This product is like new. At NexWave Games, like new means:
Additionally, all discs at NexWave Games are carefully inspected and assessed for quality. When discs arrive, we do not accept any that are so badly damaged that they are unlikely to work. We only accept discs with light scratches at most. Discs with scratches are then treated in our professional disc repair machine. By warming the disc and polishing it with soft brushes, these machines can remove a very thin layer from the disc. This removes the layer containing surface scratches and improves the disc’s readability. This ensures the disc works properly, even on consoles with ageing lasers that have difficulty reading games! Great news for the player.
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex for PlayStation 2
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex for the PlayStation 2, also known in Dutch as De Wraak van Cortex, is a platformer in which Crash and Coco must stop Dr. Neo Cortex's new plan. The scientist deploys Crunch Bandicoot and the four Elementals. You travel through separate levels filled with obstacles, enemies and crates, where precise jumping and reading the route are central.
You use moves including the spin attack, slides and jumps to progress. Not every crate can be handled the same way: TNT demands timing, while Nitro requires you to keep your distance. Between on-foot sections, you control vehicles and unusual devices. The next assignment may therefore focus on steering or flying while you still collect items and avoid danger.
The campaign is for one player. You choose levels from a central room and return to collect crystals, gems or time relics. Finishing a level is therefore not always the final goal: finding every crate or setting a faster time demands another close look at the same route. The game mainly rewards learning patterns, so you increasingly know where to jump, slow down or use another move.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. Traveller's Tales developed it for Universal Interactive. It was Crash's first platform adventure on Sony's new console, following Naughty Dog's games for the original PlayStation. The move changed the developer and technology while retaining the familiar foundation of separate routes, crates and collecting goals.
Interviews with the people involved reveal that a freer Crash adventure was also considered early in development. Universal eventually chose an approach closer to the earlier games. Jon Burton described how Traveller's Tales first made an animation to show the publisher the intended look. That early presentation helped guide what became The Wrath of Cortex.
Crunch and the Elementals gave the sequel a new opponent and a clear theme for its hazards. The game later reached Xbox and GameCube as the series expanded beyond PlayStation. Within the PS2 catalogue, this release mainly marks Crash's beginning on that generation. The later Twinsanity would explore more connected environments and an unusual partnership between Crash and Cortex.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Crash Twinsanity uses the same hero but often has Crash and Cortex tackle obstacles together. Its environments connect more closely. The Wrath of Cortex divides challenges into separate levels, which you revisit for crates, gems and time relics, learning to perform a familiar route with increasing precision.
Crash Tag Team Racing mixes car races with exploring a theme park on foot. Collecting and jumping fit between races. The Wrath of Cortex keeps platforming as its main foundation, with vehicles changing the controls in certain levels before giving way to the next route.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy also combines 3D platforming with collecting goals and unusual vehicles. Jak explores a connected world from villages. In The Wrath of Cortex, Crash selects levels from a central room, making each route a separate challenge to replay for a more complete result.
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc also has you jump, fight and collect items in 3D environments. Temporary equipment changes Rayman's abilities. The Wrath of Cortex more often builds routes around a fixed set of moves and obstacles, with practice teaching you how to complete a section without mistakes.
Sonic Heroes shares the search for the right move through a series of platforming obstacles. You switch between three teammates with speed, flight and power. Crash and Coco use their own levels and vehicles in The Wrath of Cortex, where progress more often depends on timing along a predetermined route.
