Crash Nitro Kart 2
Quick Information
- Also known as Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart
- Released in June 2008 for J2ME and BlackBerry phones
- Game mode: Singleplayer
- Developed by IP4U
- Published by Vivendi Universal Games Mobile
Overview
Crash Nitro Kart 2 was released in 2008 alongside Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (which is a game for high-end cell phones, such as iPhone and some benchmark Nokia devices), but it was considered as a sequel to the 2004 mobile racing game, Crash Nitro Kart, hence the name Crash Nitro Kart 2. These batch of racing games were a bit confusingly named at the time. Crash Nitro Kart 2 is a pretty solid game and was unarguably one of the best mobile experiences you could have on a cell phone back in the day.
It is a massive game with plenty of unlockables, which gives you enough of an incentive to want to keep playing. Not only are there four cups to play through - each of which has four tracks - there's also a Challenge mode where you complete specific tasks, many of them unrelated to racing, in order to collect Wumpas to buy new karts.
These challenges provide loads of variety, and while some of them can be a bit too difficult due to their demanding criteria, they're a welcome diversion from a straightforward bout of karting.
It is a massive game with plenty of unlockables, which gives you enough of an incentive to want to keep playing. Not only are there four cups to play through - each of which has four tracks - there's also a Challenge mode where you complete specific tasks, many of them unrelated to racing, in order to collect Wumpas to buy new karts.
These challenges provide loads of variety, and while some of them can be a bit too difficult due to their demanding criteria, they're a welcome diversion from a straightforward bout of karting.
There are 8 characters to choose from: Crash, Coco, Cortex, Tiny, Nina, Ripper Roo, Oxide and newcomer Yaya Panda (this game marks her first appearance in the series). As you race through the game you can unlock eight different karts to race in.
There are tons of game modes to choose from, including five different play modes, such as Cup, Arcade, Challenges, Sudden Death, and Monster Truck. The last one sounds particularly intriguing. You unlock that in a similar manner to the Crash Team Racing token race mode, but now you have to collect all the letters of C-R-A-S-H on the track.
There are tons of game modes to choose from, including five different play modes, such as Cup, Arcade, Challenges, Sudden Death, and Monster Truck. The last one sounds particularly intriguing. You unlock that in a similar manner to the Crash Team Racing token race mode, but now you have to collect all the letters of C-R-A-S-H on the track.
The game features 16 tracks spread across eight environments. They cast their net wide, too, giving you the chance to race in a bamboo forest, underwater and even in outer space. Environmental effects include oil slicks and falling rocks.
There are about ten different weapons and power-ups, including Flying Kart and Kart Jacking. There's also plenty of diversity in the items you can pick up. These include everything from shields to homing missiles and spikes that pop out of the sides of your kart to power-ups that temporarily transform your kart into a speedy plane. Meanwhile, Turbo Plane and Mega Boost power-ups will see you ramping up the speed. Added to these are ultimate items you unlock by collecting the five letters in the word CRASH, which are dotted about the track. This transforms your kart into a super-speedy, opponent-crushing monster truck.
There are about ten different weapons and power-ups, including Flying Kart and Kart Jacking. There's also plenty of diversity in the items you can pick up. These include everything from shields to homing missiles and spikes that pop out of the sides of your kart to power-ups that temporarily transform your kart into a speedy plane. Meanwhile, Turbo Plane and Mega Boost power-ups will see you ramping up the speed. Added to these are ultimate items you unlock by collecting the five letters in the word CRASH, which are dotted about the track. This transforms your kart into a super-speedy, opponent-crushing monster truck.
The game looks bold and colourful, as you can tell from these screenshots. At the time of its release, it was the most advanced and diverse racing game on mobile.
Undeniably there are a few problems too, mostly relating to little bugs. You can often drive straight through solid obstacles such as rocks and the 'hole' item, which plants a hole in the ground for someone to fall down, often ill-advisedly lands directly in front of you when you use it, meaning you're generally the one who takes the fall. Very helpful. Another minor point is the various unlockable karts don't feel that different in terms of performance and handling either, despite their varying stats.
Undeniably there are a few problems too, mostly relating to little bugs. You can often drive straight through solid obstacles such as rocks and the 'hole' item, which plants a hole in the ground for someone to fall down, often ill-advisedly lands directly in front of you when you use it, meaning you're generally the one who takes the fall. Very helpful. Another minor point is the various unlockable karts don't feel that different in terms of performance and handling either, despite their varying stats.
But none of this prevents Nitro Kart being perfectly fun to play. Races shift along at an impressive speed, having six jostling racers on each track makes for close finishes and there are some decent tracks - we like the ones with a spooky spider's web theme.
So you won't get anything here you haven't seen before, but you'll be hooked enough to spend a good few days trying to complete all the challenges. If not a perfect kart racer then, Nitro Kart contains enough variation to provide plenty of Crash-related fun.
So you won't get anything here you haven't seen before, but you'll be hooked enough to spend a good few days trying to complete all the challenges. If not a perfect kart racer then, Nitro Kart contains enough variation to provide plenty of Crash-related fun.
Unlockables
Characters
- Crash: Unlocked from the start.
- Dr. Cortex: Unlocked from the start.
- Coco: Finish challenges 1 and 2.
- Ripper Roo: Finish challenges 3 and 4.
- Yaya Panda: Finish challenges 5 and 6.
- Nina Cortex: Finish challenges 7 and 8.
- Tiny Tiger: Crush 50 enemies in Monster Truck mode.
- Oxide: Finish the Sudden Death mode.
- Kart 1: Unlocked from the start.
- Kart 2: Collect 35 Wumpa fruit.
- Kart 3: Collect 50 Wumpa fruit.
- Kart 4: Collect 70 Wump fruit.
- Kart 5: Collect 100 Wumpa fruit.
- Kart 6: Collect 120 Wumpa fruit.
- Kart 7: Collect 135 Wumpa fruit.
- Kart 8: Collect 160 Wumpa fruit.
Level List
- The Bamboo Forest
Zen Race
Yaya's Track - Up in the Woods
Totem Track
Tiny's Track - The Sandcastles
Crash's Creek
Coco's Track - The Long Canyon
Rocky Falls
Canyon Ripper - Arachneland
Spider Race
Cortex's Belvedere - Atlantis
Orichalch Track
Abyss Avenue - The Nitroactive Sewers
Nina's Track
Toxic Tunnels - Oxide's World
Oxide's Track
Star Track
Promotional artwork
– Image courtesy of Danyq94
Screenshots
Concept Art
Feibi Chen's concept art
– Image courtesy of Danyq94