Crash Bandicoot is almost a household name for gamers now, but it's still surprising to consider that the latest attempt, Crash: Mind Over Mutant is the fifteenth instalment in the series.

Clearly Crash has been around for a long time, but for those of us who need an introduction, he is a small furry "bandicoot" who continually fights a range of enemies, primarily "Dr. Cortex" who is hell-bent on imposing some sort of evil plan.

This time around, Dr. Cortex has teamed up with Dr. Nitrus Brio (from the first ever Crash title) to invent the "NV" - a sort of universal entertainment system which doubles as a phone and comes in the form of goggles that you wear around your head. Basically, Dr. Cortex is marketing this product as something that will change the residents of Wumpa Island’s lives. Unbeknown to them however, the product actually doubles as a mind control device with which Dr. Cortex plans on enslaving the population. Crash appears to be the only person who cannot wear the device as it rejects him, and he therefore is the only one who can stop Dr. Cortex and Dr. Nitrus Brio.

The first thing which stood out when firing up Crash: Mind Over Mutant is that the entire menu structure looks like it's been lifted from an old arcade game. Put simply, it’s dated, and other than "Start Game" there is very little to be done here. This is disappointing when many titles put considerable effort into making a menu structure that fits with the games theme, and this somehow feels uninspired. Unfortunately this gave us some indication as to what to expect, and on launching into our first game we met our character, Crash. Starting out in his house you have a number of things you can do here including viewing artwork, watching cut-scenes, meeting characters and also customising your player character. However interacting with anything here always results in a loading screen, and quickly becomes tiresome.

When you first step out into Wumpa Island you will be impressed by what the developers have created. The world looks quite nice, but the graphics overall simply feel somewhat flat. There are some nice effects here and there, but overall it’s not great. They have done away with the rigid linear aspect of platforming where you simply power through level after level, and have instead gone for a slightly more open experience. You are free to wander around the island, interacting with the environment and other characters as you see fit.

The level design is pretty unique, each of the areas look quite different, and have a range of enemies to battle. The game is also mission focused, with you receiving a number of tasks and completing them step by step, as opposed to being locked into a task. This means you can backtrack, and head in any direction that you want on Wumpa Island. The unfortunate side of this new system is that it does in fact force the player to backtrack, which can be irritating when you have spent considerable time battling through a number of areas and puzzles only to find they have to be repeated.

As you navigate narrow cliffs and jump around the levels, you will soon be infuriated by the complete lack of a controllable camera, as the camera nearly always positions itself in a less than opportune position. Similarly, when backtracking, you are endlessly running towards the camera, which doesn’t help the frustration already present from having to cover the same ground. The difficulty level too seems far too easy, and it appears that the greatest difficulty faced in the title is navigating the world with a fixed camera, as you will occasionally fall off a ledge simply because it is too difficult to gauge where you are. It seems the game could have been far more fun had a controllable camera simply been implemented.

On top of this, navigating around the game will involve a large number of loading screens. None take very long, but when before each cut-scene you are greeted by another loading screen it does become mildly annoying. It's not as if there's a shortage of other titles that manage to stream much larger worlds without too much difficulty.

Good combat, which is so important in a platforming title, is what you have come to expect from Crash. You can do spin attacks, jumping spin attacks, punches, kicks and more, and they are all reasonably well implemented. The spin is activated by spinning the left stick and then continually pressing your attack button, and this works well and feels more interactive than simply pressing a button to activate. Stringing together combos without taking a hit will force your multiplier higher, and as you collect "Mojo" you will unlock upgrades for Crash. These will include strength, spin and mutant upgrades. Mutants are a fun aspect of the Crash series first seen in Crash of the Titans and reproduced well here. Crash can hijack a Mutant and fight with the mutant opposed to as himself, although then any Mojo collected goes to upgrading the Mutant rather than Crash. Mutants can now also be pocketed when traversing areas where Mutants wouldn't normally be able to travel. This is handy if you don’t want to give up your Mutant, and allows it to be pulled out at an opportune moment.

Other than new Mutants there is little that is different here from the previous title in the series, although one of the Mutants in particular - a psychic chicken - is absolutely hilarious, and the comedy value in a number of areas is simply fantastic.

The story itself is also a real winner, and definitely one of the strongest parts of the game. This does help to make up for the annoyances when backtracking, along with the uninspired graphics. The cut-scenes are animated and presented in a vast range of styles, which have been ripped essentially from mainstream shows such as South Park. A few of the cut-scenes are done with stick, shadow and hand puppets which is also a real laugh. Considerable effort has been put into this and it really shows as a strong point. The title also comes across as quite socially critical of consumerism, and is satirical in nature. The jokes and one-liners often play on relevant themes in today’s society, and one can’t help but laugh out loud at some of the witty content.

Crash: Mind Over Mutant also includes a co-op mode on the Xbox 360, which allows a buddy on your console to jump into your game as Coco and play through the story with you, which will make collecting Mojo much easier. However the lack of any online component other than achievements on the Xbox 360 really seems to be a hindrance in a time when every title should really have some online connectivity.

Crash: Mind Over Mutant plays a lot like any other Crash title. The game mechanics are basic in the sense that they really don’t bring anything new to the table. The graphics are average and the lack of any form of online connectivity is a shame. The one area where Crash really shines is in the story and cut-scenes which are brilliant. It's a real shame that the game doesn't live up to the standard which the story sets.

Don’t get us wrong however, if you’re a fan of the Crash series this game probably will live up to expectations and be enjoyable. There is fun to be had here, particularly if you need a title that will keep the kids happy over the Christmas period. But then much of the excellent social satire will be lost. Ultimately, if you like Crash, or platformers, Crash: Mind Over Mutant is probably worthwhile, but it’s nothing terribly unique.