Editing Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex

|released = '''PlayStation 2:'''<br>{{released|USA|October 29, 2001|Europe|November 23, 2001|Japan|December 20, 2001|Europe|October 11, 2002 (Platinum)|USA|October 15, 2002 (Greatest Hits)|Japan|October 17, 2002 (The Best)|South Korea|March 28, 2003<ref>https://www.playstation.co.kr/game/454</ref>}} '''Nintendo GameCube:'''<br>{{released|USA|April 15, 2002|Europe|April 26, 2002|Japan|October 26, 2002|USA|2003 (Player's Choice)|Europe|October 22, 2004<br>(Player's Choice)}} '''Xbox:'''<br>{{released|USA|September 17, 2002|Europe|November 1, 2002|Europe|April 11, 2003 (Classics)|USA|2003 (Platinum Hits)|Japan|December 4, 2003}} '''Xbox 360 (Xbox Originals):'''<br>{{released|USA|December 4, 2007|Europe|December 12, 2007}}

'''''Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex''''' is the fourth platformer installment of the ''[[Crash Bandicoot (series)|Crash Bandicoot]]'' series. It was released for the [[PlayStation 2]] in 2001 and for the [[Xbox]] and [[Nintendo GameCube]] in 2002. The game was developed by [[Traveller's Tales]] and was published by [[Universal Interactive Studios]]. ''Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex'' is the first platformer of the series that was not developed by [[Naughty Dog]].

The game centers on the appearance of [[Crunch Bandicoot]], a genetically advanced [[bandicoot]] who was created by [[Doctor Neo Cortex]]. Crunch is aided by a group of destructive masks called the [[Elemental]]s. [[Crash Bandicoot|Crash]] and [[Coco Bandicoot|Coco]] must travel to various areas and collect their [[Crystal]]s, which return the Elementals to a hibernated state, and defeat Crunch.  

The story begins somewhere outside [[Earth]]'s orbit, where we see Doctor Neo Cortex's evil space station base. Inside it, Uka Uka has called together a "bad guy convention" and is angry with the evil scientists. According to him, their track record for spreading evil is pathetic. They conclude that Crash Bandicoot is to blame. Of course, they wouldn't let anything stand in the way of evil, especially not a "brainless orange marsupial", and decide that Crash must be eliminated. And so, Uka Uka orders Cortex and his cronies to come up with one good plan... or else. Cortex informs everyone that in his scientific endeavors, he has created a genetically-advanced superweapon of unbelievable strength. But the final missing crucial element is a power source. Uka Uka brings up the [[Elementals]], a group of destructive masks with the power over Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. If they unleashed their destructive energy, they'll have enough power to bring Cortex's secret weapon to life. They would have a weapon capable of crushing mountains, demolishing entire cities, and wiping Crash Bandicoot off the face of the Earth forever.

Back on [[Earth]], strange things begin to happen. Volcanoes are erupting, thunderclouds are forming, and tsunamis are devastating the coastlines. Aku Aku concludes that his evil twin brother Uka Uka is up to his no-good tricks again, and travels into outer space to find out what he is planning. There, he learns that Uka Uka and Doctor Neo Cortex have unleashed the Elementals, and tells Crash Bandicoot and Coco Bandicoot that they must find a way to stop them before they destroy the Earth and all of its inhabitants. He also tells them that the only way to subside their destructive nature is to imprison them with the use of ancient crystals. Each Elemental can be returned to their hibernation state with a total of 5 crystals. So Coco's new Portal Chamber is unveiled. The Portal Chamber is a device that allows the Bandicoots to travel to different parts of the Earth to gather the Crystals needed to halt the Elementals' reign of terror. "It is time to even the odds into our favor," Aku Aku proclaims.

Just before they start off, Cortex shows up via holographic display. He introduces his super weapon, a bandicoot named Crunch, who is more than eager to take on Crash. Cortex states that Crunch is everything Crash wasn't, and leaves telling Crash that "We all make mistakes". With that, Crash and Coco travel the world collecting the Crystals. Uka Uka's patience is already tested with the defeat of Rok-Ko, the Earth Elemental, but Cortex ensures that Wa-Wa, the Water Elemental will make sure that Crash doesn't see the light of day. But with Wa-Wa's defeat, Crunch claims that he doesn't need a mask to help him, and that he can exterminate Crash all by himself, but Cortex insists that he and Py-Ro, the Fire Elemental will vanquish Crash and his annoying friends together. Cortex is already fed up with Crash making a mockery out of him and his minions. With Py-Ro defeated, Uka Uka questions the value of Cortex's "superweapon", and Crunch is becoming equally impatient, saying he can take out Crash with his metal arm tied behind his back. But Cortex somehow keeps his cool, telling Crunch not to be so silly, and ensures Uka Uka that Crunch will use the Elemental masks, saying there's no need for him to lose any beauty sleep. Things are really getting desperate for Cortex, as he prepares an armada of space stations to strike Earth at one point. But thankfully, they're taken out by Coco. With the final Elemental mask defeated, Crunch's Elemental powers reach maximum capacity. The battle takes to Cortex's space station.

In the end, Crunch is defeated, and Uka Uka is prepared to kill Cortex, but in an attempt to blast Cortex with a fireball, he hits a vital part of the space station. All of a sudden, Crunch realizes that Dr. Cortex doesn't have control over him anymore, and decides to give him a piece of his mind, but Aku-Aku insists that they escape instead, because Uka Uka's energy blast caused a slight chain reaction, resulting in the space station reaching a critical overload. Cortex believes that it might be wise if they do the same, and make their way to an escape pod. Uka Uka blames Cortex for this, and says that if he hadn't ducked out of the way, none of this would've happened. Crunch and Crash escape through Coco's spaceship. Back on Earth, Crunch thanks Crash, Coco and Aku Aku for believing in him, and if it wasn't for them, he would still be under the control of Dr. Cortex. Coco asks Aku-Aku if this is the last they'll see of Dr. Cortex. He says that that's what he'd like to believe, but somehow, he doubts that very seriously. Meanwhile, somewhere off the coast of [[Antarctica]], Uka Uka is once again mad at Cortex for stranding the two of them in the middle of nowhere, and proceeds to pursue Cortex around a small island. Cortex yells into the sky: "I'll get my revenge, Crash Bandicoot! Just you wait!"

==Characters==

===Protagonists===

===Villains===

*[[Doctor Neo Cortex]]: The main villain and the creator of Crunch Bandicoot. He was at the top of his class in The Academy of Evil, but was laughed out of the scientific community because of his outlandish, yet nearly workable theories. He continuously attempts to conquer the world. Uka Uka is the only one he actually fears; his mere presence has him on his knees.

*[[Doctor Nefarious Tropy]]: A time-obsessed freak who is an expert in quantum warp technology and creator of the Time Twister. He often disturbs the temporal flow by creating time paradoxes for laughs.

*[[Doctor N. Gin]]: Cortex's right-hand man and an expert in robotics and cybernetics who became a cyborg after an experiment gone horribly awry. Because of it, he has a missile sticking out of his head, which becomes activated whenever he becomes stressed or angry. He suffers from chronic migraines.

===The Elementals===

== Levels ==

|style="text-align:center;font-weight:bold"|Doctor Neo Cortex

*''[[Crash Twinsanity]]'': there is a reference game's poor reception, with Cortex blaming his minions' underpay on the rough past few years; "...''Wrath of Cortex'' didn't do quite as well as we hoped".

Additional criticism came from the character models, that were poorly modeled and animated, as well as Coco's limited capabilities, available in only seven levels and a more restricted moveset than Crash's. At IGN.com, the PlayStation 2 version has a 7.4 rating, the GCN version a 6.9 and the Xbox version a 6.7. Despite average reviews, the game was a slow burner, and went on to sell an estimated 1.7 million copies. Although it did not quite match the sales of previous ''Crash Bandicoot'' titles, it did however make it one of the most commercially successful games of the early 2000s. The game sold enough copies to become Player's Choice (GameCube version), Greatest Hits (PS2 version), and Platinum Hits (Xbox version).

The game shares some similarities to ''[[spyrowiki:Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly|Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly]]''. Both games were the first multiplatform release of their respective series, both were the fourth release after their respective original [[PlayStation]] trilogies, garnered a similar reaction due to their uninnovative gameplay, and were released around the time that [[Vivendi Universal]] took control over both franchises, after the. An interesting similarity was through the series plots. Both villains came back from circumstances that would be impossible to escape, (Cortex was transformed into an infant and sent to a time prison in Warped, while [[spyrowiki:Ripto|Ripto]] sank in a pool of magma) in ''[[spyrowiki:Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!|Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!]]'', without any explanation as to how they escaped, (fan-theories have been created for both plotholes, though the only official discussion of this was in the official website and Wrath of Cortex strategy guide, reading "don't ask").

CB The Wrath of Cortex GameCube cover.jpg|Nintendo GameCube cover

[[Category:PlayStation 2 games]]

[[Category:Nintendo GameCube games]]

[[Category:Xbox games]]