Setting The game is played in a free-roaming format rarely seen in previous games.
Characters Nine returning characters from previous
Crash titles star in the home console version of
Crash: Mind over Mutant. The protagonist of the game, Crash Bandicoot, is a
bandicoot who must defeat the main antagonist Doctor Cortex and free the Titans from the control of Cortex's new device. Aiding Crash is Aku Aku, an ancient wooden mask who can take control of Titans by entering their heads. Crash's genius sister,
Coco Bandicoot, appears initially as a boss character under the control of Cortex's and Brio's handheld device. Afterward, she acts as a playable character during the co-operative mode of the Wii and Xbox 360 console versions; The main antagonist of the series, Doctor Neo Cortex, is a
mad scientist who plans on taking control of the denizens of the Wumpa Islands by marketing a mind-controlling mobile phone, the "NV", to them. Doctor Nitrus Brio makes a return appearance as Cortex's partner, aiding him in the development of the NV. A number of small fodder enemies attempt to hinder Crash in his journey, much of them appearing in the previous
Crash of the Titans. The Ratnicians, who previously worked for Doctor Neo Cortex, have since gone feral and vegetarian, and now work for the minor antagonist Doctor N. Gin. The Brat Girls, who previously worked for Nina Cortex, have betrayed her and now run the Evil Public School and supervise the Ratcicles in the Ratcicle Kingdom. The Doom Monkeys make a return appearance as employees of Nitrus Brio in the Sludge Junkyard. Two new fodder enemies make their debut in the game: the Znu, a group of small, warty creatures that inhabit Mount Grimly, and the Slap-E's, hand-shaped robots that share Doctor Cortex's memories and personal problems.
Story , American
comics,
South Park and
Dragon Ball Social
satire and the theme of
consumerism are frequent sources of humor in the plot of
Crash: Mind over Mutant, with the game featuring jokes about
SUVs and the
skyrocketing prices of gas at the time. The game's story is told through a number of
cut scenes animated in 2D Animation with different styles, such as those of
Dragon Ball,
The Animatrix, and
South Park.
Crash: Mind over Mutant takes place a year later after the events of where
Crash of the Titans left off. The Titans, free from the control of Doctor Neo Cortex, have spread throughout the Wumpa Islands and cultivated their own societies and towns. All seems well until a rejuvenated Cortex teams up with his old partner Nitrus Brio to invent a personal digital assistant, the "NV", that can control the minds of both mutants and bandicoots by transmitting bad Mojo, forcefully siphoned from Cortex's former boss Uka Uka. Crash and Aku Aku are not affected by the device, meanwhile N. Gin launches an attack on the bandicoots. Crash and Aku Aku defeated him, but they discover their family members Coco and Crunch are soon transformed into monstrous version of themselves who seek Crash's destruction. After Coco is freed from the NV's control, the Bandicoots learn of Doctor Cortex's plot by accessing his
blog, and decide to go to the Evil Public School, where Nina was placed by Doctor Cortex. Nina in return for Crash saving her science fair project, informs the heroes of Cortex's and Brio's alliance and reveals their location in the Junkyard, where N. Brio is recycling parts to create a new space station, the "Space Head", for Cortex and new NV devices. Crash and Aku Aku find Crunch and N. Brio at the Junkyard and manage to break Crunch free from the NV's control. After learning of Uka Uka's whereabouts from N. Brio, Crash and Aku Aku go to Mount Grimly, where Uka Uka is being drained of all his Mojo. After being freed, Uka Uka informs Crash that his six voodoo bones, his source of power, have been stolen and given to three of the worst Titans on the Island, and tells them to go and retrieve the bones for him. When the bones have been gathered, Uka Uka uses his restored power to send Crash to the Space Head and Crash can enact Uka Uka's vengeance on Cortex. Crash engages in a fight against Cortex, who uses a mutation formula stolen from Brio to empower himself for the battle. Upon losing to the Bandicoot, Cortex throws a tantrum, causing the Space Head to fall towards the Earth. Cortex, having returned to normal, makes his escape from the plummeting Space Head, while Crash and Aku Aku brace themselves for a crash-landing on Wumpa Island. Crash and Aku Aku manage to survive the crash and reunite with Coco and Crunch as parts of the Space Head rain down from the sky. Coco ends the story by telling Aku Aku that they're not going to help clean up, much to his chagrin. ==Development and release==