Frogger

The Good
The environments are what, in my opinion, make this game amazing rather than just so-so. The levels are fantastically well designed, and the music only helps Frogger's world stand out more. The graphics, while pixelated, give the game its feel and mood. The controls can never be a problem -- you can configure them yourself. The difficulty is just right; today, it seems that game companies are incapable of challenging but not frustrating games, which is why I turn to Indie game developers most often. Not so with this game. You have to really work on these levels.

The Bad
The only flaw I can see in the game itself is the lack of storyline. Why exactly are your "frog-lets" (what would you call them?) scattered all over the world? I think it would make the game a lot more engaging if there was a reason we're going after these little guys, as there is in its brilliant but far-too-easy sequel.

I feel that some of the levels are just a bit too difficult, on the verge of frustrating: Uncanny Crusher is one of the rare examples. But I think that this has more to do with my lack of gaming prowess than the game itself.

I have a problem that occurs often, wherein the sound works but the music doesn't. I'm not sure if this happens to anyone else, however.

The Bottom Line
A great game with few flaws. Play it. For some, it is too difficult, but if you enjoy this type of game, then try it out.

The Good
The graphics and audio are great, with cute characters, a slick interface, and clever level designs...

The Bad
...but that's not enough to save it from falling apart at the seams.

Frogger is a PC version of Hasbro's remarkably atrocious PlayStation version of Frogger. While this is an improvement over the PlayStation version (better controls and some minor bug fixes), it isn't enough of an improvement to make it a good game. It's quite obvious that the game was rushed for release to either:

1. be released before the arcade gameplay was outdated, or
2. be released in time for the holiday season.

Don't even get started on how this ended up selling 4 million copies on the PC and PlayStation: it's merely because it's a remake of an excellent arcade title, and fans of it were anxious to see a mid-90's remake. And I can see why rabid Frogger fans would rush out to buy it, as the concept of taking the original formula into a modern platformer with true-3D graphics and more variety than the arcade version sounds all well and good. And it is for about five minutes, until you get an ugly-looking "Game Over" screen, enter your name into the high scores list, and get kicked out of the game altogether, resulting in a self-induced punch of the fist into your computer monitor.

Why is it so easy to get a "Game Over" in Frogger? Well, the game box does state that the game's 9 environments are "challenging" and that the game has the "same addictive gameplay as the arcade classic", but I must say that this is wrong. (Even a quoted magazine score on the back of the box is totally incorrect; it states that Computer Gaming World gave the game 4 / 4 stars but actually gave it 3.5 / 5 stars. Shouldn't Hasbro get sued for misquoting a score?) If Hasbro thinks that "challenging" means "continually frustrating the player with poorly designed puzzles, unresponsive controls, a drunken third-person camera, and horrendous collision detection", that's exactly what they did in Frogger, but by no means is that challenging. Challenging puzzles should be difficult, but possible to complete. Challenging puzzles do not frustrate the player because they thought that something in them was totally unfair. In fact, most challenging puzzles don't make the player emit any frustration at all, contrary to popular belief.

The Bottom Line
Just don't play this game. You'll save yourself lots of frustration and proverbial torture. Go play the arcade version of Frogger instead, or go play the vastly superior sequel to this game, "Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge".

The Good
This was one of the first PC games I really ever remember playing, so I've always had a place for it in my collection. Although a re-visioning of the original, it's still a insanely fun game.

Gameplay-

Talk about addictive ! The levels are arranged in blocks from beginning to end. The first level block consist of the "retro" levels, remakes of the original game. Cross the road, river, and logs to get to the baby frogs. Simple. But it gets faster as time goes on and gets hectic. The next level block is made of pond and road levels. But you get to ride on birds, balloons and turtles. But these levels are fairly non-linear. Which means you can get the frogs in any order you want to. And the levels have numerous enemies throughout them. Dogs, bats, rats, slugs, raccoons and spiny slugs. It's a heck of a lot of fun especially in the western levels ( yes western levels) when you have to avoid falling boulders ! But the later levels make good use of Frogger's new abilities: power croak, super hop, and a long bug grabbing tongue. Most of the bugs are worth about 60 points though. Super hop is good for jumping over certain enemies. And croak lets you here the baby frogs croak back to get a better idea of their location.

Sound-

Do do....do do DO DO.....do do do do do do DO DO ! Um... sorry about that. He he..I got the western level music stuck in my head. Needless to say the music is catchy. All of the level blocks have their on music and different music for most of the levels. Plus if you put the game disk in a cd player, you can listen to all the tracks ! The sound effects while good, sound a bit scratchy at times. Like the sounds of the bugs. But everything else is well done. Like how Frogger gulps when he swallows a bug. And the croaks all sound realistic.( I know I'm running out of stuff to talk about when I'm discussing frog croaking sounds.)

Graphics-

This is where I could go on forever. For a Windows 95 game, the graphics look shockingly smooth and have held up pretty well. When I say smooth, I mean the textures aren't pixelated at all. Nice and clean. Despite having a polygon look to it, it's done in a unrealistic style that's almost like...OK I hate using the cartoon analogy, but that's the only comparable thing I can think of. But anyway, another cool aspect of the graphics are some of the subtleties. You can see the clouds in the car windows when they pass by, or out on the water. The rats in the sewer levels shake their heads when they land on the pipes. The baby frogs kick their legs in anticipation of your arrival. Fish in the water. Dead fish skeletons in the water. Plus the water looks thirst inducing. Too bad you die when you jump in it.Sigh

Tech specs-

This whole review I'm trying to do different. For any PC games I review in the future, I'll include this. As for the specs, they are not bad at all ! 640 by 480 resolution, support for the Voodoo 1 video card, and you can't beat the cd format. Plus it takes up almost no space. So if your a freak about hard drive space consumption fear not.

The Bad
Tech specs-

I'ts somewhat tricky and tempermental to try and get running on new machines. It will run, but be prepared to fool around with the display properties for a while. I can it running on my new machine, but no music. I gave up on why weeks ago.

Gameplay-

Some of the longer levels tend to be repetitive. And after you find a frog, it sends you back to the start of the level. Err. And why is it Frogger STILL can't swim ? That's totally absurd. Frogs ARE amphibious ! Oh well.

The Bottom Line
If you want a good game to unwind with, I 100 percent recommend this game. If you're looking for game with tons of replay vale, try Frogger 2. But If you like games overall, get it. You'll love it !

The Good
This is what happens when you combine astounding music, good graphics, and great gameplay mechanics to an already established series. I must admit, Frogger 3D is the second videogame I have ever played, everytime I see the game and hear the music, a great sadness follows. I try to grasp the fleeting emotions I affiliated with this masterpiece during my childhood. Therefore, I will always hold a special place in my heart for Frogger. The graphics are very good, especially if you have a DirectX5-7 card, they are defined and crisp. You can see the reflections on the water, as well as the landscape below (Time Flies, Boulder Valley). Every zone and level has a very distinctive feel; such as the quiet forest or being on a lonely cloud thousands of feet over the city. The music is jaw-dropping and filled with emotion. Every zone has a distinctive soundtrack that throws you into the game without relent. My favorites would be the distant sound of Airshow Antics (everytime I look at the night sky, I'm reminded of this song), the native-American style of Honey Bee Hollow, and the industrial sound of Platform Madness. No matter how varied your musical tastes are, you will fall in love. The game takes a mild amount of skill to pass; it took the combined effort of seven children to pass it in my house. Even though I'm older, it's still a little difficult. Gameplay requires good memory, reflexes, and develops patience: I highly recommend this game for growing children whose imaginations are still flourishing.

The Bad
For one, my family members came down with a vicious case of Frogger fever. Therefore, everyone in the house would try to set their own high score. I owned Airshow Antics, Uncanny Crusher, Platform Madness, Slime Sliding, and Boulder Valley. It didn't take long before an exploitation was found. By simply hopping back and forth, you can accumulate enough points to topple the highest player. In fact, in one life, you can make enough points to start the process all over again, making the player who spends the longest time on the level have the highest score. I wish that Hasbro had implemented a time-based scoring system instead of a score based one. Also, the final zone should have contained at least a second half for rescuing all of the yellow frogs.

The Bottom Line
I was shocked when I read several reviews claiming that this game was unbelievably glitchy, annoying, and difficult. Honestly, I have never had the game crash or pause once. There are a few exploits, but they usually require skill and timing to execute. I have seen the PS1 version, and it doesn't look great compared to the PC version. So maybe that's where the negative emotions are coming from. I loved this game so much that I bought it twice: once when the old disc wouldn't read, and again to bring back the memories. Now that I have lost my disc, I believe it's time for a third purchase. When this game was made, a bad title could literally push a company out of business (although Hasbro was well established). So companies actually tried to materialize an excellent title; unfortunately this is not the case for today's games. I have watched Frogger slide off into the abyss over the past few years (as well as any Sega game made after Sonic Adventure 2) with their fairy-tale antics and sword gameplay. I can honestly suggest Frogger 2 - Swampey's Revenge because the level design is so interesting (I refuse to say the same for the story), but anything after that is trash in every sense of the word. If you like Hasbro, Galaga - Destination Earth is also a very good title (music is the best I have ever heard in a videogame). My last suggestion is to Youtube Frogger: He's Back!, Frogger 2: Swampey's Revenge, and Galaga: Destination Earth just to see what they're like.

The Good
Overall, I thought the game was good. It provided lots of different environments to guide Frogger through from busy roads to ponds and ugly sewers filled with rubbish. The graphics were also good and the music was great.

The Bad
I didn't like the fact that the game got a bit repetitive and became quite unenjoyable when I had to sit there and constantly try to complete a level that was nearly impossible.

The Bottom Line
A good upgrade from the 1980s version with a wide range of different environments. However, it does get a bit boring when trying to complete the harder levels which seem almost impossible to complete.