Croc 2

Croc 2 is an acquired taste. While not as edgy and fast-paced as Crash Bandicoot: Warped or as well-oiled as Spyro, Croc 2 deserves a place on the same platform as your other platform games. With a little practice and patience, you’ll find that Croc 2 provides plenty of ditzy diversions.

It’s Been a While, Crocodile

While Croc remains childlike and harmless, however, the rest of the video game world has grown up. Crash got Warped, Spyro turned out to be a pyro, and even Mario decided to throw in his plumber’s cap and duke it out with his Nintendo kin. In this light, Croc 2 seems a little dated and young, though the graphics certainly shine a little brighter this time around.

Croc 2’s gameplay is a cross between Gex and Crash. Yet the game has more mature lighting and visual effects than the original, centered around enemies who look like they came straight from the theme-park-mascot hall of fame. There’s also a variety of gameplay, including racing and boss-slaying, and a cooperative two-player mode that works well if you want to share the Croc experience — especially with younger players who will immediately take to its simple gameplay. The sound, though, is daycare disco and should be avoided.

The Big Game

Simple doesn’t mean boring, though. Croc 2 has the roguish little reptile jumping, swimming, climbing, and tail-swinging through five worlds trying to help his Gobbo pals in different missions while collecting crystals and gems for level completion. Each world has a theme — Arctic tundras, island, prehistoric levels, etc.— and enough variety to keep you playing in order to find out what’s next. Add in the sheer enormity of the game, which delivers over 20 levels, and Croc fans will be busy for a long time.

Non-Croc-ers, on the other hand, will find the controls obtrusive and unfriendly. With a wildly uninhibited camera and pinpoint accuracy required for almost all jumps, Croc 2 will have you shedding more than a few crocodile tears. And the game’s inherent cuteness will induce the kind of nausea you can get only from watching Teletubbies.

Is Croc In Da’ Nile?

Croc 2 is an acquired taste. While not as edgy and fast-paced as Crash Bandicoot: Warped or as well-oiled as Spyro, Croc 2 deserves a place on the same platform as your other platform games. With a little practice and patience, you’ll find that Croc 2 provides plenty of ditzy diversions.