Console gaming's favorite perma-grinned marsupial once again faces off against his recurrent rival, Dr. Neo Cortex, to stop another evil bid for world domination. Crash Bandicoot: Mind of Mutant is a direct follow-up to the previous year's Crash of the Titans and uses many of the same ideas -- foremost being the ability to hijack mutant monsters. Crash can ride the monsters he 'jacks to otherwise inaccessible areas, or into battle against otherwise deadly enemies.

There are over a dozen mutant monsters for Crash to commandeer, and each one has different special platforming abilities. Areas can be freely explored and revisited, allowing players to try different mutants and abilities throughout the game. A new function lets Crash keep his favorite mutants in his pocket and take them out whenever and wherever he needs them. The more a mutant is played, the more upgrades it earns, and Crash earns his own upgrades when he's without a mutant ride. Other debuting Crash abilities include wall-running, digging, and a new dodge-and-counter combat move.