I Am Crash Bandicoot
Development on I Am Crash Bandicoot (or as previously known by its earlier title, Crash Landed) began shortly after the production on Crash Mind Over Mutant wrapped up at the now defunct Radical Entertainment Inc.
The game was set to be released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, while a separate Nintendo DS version was also planned, with a pitch created by Renegade Kid, as well as a racing spin-off, titled Crash Team Racing (2010) which was developed at High Impact Games to accompany the release of I Am Crash Bandicoot. Unfortunately, all versions and spin-offs were scrapped altogether.
The game was widely popularized by the name Crash Landed, however, later promotional materials suggest that it was changed to I Am Crash Bandicoot later on in development, a parody of the movie I Am Legend. This is not unusual from Radical Entertainment, as they loved using puns and references in their titles. For example, the original title for Crash: Mind over Mutant was Crash Bandicoot: Invasion of the Bandicoot Snatchers, a parody on the film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
The game was set to be released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, while a separate Nintendo DS version was also planned, with a pitch created by Renegade Kid, as well as a racing spin-off, titled Crash Team Racing (2010) which was developed at High Impact Games to accompany the release of I Am Crash Bandicoot. Unfortunately, all versions and spin-offs were scrapped altogether.
The game was widely popularized by the name Crash Landed, however, later promotional materials suggest that it was changed to I Am Crash Bandicoot later on in development, a parody of the movie I Am Legend. This is not unusual from Radical Entertainment, as they loved using puns and references in their titles. For example, the original title for Crash: Mind over Mutant was Crash Bandicoot: Invasion of the Bandicoot Snatchers, a parody on the film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Story
After being mutated by Cortex, Crash would have gotten entangled with the task of rescuing his fellow bandicoots. Unlike Crash, these small bandicoots weren't evolved by scientific contraptions, so they were mostly defenseless critters. On various concepts arts, these bandicoots are depicted being trapped in dangerous areas waiting for Crash to free them.
Dingodile would have been a major villain in the game. Part of an unfinished cutscene shows him firing a bunch of bandicoots out of a cannon, which makes Crash angry and causes him to intervene by hitting a mechanical part at Dingodile using his weapon like a baseball bat.
Dingodile would have been a major villain in the game. Part of an unfinished cutscene shows him firing a bunch of bandicoots out of a cannon, which makes Crash angry and causes him to intervene by hitting a mechanical part at Dingodile using his weapon like a baseball bat.
Gameplay
The final version of the game was an island survival take.
According to a former Radical employee, the game was cancelled due to project mismanagement on Radical's side, because the game did not have a lead designer, and by the time they had one, it was too far into development. I also recall reading about the game being empty; as it was based on collecting weapons, there was not much to do after collecting them.
"Former Radical employee here. As someone who worked at Radical (on that cancelled “Crash Landed” game), I appreciate the respect and comprehensiveness of this video.
That being said, as much as I dislike Activision, and their policy of game cancellations and studio closures/team layoffs, I can at least say that the cancellation of Crash 2010 was entirely due to project mismanagement on Radical’s side. The success (aka speed and relative quality) of Crash Mind over Mutant granted that team a 2 year dev cycle for Crash 2010. However, the main vision holders (lead designers) of the “Crash Landed” direction (an island survival style take) left after a year of dev, and the rest of the team decided that they weren’t a fan of that game direction anymore, so it was decided to “restart” the game’s direction. Problem is, the game went for a while w/o a lead designer, and by the time we had one, it was quite far along, and we had barely a game to scrape together (all estimates of the new direction, “Crash of the Bandicoots”, was that it would be 4 hours long).
Anyways, just wanted to add some context to that project at least."
– Anonymous Former Radical Employee, source: Youtube
Nintendo DS pitch
The only gameplay footage comes from an early Nintendo DS pitch of Renegade Kid.
Renegade Kid made a Crash Bandicoot DS demo, called Crash Landed, for Activision sometime around 2008 or 2009, according to a video from an anonymous source close to Activision.
No other details about the video were given, outside of its existence and veracity. It's likely that Renegade Kid's DS demo could have been the portable entry in Radical Entertainment's cancelled sequel to 2008's Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant that was set for a 2010 release.
The demo shows off a full-3D world for Crash to explore with a beach setting. The camera followed Crash around, but could be altered minutely using a free-look option. Judging by how this game runs, it likely could have been a spiritual predecessor to Maximillian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds, the 3D platformer that evolved into Mutant Mudds.
Activision acquired the rights to Crash Bandicoot when they acquired Sierra Entertainment in 2008. Mind Over Mutant was the final console game in the series, though that was in the works when the series was handled by Sierra still.
The Crash Bandicoot series has not been totally dormant, though. Activision released a few mobile releases, including two Crash Nitro Kart games. Radical Entertainment and High Impact Games have also been behind some cancelled revamps, which can now be joined by Renegade Kid's DS title, shown in the video below.
McDonald's Promotional Brochure
Though the product was not complete, a press kit was created by Ansell Creative Group to hype up the next mainline entry in the series.
"This product was not yet greenlit but with its story rich and beloved global character, a press kit was created to drum up interest for a potential game. The Press Kit was used to echo a potential game story, even creating real assets. For example, creating a physical crate with treasures and map inside for clients to look and feel. Who knows, maybe one we will see another Crash game being developed one day!
[Ansell Creative Group] not only designs the look and feel for press kits but will also source, produce and put assets together in a complete package, ready for your distribution and presentation."
– Source: Ansell Creative Group
Soundtrack
Soundtrack seems to have been composed for the game by former Spiralmouth members, Gabriell Mann and Rebecca Kneubuhl. They were both members of Spiralmouth, which composed the scores for Crash Twinsanity and Crash Tag Team Racing. The duo also composed the soundtrack and wrote the original songs "This Broken Soul" and "Guide You Home" for The Legend of Spyro series.
Listen to the Crash Landed main theme on SoundCloud.
Listen to the Crash Landed main theme on SoundCloud.
Gallery
Videos
Screenshots
Various pictures captured in the game engine.
Miscellaneous
Concept Art
– Concept art courtesy of Branislav Perkovic.