The game sees the return of Neo Cortex, Crash's sister Coco and other characters who will be familiar to fans of the franchise. Many of you will already be familiar with Crash Bandicoot, the hyperactive orange whirlwind who took the PSone by storm, breaking boxes and snagging apples in his attempt to recover crystals.

The collective term should be a dead give away and the decision to port so many to home and portable consoles is beginning to get tedious. Board games are things you are forced to play at Christmas when you'd rather be sleeping off a turkey dinner. A board game, you cry? Yep, it's a bit like Mario Party blended with Itadaki Street but without the infamous Plumber, the Final Fantasy cameos, perky music or, indeed, the fun. Yes, here is a game which is beyond boring if you have fifteen friends with lots of time to spare but really, really useless if you're on your own.Ĭrash Boom Bang! sees the return of The Bandicoot to the DS in board game format. To play it you need friends (I have some, but they're scattered across the planet) and get them in the same room with their beloved DS and DS Lites. While I readily accepted reviewing Crash Boom Bang! on the DS, I soon discovered one slight problem. My flat might be tiny and cluttered, stuffed to the gills with consoles, code and DVDs but it's home and, unlike many journalists, I thrive on the isolation.

It's sometimes a lonely life but I love it and really wouldn't have it any other way. Being a games journalist, I spend much of my time on my own with only a PC and my numerous games consoles for company.

Boom d boom bang d bang