Crash Team Rumble (2023)

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Hopefully that shoe tastes delicious.

7 hours ago, Sonicka said:

It would be remiss of me to slate credibility of Digital Trends after their Sonic Frontiers review (different authors after all), but IGN and a couple of others have had similar positive previews of CTRumble. 

Apparently this is one of those “you have to play it to get it” sort of experiences. 

In any case of this being good, the downsides here for me is the multiplayer 4v4 team aspect - it’s going to be hard enough finding 4 people with this game to play that I know to battle another random lot online, but I’m never that comfortable teaming up with random players either. I’m the type of person that would preferably play games like FFXIV with an NPC party than with friends. 

It might actually be that there is an option to play with or against bots as well, but then that sounds like it will take away the apparent “fun” of the online room. 

Presently, it just seems more like a weird game genre mix that probably just isn’t for me. Which is a shame as I love Crash. 

If I were to play devil's advocate, let's say, despite how lackluster the game looks, the gameplay ends up being solid.

That's fine and dandy, but these impressions are likely coming from sources that have all the necessary items to get the best experience out of it.

As it is, CTR looks to be a game that really only gives you a good time in bursts, and that's assuming you have online hookup. One of a few reasons why games like these tend to fail. 

And it really doesn't change the fact that the Crash series really has no business going down the MOBA route, especially if it doesn't at least have adequate single player content to back it up.

[Sonicka]

6 hours ago, Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon said:

Hopefully that shoe tastes delicious.

If I were to play devil's advocate, let's say, despite how lackluster the game looks, the gameplay ends up being solid.

That's fine and dandy, but these impressions are likely coming from sources that have all the necessary items to get the best experience out of it.

As it is, CTR looks to be a game that really only gives you a good time in bursts, and that's assuming you have online hookup. One of a few reasons why games like these tend to fail. 

And it really doesn't change the fact that the Crash series really has no business going down the MOBA route, especially if it doesn't at least have adequate single player content to back it up.

Yup, this is pretty much it really.

I'm sure TBF have found a way to make this fun for short bursts in this "new genre" - but I can't see this having any sort of sticking power. If this was marketing in the FTP realm then I would factor this in with a slightly higher chance of success - because like other FTP games it would be a guarantee that I would have try it out for no cost. At least that way any of the gameplay merits can sell the player on weather a paid seasonal battle pass is worth it, because then you are choosing to put your time into something for a set amount of time at your own expense. 

Asking for $30 for an online 4v4 multiplayer title with the intention of charging more later on is frankly, ludicrous. CTR: NF had it's fair share of problems in the shop areas and rotational areas too of course, but at least I didn't pay for the seasonal battle passes they held (dressed up as tournament's) alongside the additional free tracks.

I do also keep seeing comments suggesting that a single player mode is releasing later on it's life... is that something I've missed? How will that work exactly? A bolt on story with the same gameplay loop?

The more I think about this title, the more I wish we had just got a Crash Bash Remake / Crash 5 / CTR: NFT (Nitro Fueled Two)    

[DaleDawsan]

I wonder if there will ever be a competitive aspect to Crash Team Rumble, or if it will remain purely casual. Regardless, I hope that the developers of the game have a plan in place for when support does eventually end, and that they take the concerns of players like us into consideration.

[DaBigJ]

 

Another point to add to the "why the fuck ain't this free" list

[Jango]

4 hours ago, DaBigJ said:

Another point to add to the "why the fuck ain't this free" list

Granted neither was Fall Guys, but a LOT of people got it free because it was a PS+ game on release. I've actually dropped Fall Guys after it became F2P, because a lot of the stuff that was previously unlockable via crows (which you got by playing the game and winning) became purchasable only (with cash). Realisticaly, I'm not holding any breath for Crash being on PS+ / Gamepass on release, but it would defo help.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

The writing really is on the wall with this game. The overall negativity surrounding it is mainly a buildup of issues people have had with how the series has been handled over time, mainly starting from when Activision began pumping in MTX on CTR: NF, to them splitting the fanbase with Crash 4 on multiple reasons, to the long and arduous vacuum of no news whatsoever, only leading up to a game that essentially amounts to f2p distraction originally meant to be packaged with an actual good game.

This sadly isn't a surprise we've come to this point. Let us not forget, the only reason we ever got the N. Sane trilogy in the first place was because Sony threw money at it. Make no mistake, Activision do not care about the franchise if it isn't making them skyrocketing amounts of money, and if they considered the fact that 4 sold less than the trilogy reason enough to put the series out to die, then they'd do it.

[Rocker Spike]

Really haven't seen anything amazing about the game but I'm also not seeing anything bad. it's just Meh.

Its one of those things where I'm going to eventually play it to see what its like but I'm not jonesing for it either.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Been playing the beta of Rumble since it dropped a few hours ago so I could make my own impressions of it. Honestly, I think the impressions from those who played it was fairly spot on - Rumble is honestly a deceptively fun game that the trailers did not do justice.

For a start, they've more or less adapted Crash 4's gameplay 1:1, but with a looser camera for free movement, and some added simplification to certain moves so they're easier to do. For example, both the triple spin and slide spin is here, but the triple spin doesn't require the timing Crash 4 required for using it, meaning it's actually fairly snappy to get around the map, while the slam has been put into it's own button so if you need it in a emergency, you don't need to jump before using it.

Furthermore, the maps aren't actually as big as they look in the trailers, with them being more like battle arenas than anything else, I'd say fairly comparable to a Splatoon map, if not a bit smaller. But what this means is that action is usually constantly happening, and you can choose to try stick around your own base to farm fruit, or venture out for bonuses and power ups. 

The action is honestly some pretty chaotic fun though. There's currently three battle classes that excel at different things - Scorer (Crash, and Tawna), Blocker (Dingodile), and Booster (Cortex and Coco), with scorers being fast, and their goal being to get as much fruit as possible, Blockers being the tanks, and being the ones who're supposed to stop you from achieving objectives (IE, banking fruit, scoring boosted platforms), and Boosters are meant to focus on activating gems so the whole team gets a score boost when banking fruit, and generally can still collect a fair amount of fruit.

Because of the different roles, it still means the gameplay still has some fairly clear goals despite the chaotic nature of the whole thing, and I do think the roles can lead to frustration (IE - if there's a Dingodile on your bank with some active support, it can be really hard to get him off there, meaning the whole game is a lost cause), but also leads to some insanely fun plays as well (Teaming up with allies to knock enemies down, such as Dingo, or dealing with traps being set up around the ring). 

The other thing that connects to it is the power ups too, which add a fun sense of strategy to the whole affair. You can risk trying to sneak behind the enemy's side of the map to plant traps like plants and those electric guards from Oxide's levels in Crash 4, or you can get supportive items like a healing cooler and keep that to support your team if you need to deal with enemies set up at your bank - or more annoyingly, you can use it to keep your survivability rate up high if you're trying to block off the enemy bank. The matches in general too are also pretty snappy, only lasting to about 5 minutes a go, if not less.

The items is also surprisingly nice. I was suspecting a lot of reused assets from Crash 4, but the costumes and items available on the Battle Pass and character progression right now is actually original skins that wasn't in Crash 4 and was made for the game. 

The game could get old, but for my mark, I'm honestly having fun with it. It's Crash 4's gameplay brought into a 4v4 chaotic brawler. There's something about it that I don't really get, but the trailers just don't do it justice, it makes it look weirdly slow, but in action, it feels a lot more faster paced, especially if you get games where you're playing a more supportive position, and are getting hunted down by fast Tawnas or Dingodiles while trying to survive and keep collecting fruit. There's something about it that just kinda clicks when playing it, for me personally.

[Sonicka]

That's great to hear that it's a fun time.

I went to give the closed beta a try but (stupidly) didn't realise I had to buy the game in order to do so - so I abandoned that. It's the options for paying one price for early access plus the season one battle pass... or a tenner more for two seasons worth of battle passes that has me super concerned here. 

For my money they just need to either make the game entirely FTP and have the battle passes be the thing you can choose you pay for each season if you want to play/grind to unlock stuff... OR, keep the game priced and have the battle pass / seasonal content free (like they did with CTR:NF ...but without a monetisation shop system on top). 

But neither of these are great options. Ultimately it doesn't stop what a battle pass and seasonal content represents - limited time passes that feed into a grind loop of unlocking rewards to keep the player engaged and therefore the game alive online. CGE can shout to the world in his videos that the battle pass is "only cosmetic" all he wants - that doesn't make it any better. If there is a grind for unlockable rewards then players should be given the opportunity to do this at their own pace. Kids (and adults) don't need this additional mental stress to prove and show off their worth in game.

I'll sandwich this thought with my earlier sentiments again though - at the very least TFB appear to have come up with a solid multiplayer title. I can commend the designers even if I have to condone the practises that shroud it. 

[Jango]

 

12 hours ago, Sonicka said:

I went to give the closed beta a try but (stupidly) didn't realise I had to buy the game in order to do so - so I abandoned that.

Me last night lol Completely forgot about that detail.

I saw bits of the Canadian Guy's live and though it looked OK, nothing as exciting and competitive as Team Racing. The cosmetics in the season pass look pretty generic and boring, cowboy hats and what-not. Was expecting more Crashy stuff. Also, you can customize your... shadow? lol, OK, whatever floats your boat.

I hear the positive buzz, but I'm still not super moved. Would look into it after release maybe.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

18 hours ago, Sonicka said:

That's great to hear that it's a fun time.

I went to give the closed beta a try but (stupidly) didn't realise I had to buy the game in order to do so - so I abandoned that. It's the options for paying one price for early access plus the season one battle pass... or a tenner more for two seasons worth of battle passes that has me super concerned here. 
 

If you're in the UK and have o2 as a service provider, you can get a free beta invite from them.

Alternatively you can also apparently pre-order from Amazon, redeem the beta code, and cancel, although I can't guarantee it.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Xbox Insiders get a free invite.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

3 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Xbox Insiders get a free invite.

Update to this - apparently you don't need to be signed up to Insiders to get the beta. As long as you have a Xbox, you can download the Insiders app without signing up and get it.

[Sonicka]

Unfortunately, I'm not on o2 or owning an Xbox, so this makes this tricky for me haha. Thanks for the thought anyway @Ryannumber1gamer

I imagine the MS x Activision Blizz deal is what's stopping any kind of possible PS+ promotion? 

[Jango]

I wonder how long untill people start datamining stuff from this beta build. We already know Spyro is coming.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Crash Twitter is now giving away beta codes:

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

5 minutes ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Crash Twitter is now giving away beta codes:

Hmmm. How might one obtain such?

The game doesn't interest me, but I certainly won't turn down a chance if I get a means to play it for free.

[Sonicka]

38 minutes ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Crash Twitter is now giving away beta codes:

Much obliged! Downloading it now

32 minutes ago, Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon said:

Hmmm. How might one obtain such?

The game doesn't interest me, but I certainly won't turn down a chance if I get a means to play it for free.

Firstly follow this link:

https://t.co/5uxh9BYhh0

Then sign up / in to your crash Activision account, and it will direct you to a page that requires your details of location and console of preference, then it will provide you with a code

I too am doing this out of curiously. A free trial and I’m game. 

[Jango]

This beta ends when? Because even if I get the code, I'll probably only be able to play monday xD

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

32 minutes ago, Sonicka said:

Much obliged! Downloading it now

Firstly follow this link:

https://t.co/5uxh9BYhh0

Then sign up / in to your crash Activision account, and it will direct you to a page that requires your details of location and console of preference, then it will provide you with a code

I too am doing this out of curiously. A free trial and I’m game. 

Welp. Unfortunately, they're only giving codes for PSN and XBL, of which I have neither.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

14 minutes ago, Jango said:

This beta ends when? Because even if I get the code, I'll probably only be able to play monday xD

24th April.

[Sonicka]

Ok, I have given this game more than enough hours of my time now to make some comments on the Beta. 

Gameplay and movement is nice and snappy, games visuals looks great and it runs well plus it does have some wonderful camera controls to whip around. 

Now onto the negatives... 

Map's are IMO uninspired, dull and very small IMO, I appreciate this is a slice of what's coming - but I'm not going to hold out much hope. However despite wanting these areas to be more expansive... this also wouldn't work as the maps are supposed to be battlefields. However, weirdly I do not feel that they are small enough to traverse quickly when you want to get back to your bank to dump those wumpa (maybe the characters could do with a stamina dash button or something? - I dunno), but it didn't feel good. 

Scorers and Boosters I found to be infinitely more playable than blockers - overall they use the same Crash 4 mechanics in a more open 3D environment... and it works. I don't really understand the huge difference between Scorers and Boosters roles in all honesty, because despite everything they can still achieve the same goal at the end of the game (as their gameplay styles are basically the same save for their additional powers). Blockers I found to be immensely boring to play as - I also got constantly whooped by Scorers and Boosters whenever I played as a blocker, which felt counter to the point of the purpose of the character. I don't know - maybe I was doing something wrong?

I will say that I don't think any two battles I played ever felt the same, and there is a competitive edge that often leads to both teams really racing to the 2000 wumpa goal relatively on level (and if not... there are lots of chances to stay in the game and still win right up until the end due to the games "rubber banding") - but the downside was that it felt like a lot of matches where we were about to win we suddenly lost at the last second, which was quite infuriating - but hey, that's also the competition I suppose.

Something that did often confuse me was when the game announces who is about to be defeated… or is boosted or has help from an outside source. This never feels immediately clear to me for some reason. For example, when you are close to the end of a match, it will say the enemy team is about to defeat you - yet on their gauge a marker appears that says “nearing defeat!” - this is very confusing at it tells me the opposite of the information I know the game is trying to relay - it also doesn’t help that the opposing team is ALWAYS red, so instinctively I always find myself thinking they are on the cusp of losing because of colour co-ordination. I think TFB might need to reevaluate these visual cues before release. 

The battle pass is your usual grindy tedious bar of non-specific goodies that will mean nothing unless you are into banners, icons, character specific emotes, shadows (wtf?), hats which don't always overlay onto character models correctly, score FX which you won't notice while playing, and skins (the only decent offering). CTR:NF offered better than this I think. A lot of these cosmetics are BP exclusive, BUT you can also level your characters up on their individual XP bars and complete AKU's challenges to unlock stuff for them too... which I don't think are part of the BP... but it's not really that clear to me what contributes to what in all honestly, I hate these things.

Ultimately, this game feels like what I have continually said it looks like (and probably was what this game started off life as originally) - a quaint little online multiplayer mode for Crash 4. It's honestly nothing much more than that right now. It could be that the main release has 108% more content on offer with other modes to come later... but right now there just isn't enough here for continued player engagement (well, not me anyway). I'd be super surprised if it lasted longer than a few seasons after release before they shut this down.

CTRumble IMHO is not worth anyone's money and Activision should not be charging anything for this. For what little the game does offer it should absolutely be FTP and then perhaps let the user decide if they want to shill out extra for the seasonal BP's - it should absolutely not be both and there is nothing to justify the price. It's a shame that they dropped the ball on that aspect otherwise I may have considered dropping into this title from time to time - but as it stands I don't think this "new" genre is really up my street anyway, if anything it just made me want to return and play Crash 4 a lot more. 
 

[Jango]

Like Ratchet 3, this could've totally been Crash 4's actual multiplayer mode, and I'm pretty sure it would, arguibly not as deep, if TFB didn't had to meet the publisher's deadline.

Of course, if this released along with Crash 4 and it ended up having MTX, it would sour the game magnificently. I remember everybody went nuts when TFB revealed that the game would have skins, for 2 simple reasons: "yay, skins" and "oh God, they will cost money". Saying the main campaign would not have MTX, but pulling the rug at the last minute and adding them to the multiplayer modes would nooooot go well with people after CTR:NF. 

I'm confident that Rumble/Wumpa League was kept alive as a backup plan in case Crash 4 didn't do as well as they've hoped (and to still have a family-friendly IP in their portfolio since Skylanders is pretty much dead). Activision-Blizzard has rea$ons to keep Crash around for a while longer. And with the Spyro 4 rumours getting hot lately, so does the purple dragon to an extend. 

But even with all that, even if Rumble doesn't perform so well, this could still not be the end of Crash. Like it or not, that stupid face sells and they need at least a few kids' franchises around. 

[DaBigJ]

4 hours ago, Sonicka said:

The battle pass is your usual grindy tedious bar of non-specific goodies that will mean nothing unless you are into banners, icons, character specific emotes, shadows (wtf?), hats which don't always overlay onto character models correctly, score FX which you won't notice while playing, and skins (the only decent offering). CTR:NF offered better than this I think. A lot of these cosmetics are BP exclusive, BUT you can also level your characters up on their individual XP bars and complete AKU's challenges to unlock stuff for them too... which I don't think are part of the BP... but it's not really that clear to me what contributes to what in all honestly, I hate these things.
 

They're seriously offering fucking shadows in a battlepass?

what the actual fuck

[Sonicka]

44 minutes ago, DaBigJ said:

They're seriously offering fucking shadows in a battlepass?

what the actual fuck

It's all cosmetic junk really. Skins are the only decent unlock because it entirely changes the character appearance. But then these of course are going to become the prized goal and highest tier unlock.

Anything else is superfluous and whatever you attach to a character... just doesn't look quite right. This isn't Fortnite where almost all characters essentially have a "one model fits all approach" - every character in Crash has different sizes, models, structures... it just fundamentally looks off and doesn't work.

I've no idea how the shadow cosmetic applies itself - a new colour? a different character shadow? change from a circle to a square? Who knows. I just found this to be something you can change or unlock for each character.

Side Note: I'm not sure if there is a specific shadow available in the BETA Battlepass, but for sure these will be on there at launch. Regardless - it's a bizarre and useless cosmetic unlock. Much like the "celebration graphic" (also a cosmetic) every time you bank points, you'll never notice it really as you'll be focused in other things to care. In actual fact I think emotes in general I think are pretty useless to a game with this fast flow style.