crash bandicoot - The first game, Crash Bandicoot, was released in the U.S. in 1996. The game was looked upon in a positive light due to its innovations such as a large number of level themes, the three different types of bonus levels rather than just one, and a number of gameplay elements that do not appear to belong to an integrated whole, such as the awkward face icons. This experimental appearance may have been because the game was a pioneer of a new series, and the developers may have been testing several ideas to see if they would work well in future Crash games. Crash Bandicoot 2 helped establish the gameplay and structure of several games in the series to come. The second game, known as Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, was released in the Halloween of 1997, and departed from some of the concepts of the first game, the most notable being the exchange of the Super Mario Bros. 3-esque map screen for a group of hub rooms called 'Warp Rooms', with each containing 5 levels (which follow the same straightforward layout of the first game) and 1 boss. It has overall received a better reception than its predecessor.[1] Exactly one year later, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped introduced more new concepts, including a time trial mode and new moves that can be obtained after a boss is defeated. The game was also the first in the series to use the then-new Dual Shock Controller, with the Rumble effect being used frequently in the game. The game is still considered the pinnacle of the series today, being named one of the best platformers of all time.[2] The next game, Crash Team Racing, was the first racing game of the series and the last made by Naughty Dog. After the game's release in 1999, Naughty Dog left Universal Interactive Studios to become an in-house developer for Sony Computer Entertainment America and create their other trademark series Jak and Daxter. After another year, the UK-based video game developer Eurocom released the party game Crash Bash, which retained the Warp Room concept of Crash Bandicoot 2, but was met with mixed reviews. The next installment of the main series, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, was released in 2001 on all three of the major consoles at the time, making it Crash's first multi-platform release, much to the disdain of fans. The game was also criticised for bringing almost nothing new to the series, the most common criticism of the game. The next two games, Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, were released on the Game Boy Advance one year apart from each other. These games use a side-scrolling concept instead of the straightforward view of the console games. Fans criticise the two side-scrolling games for creating a large plot hole in the series as a whole, due to N-Tranced's inclusion of the Crunch character from The Wrath of Cortex. Thus, the games are mostly considered in an alternate universe from the main series. The next racing game, Crash Nitro Kart, was also released on multiple platforms in 2003 as an indirect sequel to Crash Team Racing. The game was also released on Game Boy Advance, and became the first Crash game to be released on N-Gage. Next in the handheld series came Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, was a crossover game featuring Spyro of Spyro the Dragon fame. The game was considered below-average by fans, who deemed the crossover cheesy and the game way too short. The game received mixed reviews by critics. However, this game is considered non-canon, due to the Spyro series' reboot with The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning and Nina's appearance (as well as her mannerisms). Crash Twinsanity is one of the newer Crash Bandicoot games. On September 2004, Traveller's Tales released Crash Twinsanity for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, just months after Ripto's Rampage. Twinsanity was a major deviation from the previous Crash gameplay, focusing on a new free-roaming enviroment instead of the straightforward gameplay of the past. It also marked the first time Cortex was a playable character in a platformer game. On October 2005, Crash Tag Team Racing arrived as the third racing game of the series. The game once again encorporated the free-roaming element of Twinsanity, along with including an option to clash with another driver to form one larger car, a la Voltron. However, the boss races from the previous two racing titles are absent from this game. To celebrate Crash's 10th anniversary, Crash Boom Bang! was released on October 2006. The title was Crash's second party game, and followed a more Mario Party-esque format than its predecessor. However, many feel the Crash license was largely cosmetic, and the minigames were dull. CBB is currently considered the worst game in the Crash series. Very recently, a new Crash game, known thus far only by the title of 'Crash Online', was announced. Nothing is known about it thus far except the logo and the fact that it will be the first Crash game for the PC