Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a remaster of the 1999 video game Crash Team Racing. The story this game offers is an evil alien named Nitrous Oxide, who claims to be the fastest racer in all the galaxy, has come to Earth to challenge its best drivers, with the fate of the planet as the prize of whoever is in first place. As a result, Crash and his friends and enemies accept the enemy's challenge.
So, this game is a remaster in the same vein of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which was released two years before, as it was made from the ground up. However, it is more than a mere remaster. One of the major additions is the fact that it has online play, and it also has a pit stop menu, which using Wumpa Coins earned via gameplay (or microtransactions, but that is only used by lazy players who don't mind throwing Activision money to get enough coins to unlock stuff) to unlock new characters, karts, and even kart parts and character skins that would not be unlocked via normal gameplay. While some people will not be happy that the game has microtransactions, thankfully, it is completely optional, and the characters and karts unlocked are purely cosmetic and do not give any unfair advantages.
The character selection has a lot of good characters. Not only do the characters from the original game return (with N. Oxide becoming an unlockable character, unlike the original CTR, where he was non-playable), it also includes characters from future games like Crunch Bandicoot and N. Trance, who were playable in Crash Nitro Kart. Also, the game has events called Grand Prix, where special unlockables are added to the pit stop, along with certain unlockables obtained by collecting "nitro", which is earned via normal gameplay as well as completing goals from four different lists.
The track selection is also good. Not only are all the CTR tracks present, but the tracks from Crash Nitro Kart also appear. And the aforementioned Grand Prix adds a new track to the list under the title of "Bonus Track". Also, the karts can be customized using the different parts that are unlocked from the pit stop, Grand Prix events, and normal gameplay (which include Body, Skin, Wheels, Paint Job, and even stickers).
The game controls well, and gives a good challenge, but has a difficulty selection for those who want to reduce the challenge, or increase it to test their racing skills. Also, there are other modes like Battle Mode, Time Trial, CTR Challenge, and Relic Race that have their own rules of winning. This is one remaster worth playing.
So, this game is a remaster in the same vein of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which was released two years before, as it was made from the ground up. However, it is more than a mere remaster. One of the major additions is the fact that it has online play, and it also has a pit stop menu, which using Wumpa Coins earned via gameplay (or microtransactions, but that is only used by lazy players who don't mind throwing Activision money to get enough coins to unlock stuff) to unlock new characters, karts, and even kart parts and character skins that would not be unlocked via normal gameplay. While some people will not be happy that the game has microtransactions, thankfully, it is completely optional, and the characters and karts unlocked are purely cosmetic and do not give any unfair advantages.
The character selection has a lot of good characters. Not only do the characters from the original game return (with N. Oxide becoming an unlockable character, unlike the original CTR, where he was non-playable), it also includes characters from future games like Crunch Bandicoot and N. Trance, who were playable in Crash Nitro Kart. Also, the game has events called Grand Prix, where special unlockables are added to the pit stop, along with certain unlockables obtained by collecting "nitro", which is earned via normal gameplay as well as completing goals from four different lists.
The track selection is also good. Not only are all the CTR tracks present, but the tracks from Crash Nitro Kart also appear. And the aforementioned Grand Prix adds a new track to the list under the title of "Bonus Track". Also, the karts can be customized using the different parts that are unlocked from the pit stop, Grand Prix events, and normal gameplay (which include Body, Skin, Wheels, Paint Job, and even stickers).
The game controls well, and gives a good challenge, but has a difficulty selection for those who want to reduce the challenge, or increase it to test their racing skills. Also, there are other modes like Battle Mode, Time Trial, CTR Challenge, and Relic Race that have their own rules of winning. This is one remaster worth playing.