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Crash Nitro Kart for PlayStation 2
Crash Nitro Kart for PlayStation 2 sends Crash and his friends to Emperor Velo’s racetracks. The emperor abducts the Bandicoots as well as Cortex and his henchmen, making them race for their freedom. In Adventure you choose Team Bandicoot or Team Evil and drive as one of that team’s three characters. Victories open further events, and a race against a world’s boss then provides the key to the next area.
On the track you collect items to hinder opponents and give yourself an advantage. Powerslides build extra speed; the moment you trigger the boost affects how you exit a corner. Some sections send your kart along walls or through loops. Its wheels automatically adjust to these anti-gravity sections. You therefore need to learn both ordinary corners and the transitions into such sections.
Alongside the solo adventure there are individual races, time trials, team races and arena battles. In Team Race, two pairs work together and can build Team Frenzy. Up to four players can join locally; three or four players on PlayStation 2 require a Multitap. Track decisions therefore vary: sometimes you seek a fast lap, while at other times you mainly try to push an opponent off their line.
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 Nitro Kart 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 Nitro Kart
Crash Nitro Kart appeared in 2003 as a new kart racer starring Crash Bandicoot. Vicarious Visions developed the console version for Universal Interactive. Following the earlier Crash Team Racing, familiar characters returned behind the wheel, this time in a story about Emperor Velo and alien worlds. Choosing between the Bandicoots and their enemies provided two groups to drive in the adventure, without turning the campaign into a cooperative multiplayer journey.
Anti-gravity sections gave the courses a distinctive identity. A kart could automatically switch to driving along a wall, so a track no longer consisted only of an ordinary road with corners. Powerslides and boost timing nevertheless remained important on normal sections. The design linked unusual environments to a specific driving technique that could improve over repeated laps. Adventure worlds organised these races around trophies, bosses and keys to the next step.
Team Race and battle arenas also offered goals beyond first place in an ordinary race. Players could therefore continue after the solo adventure with separate events against others. In 2005, Crash Tag Team Racing followed, shifting the emphasis to linked cars and exploration on foot. Nitro Kart remained the earlier kart racer whose laps were shaped by Velo’s worlds, powerslides and anti-gravity sections, with a separate team activity alongside standard racing.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Crash Tag Team Racing shares the characters and track weapons, but lets two vehicles merge into a combination with a driver and a gunner. Crash also explores areas on foot outside races. Nitro Kart uses ordinary separate karts, with a dedicated Team Race activity. Both use teamwork, but it changes the vehicle in a different way.
Sonic Riders also races familiar characters around imaginative circuits, gaining speed from tricks. It uses hovering boards with an Air supply to manage. Nitro Kart is based on karts, items and powerslides. Jumps can affect the next straight in both games, but Air management and board handling call for different decisions from a drifting kart.
Mashed: Fully Loaded combines small vehicles and weapons, but shows competitors together from a higher camera angle. Falling too far behind can remove you from the round. Nitro Kart uses laps and a finishing position on longer circuits. Both involve hindering opponents and steering well, while Mashed’s shared camera makes the distance between players much more immediately important.
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex shares Crash, his enemies and colourful environments, but is primarily a platform game. You jump, spin and break crates while progressing through levels. Nitro Kart moves these characters into races with laps and items. The world and characters are familiar, but the required skill shifts from a jump on foot to a well-taken corner.
Sonic Heroes, like Nitro Kart, uses groups of three familiar characters, but lets you switch between speed, flying and power during platform levels. Team members change how you pass an obstacle there. In Nitro Kart you choose a driver for a race, and Team Race is a separate event type. Both have teams, but they mean different things for controls and progression.
