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Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (Crash Bandicoot 4: Explosion! The Power of Genie in Japan) is a platform game in the Crash Bandicoot series.
Gameplay is basically the same, but this time Crash has a new move called sneak. This move allowes you to sneak over nitros. Coco is also playable, and for the first time, Coco has her own set of moves. There are many vehicles available including a 4x4, a plane, and a robot suit.
The story begins somewhere outside Earth's orbit, where we see Doctor Neo Cortex's evil space station base. Inside it, Uka Uka has called together a "bad guy convention" and is obviously quite angry with everyone. According to him, their track record for spreading evil is pathetic. They conclude that Crash Bandicoot is to blame. Of course, they wouldn't let anything stand in the way of evil, especially not a "brainless orange marsupial", and decide that Crash must be eliminated. And so, Uka Uka orders Cortex and his cronies to come up with one good plan... or else. Cortex informs everyone that in his scientific endeavors, he has created a genetically-advanced superweapon of unbelievable strength. But the final missing crucial element is a power source. Uka Uka brings up the Elementals, a group of destructive masks with the power over Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. If they unleashed their destructive energy, they'll have enough power to bring Cortex's secret weapon to life. They would have a weapon capable of crushing mountains, demolishing entire cities, and wiping Crash Bandicoot off the face of the Earth forever.
Back on Earth, strange things begin to happen. Volcanoes are erupting, thunderclouds are forming, and tsunamis are devastating the coastlines. Aku Aku concludes that his evil twin brother Uka Uka is up to his no-good tricks again, and travels into outer space to find out what he is planning. There, he learns that Uka Uka and Doctor Neo Cortex have unleashed the Elementals, and tells Crash Bandicoot and Coco Bandicoot that they must find a way to stop them before they destroy the Earth and all of its inhabitants. He also tells them that the only way to subside their destructive nature is to imprison them with the use of ancient crystals. Each Elemental can be returned to their hibernation state with a total of 5 crystals. So Coco's new Portal Chamber is unveiled. The Portal Chamber is a device that allows the Bandicoots to travel to different parts of the Earth to gather the Crystals needed to halt the Elementals' reign of terror. "It is time to even the odds into our favor," Aku Aku proclaims.
Just before they start off, Cortex shows up via holographic display. He introduces his super weapon, a bandicoot named Crunch, who is more than eager to take on Crash. Cortex states that Crunch is everything Crash wasn't, and leaves telling Crash that "We all make mistakes". With that, Crash and Coco travel the world collecting the Crystals. Uka Uka's patience is already tested with the defeat of Rok-Ko, the Earth Elemental, but Cortex ensures that Wa-Wa, the Water Elemental will make sure that Crash doesn't see the light of day. But with Wa-Wa's defeat, Crunch claims that he doesn't need a mask to help him, and that he can exterminate Crash all by himself, but Cortex insists that he and Py-Ro, the Fire Elemental will vanquish Crash and his annoying friends together. Cortex is already fed up with Crash making a mockery out of him and his minions. With Py-Ro defeated, Uka Uka questions the value of Cortex's "superweapon", and Crunch is becoming equally impatient, saying he can take out Crash with his metal arm tied behind his back. But Cortex somehow keeps his cool, telling Crunch not to be so silly, and ensures Uka Uka that Crunch will use the Elemental masks, saying there's no need for him to lose any beauty sleep. Things are really getting desperate for Cortex, as he prepares an armada of space stations to strike Earth at one point. But thankfully, they're taken out by Coco. With the final Elemental mask defeated, Crunch's Elemental powers reach maximum capacity. The battle takes to Cortex's space station.
In the end, Crunch is defeated, and Uka Uka is prepared to kill Cortex, but in an attempt to blast Cortex with a fireball, he hits a vital part of the space station. All of a sudden, Crunch realizes that Dr. Cortex doesn't have control over him anymore, and decides to give him a piece of his mind, but Aku-Aku insists that they escape instead, because Uka Uka's energy blast caused a slight chain reaction, resulting in the space station reaching a critical overload. Cortex believes that it might be wise if they do the same, and make their way to an escape pod. Uka Uka blames Cortex for this, and says that if he hadn't ducked out of the way, none of this would've happened. Crunch and Crash escape through Coco's spaceship. Back on Earth, Crunch thanks Crash, Coco and Aku Aku for believing in him, and if it wasn't for them, he would still be under the control of Dr. Cortex. Coco asks Aku-Aku if this is the last they'll see of Dr. Cortex. He says that that's what he'd like to believe, but somehow, he doubts that very seriously. Meanwhile, somewhere off the coast of Antarctica, Uka Uka is once again mad at Cortex for stranding the two of them in the middle of nowhere, and proceeds to pursue Cortex around a small island. Cortex yells into the sky: "I'll get my revenge, Crash Bandicoot! Just you wait!"
The game was not a commercial success. Many believe this to be the fault of the game's multiplatform release. Previously, Crash Bandicoot games were exclusive on the PlayStation. Fans of the series weren't thrilled that the game was on the Xbox and GameCube. In addition, the game was mainly criticized by fans and critics for offering nothing new to the series.
