In this tough economic recession, gamers will take a free game every chance they get. More often than not however, those games end up being a waste of time.
That isn’t the case though with “Crash Course,†an energetic platformer that is simple, yet fun.
Doritos, the company better known for their nachos than anything they’ve done in the video game industry, has decided to release downloadable titles and has had mixed success. After releasing “Dash of Destruction,†a free downloadable game a few years back, to mainly middling reviews, they have seemingly learned from their mistakes. While “Crash Course†won’t win any game of the year awards this year, it’s solid gameplay and fun factor are enough to keep you busy for a few hours.
Can you really ask for more for a game you got for free?
Of course you can.
Luckily for this title, it has online multi-player, leaderboards and a nice list of fun achievements to keep you busy. Playing essentially like a game show, the object of this title is to get through each obstacle course as fast as you can. The cool part of this are the types of obstacles, ranging from fans that through you in the air, moving floors and walls, trampolines and robotic paint ball guns. Using your avatar to get through these levels, “Crash Course†is a nice distraction from some of the bigger games out there and is a great little lesson in old school logic.
Relying on solid level design and classic jumping and dodging gameplay tactics, older gamers will feel like they are playing an adventure game like “Super Mario Bros.†or “Duck Talesâ€on the old Nintendo Entertainment System. A few levels in particular feel like more than an homage to these classic games, as the jumping styles and speed of the game feel like they are taken right out of another decade.
In spite of that, the lack of a story and the generic graphics hurt the overall package. Even for free, the game could have given those playing a little bit more of a reason to play than beating their friends’ times. Nevertheless, as far as gameplay and fun goes, “Crash Course†does many more things right than most of the free games on the 360.
It’s safe to say that it’s also better than a nice handful of games that will require you to open up your wallet.
Because of that, this title proves that Doritos is upping the ante in regards to the games it releases, as “Crash Course†is ultimately worth more of your time than you might originally think.
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