Jumpin' Jack

The Good
In 1982, LiveWire released Jumpin’ Jack for the VIC-20, which was a decent Frogger clone that used the same top-down viewpoint as the actual coin-op. It is a very good clone, but the only thing I didn’t like about it is the out-of-tune theme song that couldn’t be turned off. Now, the company has ported its own creation over to the Commodore 64, implementing features that couldn’t be done before, such as giving the game a pseudo-3D feel to it along the lines of Zaxxon.

As someone who has never tried Jumpin’ Jack before, it took some time for me to find out how everything works. The visuals are slanted to the right a bit, and how the frog moves is different. Pushing the joystick left or right moves him in the respective direction. However, moving the frog upwards causes him to go in a northeast direction, and moving downwards causes him to go southwest. During my first few goes, I got into the habit of missing the first log that flowed down the river, but once I got used to it, completing levels was a breeze. Not only can you control the frog with the keyboard if you haven’t got a joystick handy, but you can also redefine each key if it is not to your satisfaction. If you attempt to reconfigure a key to one that is forbidden, the words “Key not allowed” will appear.

The game is well presented, with several flick screens showing the instructions (complete with animations), high score table, keyboard configurations, and the options that can be set such as the number of players and the game level. Jumpin’ Jack even has an attract mode where the frog knows he has infinite lives, so he gets himself killed on purpose. The high score table has a great animation of a moving car that reveals some text mentioning a “magic number”. I assume this was used as part of a competition in which the first prize was a Commodore 1541 disk drive.

Game-wise, the graphics are fantastic, especially for a 1983 game. LiveWire actually took the time drawing a face on the frog, mouth and all. Its hopping animation is impressive, so is the animation of the fly hovering into one of the five homes at the top of the screen; it just doesn’t appear suddenly in them like Frogger or its clones. The cars and trucks are well designed, as well. The background music is catchy and plays non-stop, even if you lose a life or complete a level. You can turn it off if it becomes annoying.


The Bad
LiveWire ironed out all the bugs in the game; not one problem can be found.

The Bottom Line
Jumpin’ Jack is an interesting take on Konami’s game, giving the graphics a 3D look. It plays the same, but individuals who are familiar with the coin-op may have to get used to how the frog moves. The presentation is excellent, the animations are fantastic, and the music is memorable. The game was also used for a competition held by LiveWire themselves. If you enjoy a game of Frogger every now and then, get this game so that you can experience the arcade classic in a different light.