwise and gives control back to Velo in exchange for sending the Bandicoots back to Earth. If Team Cortex win the race, Velo struggles with Cortex over the possession of his scepter, only to be stopped by Tiny. Cortex uses the scepter's power in an attempt to return to Earth, but the scepter breaks and sends Cortex, N. Gin and Tiny to Terra instead. When they are confronted by the natives, Tiny repairs the scepter and is subsequently revered as a king, much to Cortex's annoyance.

Gameplay
Crash Nitro Kart plays much like its predecessor, Crash Team Racing. The player can have their racer perform functions such as accelerate, steer, hop, brake, reverse, and even use weapons and power-ups. Boosting is a core part of the gameplay. When the player boosts, their kart momentarily goes slightly faster than its normal top speed. Boosts are achieved by driving over boost pads scattered across the tracks, pumping the gas at the starting line, and holding the gas button at the right time when being reset on the track. Another technique used for boosting is the power slide. To execute a power slide, the player holds down one of the hop buttons while steering. While sliding, a curved boost gauge appears next to the racer's kart. When the gauge goes from green to red, the player has to press the opposite shoulder button to obtain a boost. The higher the boost gauge goes, the more powerful the boost is.

Modes
There are six sub-menus on the main menu, ordered from top to bottom: Adventure, Single Player, Multiplayer, Best Times, Options, and Extras. The first three consist of various modes, Best Times allows the player to view their character's best times on each track, and Options is where the sound and controller option for each player can be configured, and Extras has bonus unlocked content, such as cut scenes from Adventure mode.

Adventure
Adventure mode is a single-player game in which the player must race through all of the tracks and arenas in the game and collect as many Trophies, Relics, Boss Keys, CNK Tokens and Gems as possible. The objective is to win every race in the five worlds so that the playable characters can be freed from Emperor Velo XXVII's threat of destroying Earth. Unlike Crash Team Racing, the game's cutscenes are pre-rendered in full-motion video rather than from the hardware itself.

New to Crash Nitro Kart's Adventure mode is a more character-focused story incorporating the game's team-based racing mechanics: unlike in Crash Team Racing, where the player could choose one of eight characters to play as, the player is limited to selecting either Team Bandicoot or Team Cortex, each with three characters that the player can swap between at any time; selecting a team will affect the cutscenes that play throughout the mode, and feature a different ending once the mode is completed. Teammates in the Adventure mode correspond to the player's team, and can also win trophy races for the player if they finish in first place. As either Team Bandicoot and Team Cortex progress through Adventure mode, they receive in-game tips from Aku Aku or Uka Uka respectively.

Velo's Citadel is the central area of the hub world, and is where the racer can access each of the five worlds through gate-like portals. Most gates are initially locked, so the player's racer must complete the races of one world to unlock the next world. When inside a world, the racer can access a track by driving onto its Warp Pad. By winning a race, the racer receives a Trophy. Once the racer has obtained all three Trophies in a world, they can race against that world's champion in a boss race. If the racer wins in a boss race, the world's champion relinquishes their World Key, allowing the racer to access the additional modes of that world and also unlock the next world. The player can check their progress and review their hints through a technological assistant named "Sparky", which carries the functions of a regular pause menu.

In Relic Race, the player's racer must race through a track alone and complete three laps in the fastest time possible. To aid the racer, Time Crates are spread throughout the track. When the racer drives through a Time Crate, the clock freezes for whatever number of seconds are indicated on the Crate. If all of the Time Crates on a track have been destroyed, the final time is reduced by ten seconds. The racer wins a Relic if they beat the time indicated on the screen.

The CNK Challenge plays like a normal race, except that the racer must also collect the letters C, N and K scattered throughout the track. If the racer manages to collect all three letters and come in first place, a CNK Token is awarded. These tokens come in four different colors, and by collecting four of the same color, the racer can access the Gem Cup of the corresponding color.

Gem Cups are racing tournaments held against computer-controlled opponents, and are accessible through a special gate at Velo's Citadel. If one of these cups is won, a Gem is awarded. When the racer has collected every Trophy, World Key, and Relic, they can race against Velo on his personal race track. If the racer manages to win this race, the game is won.

Once the racer has collected every Trophy, World Key and Relic, they can race against Velo on his personal race track. If the player's racer manages to defeat Velo in this race, the game is won.

Single Player
There are five modes available on the Single Player selection menu.


 * Quick Race: As the name suggests, the player can choose their character and a single track to race opponents on. There are options to adjust the CPU racer's skill level and the number of laps.
 * Team Race: The player's racer teams up with a computer-controlled partner in a race, which means that both cooperate to try and win the race. When the racer and the partner are in close proximity of each other, the Team Meter rises. When the Team Meter is full, the player's racer can activate the Team Frenzy, in which the two racers can temporarily use unlimited weapons and power-ups. Races won by a teammate count as a victory for the entire team.
 * Cup Tournament: The player's racer competes against other racers on three different tracks. At the end of a track, the racer in first place gets nine points, the second place racer is awarded six points, third place gets three points and fourth place gets one point; the rest get no points. When all three tracks are completed, the racer with the most points wins. This is the only racing mode that allows both single player and multiplayer, let alone the latter.
 * Race Time Trial: The player's racer can race on any of the tracks, and the goal is to complete it in the fastest possible time. There are no other racers to hinder the player, but no item-bearing crates are present to aid the player. When the three-lap race is finished, the player can save a ghost, which is a replay of that race except their racer is in the form of a ghost. The next time that track is accessed in this mode, the player can load the ghost, allowing their racer or others to compete with the ghost in a race. If the racer finishes a track after beating a certain amount of time, N. Tropy's ghost is unlocked for that track. If N. Tropy's ghost is beaten, Velo's ghost is unlocked for that same track, and he always has a lower completion time than N. Tropy.
 * Lap Time Trial: Similar to Race Time Trial except that the racer has to get the best time for a single lap around a selected track. When the racer finishes a lap, their ghost appears. Whenever a better time on the lap is accomplished, the old ghost is replaced by the faster one.

Multiplayer

 * Single Race: The multiplayer equivalent of both Quick Race and Team Race, where players can adjust enabled weapons, toggle computer racers, and set teams. This mode can be played by two to four players.

There are five battle modes in Multiplayer, and all of them support 2-4 players. In each of these modes, racers compete in battle arenas, where they can collect weapons and attack opponents.


 * Limit Battle: The objective is to attack opponents with weapons and traps while avoiding attacks unleashed by the opponents. Offensive and defensive weapons can be collected by smashing special crates. A point and time limit can be set by the player before the game begins. Whoever earns enough points or has enough points when time runs out wins. This mode can be played free-for-all or with teams.
 * Last Kart Driving: The contestants compete until they run out of lives. A contestant loses a life every time they are hit by a weapon or hazard or fall into a pit. A contestant who runs out of lives will be eliminated. As the title suggests, the last kart driving wins. This mode can be played free-for-all or with teams.
 * Crystal Grab: The contestants must fight to collect all the Crystals in the arena. When a contestant is attacked, they will drop any Crystals they've gathered, allowing opponents to steal them. This mode can be played free-for-all or with teams.
 * Capture the Flag: Two teams attempt to capture each other's flag and bring it back to their respective flags. Racers must race to their opponents' side of the map and drive over their flag to grab it. They must then drive over their own flag's base to score a point from the flag they've captured. A flag that has been stolen can be dropped if the thief is hit with any weapon. Stolen flags that have been dropped can be returned to their respective bases. Due to the weight of the flags, any kart with a flag is slowed down. The game ends when time runs out or when one of the teams has gotten enough points. This mode can only be played in teams.
 * Steal the Bacon: A variation of "Capture the Flag" in which two teams fight over one flag that is situated in the middle of the arena. The teams must attempt to take the flag and bring it to their respective base.

Extras
The Extras sub-menu consists of three options:


 * Arena Editor: A mode in which the player can edit the placement of objects in Battle Arenas in multiplayer mode.
 * Cutscenes: Here, the player can rewatch the game's full-motion video cinematics that they have already viewed in Adventure mode. Cutscenes are split into two categories, Team Bandicoot and Team Cortex, each involving the respective team in Adventure mode.
 * Credits: The player can view the game's credits.

Two more options are included in the Nintendo GameCube version, both involving the connectivity to a Game Boy Advance unit via a Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance Link Cable:


 * Crash Party: This allows the player to play Crash Party USA, a simple rhythm-based game, on a Game Boy Advance, similar to how Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex's Nintendo GameCube version has an exclusive minigame, Crash Bandicoot Blast, which can also be played via the Link Cable.
 * GBA Link: This option allows the player to unlock Hyper Spaceway, Terra Drome, and nearly every playable character except N. Tropy and Velo for the Nintendo GameCube version, regardless of the player's in-game progress. For the Game Boy Advance version, connection via the Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance Link Cable is an alternate way to unlock N. Tropy and Nitrus Oxide.

Crates
Five distinct types of crates are scattered throughout the tracks and arenas.


 * Weapons Crates are marked with a question mark (?) and usually come in sets of four. A racer can obtain a power-up by driving through one, thus breaking it. They can only carry one power-up at a time.
 * Multiplier Crates are marked with an "X" and are usually found in hard-to-reach spots on the tracks. These special crates contain three of a certain weapon or power-up.
 * Wumpa Crates are unmarked and carry Wumpa Fruit that strengthens a racer's weapons and power-ups if ten of them are obtained.
 * Activation Crates either activate either a boost pad or a trap that can slow down the other racers.
 * Time Crates stop the timer for a few seconds, depending on which number is on the Time Crate. These crates only appear in Time Trial races and the Adventure mode's Relic Races.

Power-ups
If the player's racer has collected 10 Wumpa Fruits, any power-ups they collect become "juiced", a term referring to an upgraded weapon.

Staff

 * Voice actors
 * Steven Jay Blum: Crash Bandicoot
 * Debi Derryberry: Coco Bandicoot, Polar
 * Kevin Michael Richardson: Crunch Bandicoot
 * Dwight Schultz: Fake Crash, Dingodile
 * Clancy Brown: Neo Cortex
 * Quinton Flynn: N. Gin, Nitrous Oxide
 * John DiMaggio: Tiny Tiger
 * Michael Ensign: N. Tropy
 * Andre Sogliuzzo: Zem, Big Norm
 * Billy West: Zam, Nash
 * Steven Jay Blum: Velo (both forms)
 * Tom Bourdon: N. Trance
 * Paul Greenburg: Pura, Geary
 * Marshall Teague: Krunk