New gameplay from the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy has been released today, featuring the level from Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back – "Sewer or Later." This level features Lab Assistants with flamethrowers, electric eels, deadly fans and more, and the level we know and love has been beautifully restored.
Not just restored, either. Developer Vicarious Visions updated almost every aspect, adding better flame effects, water effects and dynamic lighting. But, in the midst of all of this, they forgot one important aspect. Didn't catch it from watching the video above? OK. Skip ahead to about the 1:14 mark, and watch as Crash takes down the Lab Assistant with the welder who drops from the ceiling.
Got a mental log of that? Great! Now watch the same point in this video.
I'm sure you caught it there. Vicarious Visions, as careful as they were, forgot the Howie Scream. Almost every time Crash kills one of these Flamethrower Lab Assistants in this level, they let out a slightly sped-up version of that infamous sound bite from Howie Long's role in Broken Arrow. For reference:
Like the even more infamous Whilhelm Scream, the Howie Scream took on a life of its own after Broken Arrow. Even though it originally appeared in a 1980 movie well before the 1996 release of Broken Arrow, it was named and known for John Woo's action film. More than that, it was more popular than ever immediately following the movie.
Crash Bandicoot 2 released in 1997 and made use of the scream. If you want another video game example, you can look at Half-Life 2, which used a rapidly sped-up version of the Howie Scream for its Poison Headcrab and for its Fast Zombies.
Unfortunately, we won't be able to add the N. Sane Trilogy to that list, if this current build is to become permanent. A moment of silence for the Howie Scream.
OK, now you can go back to marveling about how awesome this game looks, because that's what I'm doing.
