Crash Team Racing 1999

Is it still worth playing?

Naughty Dog's 1999 kart racer for the PlayStation, with 15 characters, eight of them available at the start, in three classes. Its driving rests on the drift. Holding a jump button slides the kart, and tapping the other at the right time gives a turbo boost, up to three in one slide. Tapping too early gives no boost, and too late spins you out. The 16 tracks are narrow enough that racers stay bunched, with vertical jumps and shortcuts, and question mark crates hold power ups that ten Wumpa Fruit make stronger. Around the races, Adventure mode has a hub world with bosses and trophies, relics, tokens and gems to collect. Time Trial adds ghosts, and Arcade, Versus and Battle take up to four players with a Multitap. Handling built around drift and boost timing still gives every lap something to get right today.