Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled: Top tips to get ahead of the competition

7 June 2019

Photo Credit: Activision

With the release of Crash Team Racing right around the corner, players both old and new to the game are anxiously awaiting getting their hands on one of the most iconic karting titles of all time. Despite that, it has been some years since most of us played the original, so we've put together some top tips on how to succeed come June 21...

1. Choose a character that suits your level

There are three different playstyles in Crash™ Team Racing Nitro-Fueled – beginner, intermediate and expert. Players should choose their characters based on their skills in the game and the difficulty of the tracks they want play.

Beginner: For newbies to the game or on tracks that have a lot of difficult turns, beginner characters are easier to control but don’t have the highest speeds
Intermediate: For players comfortable with the game but who haven’t quite mastered the mechanics, these characters are faster than beginners but not as fast as experts
Expert: For seasoned pros or risk takers that have mastered the drift and boost mechanic, expert drivers can achieve max speeds

2. Get a boost at the start of the race

To get a boost at the start of the game, players should pay attention to the lights. Wait for the noise and the final green light - that’s when you should hit the boost.

There is a meter at the bottom of the screen that indicates how the boost is filling up as you hit the gas button – players need to wait for that bar to be in the red zone to get a boost.

Photo Credit: Activision

3. Use power-ups to your advantage

There is a load of cool pick-ups in each track but a couple of fun favourites are:

Aku Mask – you become invincible and get an extra boost of speed
Rolling Bombs – involve some time management but if timed correctly you can wipe out other players by throwing forwards or backwards
Tracking Missiles – like the rolling bombs you can use these to get ahead while getting rid of the competition, without the need to aim

4. Lose players who are up your tail

Using power-ups like the beaker, a rolling bomb or a TNT crate will help get rid of players on your tail. These will work even better if you collect Wumpa Fruits along the way – once you hit ten, your power ups become more effective.

5. Only use shortcuts when you’re comfortable doing so

Shortcuts can be an excellent advantage to help you get ahead in the race – but only if you’re comfortable doing so and you have the right power-ups to manage it. It can be risky if you miss a jump or don’t have the power-ups to make it, so make sure you’re prepared or you could lose precious seconds in the race.