Whenever I think back to the
days of arcade gaming back in the 80’s, there were multiple titles that sucked
untold amounts of quarters out of my pocket. Anyone as old as me can remember
hours on end of Tempest, Pac Man, Donkey Kong, and the list can go on and on.
One game that I always found particularly fun and pretty addicting was Frogger,
the game where you had to move your frogs across traffic, over logs and turtles,
and rescue a girlfriend or two along the way. Throughout the years, Frogger has
been reincarnated a few times and in a few different ways, the most recent being
Frogger Adventures: The Rescue for PS2.
The story to Frogger
Adventures has the webbed hero (who is a frog but oddly enough still hasn’t
learned to swim) and his buddies from Firefly Swamp fighting against a group
known as T.R.I.P – or Tyrannical Reptiles In Power. T.R.I.P has threatened to
take over the swamp and to make matters worse … they have kidnapped Frogger’s
girlfriend Lily. Frogger teams up with an assortment of commando, ninja, and
scientific type amphibious pals in a group known as F.I.R.S.T – Frog
International Rescue Support Team … and off he goes to save his girlfriend and
Firefly Swamp as well.
The last Frogger title to hit shelves was more of a 3-D
platformer style of gameplay. Frogger Adventures actually makes a return to the
more simple and more Frogger original style of a top down viewpoint and a simple
hopping style of game, where it’s up to you to navigate him through seven levels
hopping along pathways while avoiding obstacles, hazards, and solving puzzles.
There are also a couple of different ways to play aside from the standard story
mode, and you can play a “Mario Party” style of multiplayer games or take timed
level challenges and post your scores on the internet.
I have to say that I was
pleased to see Frogger return to more of an original “as I remember it” kind of
gameplay versus the 3-D platformer, but I was also a little disappointed in the
game as well. For starters, I thought that the level challenges as you
progressed were decent, and consisted of a variety of things like finding
objects to open doors or avoiding things like giant wrecking balls as you hopped
your way towards a save point or the end of the level. The biggest issue overall
to me was that no matter what the stage or challenge was, it seemed to grow
repetitive after a while. I enjoy the standard Frogger gameplay, but it just
didn’t seem to get more exciting as I moved on.
Secondly, the camera caused
some issues as well. While it wasn’t terrible overall, there is also no way to
zoom in or out to get a better look at the screen or what is around you. There
were a few times that I got confused on where to go next or mistimed a jump due
to the fact that I had some issues gauging the distance … and while this was not
a major problem that happened all of the time, it was in there and did get
annoying when it would happen.
Lastly, I was happy to see
that a multiplayer mode was added in, and was looking forward to playing the
original game (or at least the original with a 3-D upgrade), but that was not
the case. As I stated earlier, the multiplayer games are more of a Mario Party
style, and are really too quick and shallow to be much fun for a long period of
time. There are some interesting and enjoyable ones, like race or conveyor
belts, but some like (push the button at the right time) which just didn’t feel
like a good unlockable reward after a tough level.
Graphically, Frogger
Adventures looks outdated for the PS2 system. The graphics weren’t bad by any
means, and were colorful and easy on the eyes, but they just looked like an
older title that would have been released at the launch of the PS2 system. There
are some cutscenes in between missions that were done in fully animated CG, but
the storyline was sort of goofy and the scenes didn’t really do a whole lot to
help move the story along.
In the sound department,
Frogger Adventures hits around the average mark as well. The music is a canned
electronic style that adds in some background noise, but nothing that you will
walk away from the console humming to yourself. The voiceovers were done OK, but
again didn’t do much more than just provide some chatter now and then or explain
a potential hazard that may be lurking ahead.
Overall, Frogger Adventures
retains the gameplay of the original that makes it enjoyable, but it just seems
to be getting a little past it’s time for not only the gameplay, but the
graphics as well. Kids will probably have the most fun with it, as will adults
who really couldn’t get enough of Frogger back in the day, but nonetheless I
would advise checking it out for the weekend before making the final commitment
to purchasing it.
Gameplay: 7.0
The top down view
and the old school gameplay style will make it easy for anyone to hop right in
(no pun intended) and start playing, and the challenge mode where you can try
and get through a level as fast as possible and post your scores on the internet
was a neat idea. Unfortunately, the game tended to get repetitive after a few
levels regardless of the challenges or stage creation, and the camera caused
issues at times where the next step may be confusing.
Graphics: 6.8
The graphics are
colorful, but are starting to look really outdated and more reminiscent of
something released in the days when the PS2 was introduced. While the stages
looked OK, some of the area platforms or obstacles could kind of blend together
making it a little tough to figure out where you were going, and while the
cutscenes looked nice … they really didn’t do a lot to move the story along.
Sound: 6.9
The voiceovers
weren’t bad, but did little more than provide hints, warnings, or chatter. The
music was a standard electronic makeup of tunes, and while it provided
background noise it didn’t do much to add to the stages or environments.
Difficulty: Medium
The first couple
of levels aren’t too bad, and there is an auto save feature at the end of each
level and continue points along the way. Levels as you progress tend to get more
difficult and challenging though.
Concept: 6.5
While it was nice
to see Frogger come back in the way that he was originally done, there were some
opportunities here to make it a little more revolutionary in the video game
world, including gameplay, graphics, and sound.
Multiplayer: 6.0
The multiplayer mode is more
of a Mario Party kind of feel to it now, and while there are a couple of
enjoyable stages to do, many of them seem a little too simple and basic to
really be enjoyable or something that will be played repeatedly after the first
time or two.
Overall: 6.8
Frogger was one of the
coolest arcade games back in the 80’s, and the overall hopping gameplay style in
Frogger Adventures is a fun trip back in time to the way it was. Unfortunately,
it also seems to be getting a little old though, and a new direction for the
series would be great in the future. This game will ultimately probably appeal
to the younger gamers and die hard Frogger fans, but I would still check it out
prior to committing to it.
