Crash Team Racing

 PlayStation
  • Publisher: SCEA
  • Release Date: Oct 19, 1999
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 616 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 544 out of 616
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 616
  3. Negative: 47 out of 616
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  1. Watermelon789
    Apr 18, 2012
    7
    Crash TR is undoubtedly a fun game with some of the best cartoonish tune and tone similar to the Crash games. With a lot of content addicting modes, tracks playability , makes the game a strong competitor of Mario Kart and other kart games.
  2. Zilcell
    Nov 8, 2011
    10
    This game is one of the best cart racers ever created, and finally a great one that isn't a Mario Kart racer. It is a near-perfect cart racer with great graphics and fun gameplay.
  3. asjklas
    Oct 10, 2011
    10
    Even if it is a Mario Kart-knock off, it's not a bad game at all. In fact, it's one of the funnest racing titles on the PS one that never seems to get old, even going into 2012. Flashy with its colorful visuals and flawless graphics, but addictive with its variety of race tracks, weapons, and playable characters packed with charisma, this is one of the best Crash games to date.
  4. ImUnavailable
    Jul 19, 2011
    10
    CTR has great tracks, fun characters and plenty of game modes. Story mode has entertaining boss battles and integrates time trials and collectables. Arcade mode is great fun especially with friends as is the battle mode. Any fan of Mario Kart will find this similar but highly enjoyable in its own right.
  5. okamimiyazaki
    Jul 17, 2011
    10
    Still an amazingly fun game and probably the best kart racing game next to the original Mario Kart. It's too bad all of the more recent kart racers (with the exception of DS) are nowhere near as good.
  6. DemoniChris
    Jun 19, 2011
    10
    The best kart racing game developed, even to this day. Every single map is beautifully designed and the game has loads of content to unlock and discover. The only flaw is that this game hasn't been remade compatible with an online feature yet.
  7. KendylKlownfish
    Apr 29, 2011
    10
    It's a tad bit too obvious that it's mimicking Mario Kart 64, but it does it in all the right ways, making it just as innovative and essential to anyone's collection of PS1 games. Pros: Fantastic visuals, control, and course design; boss battles; single-player and multi-player mode are endless amounts of fun; lots of extras and unlockables; the hubworld is a nice addition to the adventureIt's a tad bit too obvious that it's mimicking Mario Kart 64, but it does it in all the right ways, making it just as innovative and essential to anyone's collection of PS1 games. Pros: Fantastic visuals, control, and course design; boss battles; single-player and multi-player mode are endless amounts of fun; lots of extras and unlockables; the hubworld is a nice addition to the adventure mode. Cons: It's a tad bit too easy; it's not as great as Mario Kart 64.… Expand
  8. Neo010390
    Apr 27, 2011
    9
    After all these years we thought Nintendo was the only company that produced decent kart games for their consoles, well finally the Playstation has its own clone, Crash Team Racing. Created and Developed by Naughty Dog, Crash Team Racing is a kart racing game where the player can choose to play as any of the characters in the Crash series (even the bad guys if you want, I always chooseAfter all these years we thought Nintendo was the only company that produced decent kart games for their consoles, well finally the Playstation has its own clone, Crash Team Racing. Created and Developed by Naughty Dog, Crash Team Racing is a kart racing game where the player can choose to play as any of the characters in the Crash series (even the bad guys if you want, I always choose Crash because he's my favourite). There are five different modes to choose from: Adventure, Time Trial, Arcade, Verses and Battle. "Adventure" mode is the main story of the game. You start off in the arena where you can drive around and practice some skills such as hopping, drifting and power sliding. The main goal is to win trophies by coming in first place, when you have collected four the boss challenge opens up. Beat to boss to and you'll receive a key which will unlock the door to the next world, there you will find four more tracks to race. Overall there are 18 tracks, 5 worlds and 5 bosses. There are some unbelievable (Oxide Station in particular) race tracks and if that wasn't enough, you can use weapons on your opponents to help you to catch up if you are behind. In a way it's almost identical to the Wipeout games. As well as trophies, there are other race modes too such as Relic Race, CTR challenge and the Gem Cup Challenge. In "Time Trial" you can race through every single track in the game (this is a good way of getting some practice and memorizing the whole track in all of them), attempting to beat the computer players time. If you're fast enough N Tropy will challenge you, and if you beat his time you'll face Oxide. Trust me when I say this, no matter how many tries, how much speed, power, drifting, everything you give it, you will most likely not beat him. I've attempted them all myself and have only beaten him in a few races. In "Arcade" mode, you can scroll through a selection of tracks you wish to race. You can choose either Single Race or enter a Cup, where you race on four tracks in a row and score points. The better position you are, the more points you gain and if you have the most points after the four races, you win the Cup. The "Versus" mode is pretty much the same, with the exception that two or more players are involved. In "Battle" mode, you can have up to four players fighting and launching weapons at one another during combat in up to seven battle arenas. The type and length of the battle can be adjusted in the main menu beforehand. Graphically the game is very impressive, the colour and texture design of each vehicle are done brilliantly. The race tracks and environments are very well pixelated, and there is lot of variation background to see from a great distance. The characters are very well desinged , and i'm glad the developers didn't change them too much (unlike some Crash games) . As always, the music and sound effects are note perfect. Each soundtrack matches perfectly to each race track. One thing I really like is listening to the players taunts (especially Crash's who does some hilarious ones like "Wheeeeee" and of course his old time favourite "Whoa"), when trying to overtake someone. It's almost as if they're saying what you're thinking. The only criticisms I would say is that some of the tracks (Coco Park for example) are easy and boring and where in the other modes you can adjust the difficulty, Adventure mode doesn't have this option. It would have been nice if they added this feature, in case you felt it was too easy to complete. Despite this, I can honestly say this is the best Kart racing game I have ever played. It's way more superior to the Mario Kart games and if I ever get the chance, I will thank Naughty Dog dearly for making four great Crash games that will remain classics and will entertain millions of gamers as the years go by. Although it was sad to hear their departure from Crash, I absolutly loved what they did with Jak and Uncharted.… Expand
  9. ripperroo1992
    Mar 11, 2011
    10
    Best kart racer ever!!!!!!! Ive been playin this game since i was 7 and it never gets old. The music is great and tracks are so fun. This game is so awesome i went out of my way to get platinum relics for all the tracks. I got all platinum but sewer speedway and n.gin labs are the hardest for platinum. I love this game so much i own for ps1, ps2, ps3, and psp. This so much more fast paceBest kart racer ever!!!!!!! Ive been playin this game since i was 7 and it never gets old. The music is great and tracks are so fun. This game is so awesome i went out of my way to get platinum relics for all the tracks. I got all platinum but sewer speedway and n.gin labs are the hardest for platinum. I love this game so much i own for ps1, ps2, ps3, and psp. This so much more fast pace than mario kart. the adventure is much fun especially if you unlock the bosses. In my opinion the best ps1 racing game.… Expand
  10. Harry210
    Feb 4, 2011
    9
    Moving away from the platform genre, Naughty Dog has attempted to bring the Crash universe to the Kart racing genre and they've pulled it off. First off, the graphics are vivid and showcase some great detail and the tracks that you race on are well designed and most of them are fun to zip around in your karts. What keeps these tracks from being boring (most of them) is that some areMoving away from the platform genre, Naughty Dog has attempted to bring the Crash universe to the Kart racing genre and they've pulled it off. First off, the graphics are vivid and showcase some great detail and the tracks that you race on are well designed and most of them are fun to zip around in your karts. What keeps these tracks from being boring (most of them) is that some are littered with obstacles which are for the most part, are inspired from previous Crash games like the Piranha plants which swallow your kart and spits out its tyres and the rolling toxic drum which squashes you if you're not careful. Speaking of the karts, Naughty Dog has provided some good characters to race with from the Crash Bandicoot Universe (good or evil) like Crash (of course), Coco, Neo Cortex and each have different kart statistics like some can corner more effectively and some are faster in a straight line. The kart roster may seem small (you have 8 karts to choose from at the start), it's still enough for you to dig in and get racing. The game play resembles Mario Kart (which isn't a bad thing. You race around some nicely designed tracks with 7 other kart racers and try to win the race while pelting them with an arsenal of weapons. There's a decent selection of weapons to use like the TNT crate and the homing missile. They are fun to use and it's so satisfying to obliterate your opponents with them. Naughty Dog definitely nailed the game play of this game. It's entertaining to race with A.I opponents or split-screen with your friends. The A.I is smart enough to cause you trouble with trying to keep you from winning by destroying you with (randomly generated weapons, they don't need to drive into weapon crates to get their weapons *sigh*) weapons. They can be a little too easy to beat, even on the hard difficulty setting. The karts handle great and I like the drift boost mechanic where you slide your kart around corners (or on a straight to gain a speed advantage) and press the R1 (or if you're using the R1 button to slide, L1) button at the right time to give your kart a boost (up to 3 boosts per slide) while you turn. This is essential to master this mechanic if you want to beat the best times in time trial mode or get the gold's/platinum's in adventure mode. The controls are perfect and are responsive. Crash Team Racing offers a nice variety of modes to choose from. There's Arcade mode where you can enter a single race for a laugh on a track of your choice with a friend or your own, or a cup where you race on multiple races and earn points on each track depending on where you finish in the race (a bit like a Grand Prix). There's also time-trial mode and versus modes to play. The main meat of the game though is the story mode (known as the adventure mode). What Naughty Dog has cleverly done here, is integrate the level progression from the 2 previous platform crash games (the level selection, the warp rooms) and carried it over to this game. You progress through 5 areas, enter races by driving into active warp vortex's and try to win all the trophies, relics and CTR tokens and gain access to the boss garage at the end of . There are no clear gems to win but coloured gems can be won by participating in a gem cup that can be won by collecting all 4 CTR tokens that are the same colour as the gem cup that you want to enter. Naughty Dog has brought back some memorable bosses from previous Crash games to serve as bosses for this game. Crazy Ripper Roo is back! I love the way that Naughty Dog has integrated how you earn gems, the relics and the crates (the ? boxes which provide weapons and the bouncy crates which in return, juice up your kart and make your weapons more powerful) into this game and it will take a while to beat this game 100% because of all the gems, relics and bonus rounds you have to complete. The music is very well composed just like the previous 3 Crash games but the taunts/ voice dialog coming out of your character and other racers are a little monotonous and just silly. Some of the tracks, although most of them are pleasant to race on, are boring and bland (Coco Park and Blizzard Bluff springs to mind). It's also next to impossible to beat Nitrous Oxides ghosts on all of the tracks in time-trial mode! All of these things though are minor and don't spoil an enjoyable kart racer which maybe an odd concept for a Crash game, but a developer like Naughty Dog has neatly integrated the Crash universe into a kart racing game. It's sad that this is Naughty Dog's last Crash game.… Expand
  11. HellBringer
    Jan 31, 2011
    10
    THIS, IS, MY FAVOURITE GAME OF ALL TIME!!!!! This is such a good cart racer, and the power slides are so easy to do, you could do them with one arm behind your back (exaggeration) but so hard to master and use to their full advantage. Add on excellent tracks, and a wikkid story line, equals EPICNESS!
  12. DaveA
    Dec 31, 2009
    10
    This game rips off Mario Kart so bad, that it's actually much better. The power slide does it for this game, the short cuts, the boosts, this is the ultimate Kart Racer and one of the best games I've ever played. 10/10
  13. PaulW
    Oct 15, 2009
    10
    I do not give out 10s lightly but, in my opinion, anyone who ever got excited about any Mario Kart game ever again after this game was launched was easily pleased. Crash Team Racing gives you something that no MK game ever did - a proper adventure, proper characterisation, a hubworld, boss battles, some clever level design. Naughty Dog gave up Crash Bandicoot too easily - a PS3 sequel to I do not give out 10s lightly but, in my opinion, anyone who ever got excited about any Mario Kart game ever again after this game was launched was easily pleased. Crash Team Racing gives you something that no MK game ever did - a proper adventure, proper characterisation, a hubworld, boss battles, some clever level design. Naughty Dog gave up Crash Bandicoot too easily - a PS3 sequel to this game would be very welcome. Miyamoto may innovate but other developers nearly always improve on the original idea.… Expand
  14. JohnD.
    Nov 17, 2007
    8
    A good driving game, but I still like the plattforming Crashes waaayyy moore.
  15. BryanM.
    Sep 11, 2007
    10
    My dad loves this game he totally hates video games. that tells you how good this is.
  16. JaredC.
    Aug 2, 2007
    10
    One of the best Playstation games of all time.
  17. DJTDJT
    Jul 6, 2007
    10
    Best game ever i love it. WAY better then mario cart And Diddy Kong racing and its still best game now.
  18. Drjones
    Sep 19, 2006
    10
    One of the best games ever released for the PlayStation.
  19. SusieT.
    Apr 10, 2006
    9
    This was a pretty good game, it will not run with my Universal Game Controller, which was annoying...the graphics are in need of an update, but the characters are creative. I also liked the "Battle" mode, where you just all-out fought the other player. This is the game that started Naughty Dog's career.
  20. KittyCrookshanks
    Jul 24, 2004
    10
    Much better than Mario Kart. Very good. Obviously not as good as the Crash platformer games though.
  21. TheElusivePossom
    Apr 16, 2003
    1
    WOW! I mean, what a steaming crock of sh*t. I couldn't really believe that Sony were truly manifesting this idea until I saw it in action. Whether it's the shoddy graphics, absent gameplay value or the implementation of the Worst Characters Ever (tm), you might be put off by this plagerised catastrophe. It's fun for about 5 minutes (which is where the "1" in my rating comes WOW! I mean, what a steaming crock of sh*t. I couldn't really believe that Sony were truly manifesting this idea until I saw it in action. Whether it's the shoddy graphics, absent gameplay value or the implementation of the Worst Characters Ever (tm), you might be put off by this plagerised catastrophe. It's fun for about 5 minutes (which is where the "1" in my rating comes from), but when the drugs wear off, reality will just come flooding back to thump you in the face. If you want a decent karting game, look into Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing, the two best racing games of all time (you'll need an N64, mind). Whatever you do, just stay away from anything remotely bandicoot-shaped until someone at "Naughty Dog" takes a hint.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best PS1 Game of 1999
3
#3 Most Discussed PS1 Game of 1999
7
#7 Most Shared PS1 Game of 1999

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. GMR Magazine
    90
    Countless mascot racers flooded store shelves during the PlayStation era, and Crash Team Racing was the only good one. Really. [Feb 2003, p.97]
  2. PSX Nation
    96
    Great balance and plenty of fun put this one on par with "Mario Kart" and if not for the average track design it would easily surpass.
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  3. Electric Playground
    95
    Just like the previous Crash games, CTR is utterly polished and addictive to a fault... That's right, you heard me, CTR is a better game than Nintendo's "Mario Kart."
    Read full review
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