Ripper Roo brings bouncing chaos to Crash Team Rumble

Weeks after it's release, my family is still playing Crash Team Rumble like it was brand new. The 4v4 competitive gameplay is just as fun as ever, and we've all settled into various roles in the game that suit us. I'm a Catbat main, loving the way the elusive character swoops around the playing field, avoiding enemies and flying above both traps and attacks. With Catbat, I can usually count on being the top scorer in a match at least 50% of the time.

My son and daughter, however, have locked in on Ripper Roo, the newly added Daffy Duck-like agent of chaos. For those not in the know, CTR players can unlock Ripper Roo between now and July 10 by collecting marbles that appear throughout the maps in the middle of matches. Miss the unlock period, and you'll be waiting for the character to officially arrive on July 20th. It seems like not many players are satisfied with the wait, because Crash Team Rumble is positively littered with Ripper Roos right now.

Clad in his signature straight jacket, Ripper Roo bounces around the map like a lunatic, firing off bombs left and right, and shooting himself from a cannon at unsuspecting players. It is completely normal now to move towards your base to score, only to find two or three Ripper Roos camped there, shooting bombs in all directions and making the prospect of scoring much, much more daunting. Ripper sets the power dynamic of the game on its ear, necessitating a far greater degree of strategy and timing when moving in for a score.

It's fun to see how the addition of one new character has shaken up the meta in Crash Team Rumble, breathing new life into a game that was already nowhere near running out of steam. Perhaps my worries about the game only having one mode were unfounded; it seems like everyone is still having a total blast with Crash Team Rumble, and if my experiences are any indication, the player base is still strong in numbers. It'll be fun to see how the addition of further new characters impact the game as the first season moves forward. 

Crash Team Rumble is now available on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The Standard Edition is only $30, and is well worth the investment.