Doritos Crash Course 2 Reviews

Doritos Crash Course 2 is the sequel to the XBLA smash hit Doritos Crash Course. Run, jump, slide and wall jump your Avatar through 4 new worlds of irreverent obstacles, traps and pitfalls. In this 2.5 platformer, compete for medals and find stars to progress. Use your stars to unlock new courses, power-ups and vanity items. Compare your best time against up to 3 asynchronous game clips of your friends.

The first Doritos Crash Course was part of a Xbox contest to develop games. It along with Harm's Way were released with the big pricetag of free. While Harm's Way was a more complex game, the simplicity of Crash Course made it a hit. Doritos Crash Course 2 seeks to build off of that to become a worthy F2P successor (and Microsoft hopes will bringing cash in). The question is does it manage to be fun once they shoehorn F2P into it.

Gameplay: Crash Course 2 does not stray from the original's formula much. Your avatar races through themed courses trying to avoid pitfalls in the vein of the TV show Wipeout. The same philosophy works as before in that faster is usually better. Adding positively to the mix is the added ability to wall climb and the ability to grab edges. They've added ghosts to the race, so you no longer race alone in the single player. Instead you compete with ghosts of the bronze, silver, and gold quality which helps you know if you are going to place in a particular rank. They have also added stars for collection, and alternate paths so you can find the best way to perfect your score.

As for the bad, Microsoft decided to make this game Free-2-Play. While that is not bad in and of itself, it does come with some bad trade-offs that hurt the game. First, you must be connected to Xbox Live and a Gold member to play. No internet connection, no game. Second, there is a micro-transaction marketplace. While nothing is required to be purchased, it is way too easy to accidentally spend points. This means no small children playing this game on their father's profile. Finally, when the servers go down (and boy do they), you are left with an unplayable game. I hope you downloaded Crash Course 1 when it was available.

Graphics: Nothing in this department will make your head turn. But I have no noticed anything that is bad either. I did not notice the background visuals because I was trying to win the race, but apparently they are not bad (at least by my wife's standards).

It appears to be running of the same engine that every other Avatar Famestar game developed by Microsoft uses. Which is more like a high-quality Indie game than a AAA title. Which to me is poor effort considering the amount of resources they have in comparison.

Sound: Nothing in this department will make your head turn. But I have no noticed anything that is bad either.

Controls: The controls are fairly simple. The only issue I have had is when I don't want to grab a ledge, more likely than not I did. Some of the jumps they want you to make can be brutal on their timing requirements leading to frustration.

Overall: This is not a bad game, but the always online requirement has been brutal so far due to MS server issues. It really would have been nice to have an offline mode that avoided that mess. Because of this requirement, this game has a shelf life so you better enjoy it while you can because eventually the servers will be killed (next xbox coming and all).

That said, overall it is an improvement on the first in most regards and if you enjoyed the first you will enjoy this.

Edit: Added some more clarification on graphics

Doritos Crash course 2, a sequel to the well known platformer comes back with more moves, more levels, and much more, but does it come back with the punch it
should?

Gameplay:
The gameplay itself comes with the similar taste of the first, but with a small burst of newly added obstacles that the first never had, (for example, a wheel of trampolines, or a Ferris Wheel of icy platforms!) It's not much different from the first besides new implemented things. One of those being the new star system, which is much like the currency of the game, other than the coins you can buy or earn once in a blue moon. Anyway, there are 16 stars you can collect from each level, which leads into something else that was implemented in this game: Split paths. Split paths are basically these separate paths that open new platforms that can be used as shortcuts, and are a requirement for most stars within every map, and can be bought with stars. Another way to also earn stars would be getting medals on levels that you have not. There are 4 main zones at the moment: Amazon, Antarctica, Egypt, and Pirate Island. Each area has 5 sublevels which can be played, and 2 bonus levels that are only available in online tournaments (for now at least). Another thing that was added in was a shop and its items. In this new shop, stars that you have no use for can be used to buy rewinds (which in single player modes can be used to rewind back to the last checkpoint), jinxes (which can turn people ahead of you to Pigs, Eggheads, and even a Unicorn!), powerups (none of them that are TOO strong, however), and auras (basically these animations that are around you. It can be fire, electricity, musical notes, and even stinky clouds!). Most of these can be purchased with stars, however a few require coins (which costs MSP). Another cool thing is how you see others online. Did you ever get tired of those cardboard cutting floating around? I know I did, but in DCC2, people are seen as ghosts, so it can show how exactly they completed the obstacle if you fail to. Also, bots are added into the single player, one for each medal, as well as objectives to earn bonus stars!

Overall, this game is a fun and new mixture from the first, however there is a flaw or two here and there. In online matches, people without the split path can still face those with them, giving their opposition a major advantage. While this may not be too big of an issue, those losing can get irritated from so, but that's not much of
an issue!

Pros: Great establishment of all areas

Cons: Slight unfair advantage for those new to the game
Overall: 9.5/10

Sound:
The music in this game is actually very nice, and it still holds some sounds from the original (like the countdown). Each opening music fits its theme pretty well, as does the ending song for getting a gold medal in each place. The music doesn't really get old in this game whatsoever, and it actually is one of the very few games where the repetition of the same song won't make people want to rip their hair to shreds. The sound effects still have the same thing on the getting hit with a hammer, falling in the water, bouncing off a trampoline, ect.

Overall, it truly is good, but sometimes it will clip in with the sound of your sprint overheating, which may cause issue with
the race.

Pros: Very good music, good sound effects

Cons: Music clips with sprint overheat, sound effects not unique
Overall: 7/10

Graphics:
This game holds pretty much the same old graphics as the first game, but it adds in a few kinks like the opening animation and the backgrounds being very well designed. The scenery (for example, the moss and leaves on the yellowed stone platforms of Amazon) really fit in as well, giving it that extra kick in small detail. The only issue is certain auras do not fit well with certain levels (like if you use fire with Antartica, it'll give a purple effect to others sometimes. Not certain if it's just me). The graphics are the same but with more adjustments to it, so not too shabby.

Pros: Good artwork and animation

Cons: Not very different from its predecessor
Overall: 6.5/10

Controls:
This has the same exact controls from the last, adding in wall running and wall jumping. The controls consist of the usual for platformers (running, jumping, ducking, ect.), adding in a few small new things. The controls in this game are fairly easy to get a hang of besides 2 things that many seem to struggle with: timing slide jumps and wall
runs/jumps.

Pros: Easy to get a hang of

Cons: Certain things seem harder to grip.
Overall: 9.5/10

Length/replay value:
Doritos is a relatively short game on it's single player, HOWEVER, on it's full completion, the famestar challenges will prove to be a time consuming product. The game does have a strong replay value, however. The levels stay entertaining if you play them online with others, whether it's a star run or competition, this game will keep you entertained for the time being.

Pros: Very high replay value

Cons: Short single player
Overall: 6.5/10

Achievements:
That's right, the section eyes will devour, the achievements in DCC2. The achievements are pretty straightforward and easy to obtain, but be cautious with server issues as they may screw you over big time. The 100% shouldn't take too long to reach, and it takes close to nothing to win minus getting the most stars in one tournament online.
Difficulty: 2/10

Overall Score: 7.5/10
Overall, it's a pretty good game, and it's free, so why not take a shot and try it out? I promise you will not regret it!

Does Crash Course 2 Crash and Burn?


Doritos Crash Course was a free-to-play title that came out in December of 2010 as a finalist of the Doritos-sponsored “Unlock Xbox” contest. The concept of the game, which eventually won the entire contest, was inspired by TV game shows such as Ninja Warrior or Wipeout, and this is clearly evident through the game. Even though it was free-to-play, it proved so wildly popular that three years later, under a different publisher and developer, it's back in the form of Doritos Crash Course 2 – and it's still free-to-play (as long as you're connected to Xbox Live).

As soon as you begin the game you can notice that the effort which went into the development of this game has significantly improved since the original. While the game at its core remains practically unchanged, several new features significantly add to this title's fun factor and longevity. The menu you're met with after turning on the game is no longer bland as it was in the first title, and the graphics already look crisper.

The game still plays a lot like the TV game show Wipeout, inasmuch as your gamertag's avatar will be jumping and hurdling his way through some pretty wacky obstacle courses, with the constant threat of falling into the pool of water far below looming over him or her. However, new features such as wall-jumping and clinging to ledges makes for interesting new gameplay, as well as opens the door for the developers to make wildly new obstacles.

Among the new and upgraded features are “split paths,” an unlockable option for all tracks that will allow you to access new routes within the same tracks. Sometimes this just leads to collectibles, sometimes it leads to keen shortcuts, and sometimes it opens up some really advanced areas that can shave full seconds off your time if executed properly.

Crash Course 2 currently exhibits four areas. This is the pirate one!

There's also a wide variety of basic gameplay improvements made to keep the game flowing smoothly. First off, your character still does a silly intro into each course, but this time they're skippable, making retrying tracks much less of a chore. Additionally, many obstacles that would have forced you to restart your checkpoint in the first title – such as squishy hammers – no longer force you to do so, but will simply stun you for a while, costing you precious seconds but not returning you to a previous checkpoint. Most of the time, the only time you're still forced to do this is if you fall into the water.

Furthermore, as mentioned before, your avatars can now briefly run up walls, and even jump backwards off of them. Using these new features smartly can lead to shortcuts in places you may not have imagined before. And the ability to grab a ledge, which takes a moment to climb but saves you from falling, leads you to try some very lengthy jumps you never could have made before.

Doritos Crash Course 2 also introduces two kinds of in-game currency: stars, and coins. Stars are the basic and most used currency. They're collected throughout the course (often in hard-to-reach, or shortcut areas), and also rewarded by placing 3rd, 2nd, or 1st on a course for the first time. They're even rewarded for completing a multitude of offered bonus objectives, yet another new feature that brings in some interesting new ways to play the game. Coins, on the other hand, are very rarely rewarded, usually for reaching some kind of milestone, though they may be purchased using Microsoft Points.

Hammers will still swing you right into the camera if you're not careful

These stars and coins are both used to unlock levels or their associated split paths, buy optional power-ups, or even buy avatar effects to change your avatar's appearance in-game. Since almost everything in the game can be purchased with stars or coins (only a few things can only be purchased with coins), and since stars are an unlimited supply (because bonus objectives are infinite, and will reward stars each time you complete one), there is little to no reason to spend real money on this game. In that light, this game does stay free-to-play, and is not of the dreaded “pay-to-win” variety.

Online gameplay and online leader boards are still around this time, and they're embraced even more. While playing online is still mostly the same as playing offline, a new mode called tournaments and the ability to download friends' avatar ghosts to race against bring just a little fresh air into it.

I mentioned early in the review how just looking at the menu made you see how the production value of this title has increased, and it holds true throughout the entire game. The graphics are crisper and the levels are grander, and the game continues to receive updates. Despite being a free-to-play game, Doritos Crash Course 2 really does a wonderful job of showing us how a sequel can be more of the same, but better. The game truly takes all of the things that player's found so silly yet addicting in the original title and turns them up to eleven, then tosses in loads of new features to boot.

Achievements
Doritos Crash Course 2 offers about three times as many achievements as its predecessor, but cheevo-hunters may not be happy with a few of them. For example, completing 75 bonus objectives or collecting every star on every track can be pretty time consuming, if you don't enjoy the game. For the most part, overall, the achievements aren't difficult, and with no DLC ones, this title shouldn't be too hard to 100%.
Achievements never affect the score of a game and are included by reader request. Only the categories below influence the final score.

Summary
Graphics: Colourful and cartoony, they're a huge step up from the original, but don't expect anything ground-breaking from a free-to-play title.

Sound: Music is pretty forgettable, but clear sound effects can actually be useful for helping time obstacles, and the such.

Plot: Not a game for plot; this title's a pure pick-up-and-play platformer.

Gameplay: Simple, but very fun and addictive, side-scrolling time-trial platforming with wacky obstacles. Loads of new features set this title above the original.

Length/Replay Value: Being a free-to-play game, it doesn't have the most content in the world. The offline courses should easily last you a few hours, and even more if you're going for all the collectibles. The online capability can help this game's longevity, and it can even feel fresh after taking a break from it for a while.

Yea or Nay? It's pretty hard to say “nay” to a free-to-play game, really, but there certainly are free games out there that still aren't worth your time. Especially if you're low on hard-drive space, you may be particularly picky about what you download even if it is a free game. That said, there are worse XBLA games out there that aren't free and take up even more hard-drive space. This game is especially great for gamers with kids, because it's a generally easy to learn game and it's just all around silly fun.

Final score: 7.0 out of 10

I claim no right to the pictures used in this review, and they will be removed if requested.