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Frogger is back almost two decades after first appearing on the
Atari 2600. In his new 3-D world, he must rescue 175 baby frogs
from Swampy the Crocodile. There are 35 levels split between 10
worlds. Frogger's tricks include the power croak, super hop, and
heat-seeking tongue. Special levels were designed for multiplayer
gaming; up to four can play specially designed levels on a split
screen. Gamers can play over the Internet and LAN.
Review
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Frogger 2 is the sequel to Hasbro's 1998 3D remake of the
classic Atari arcade game, Frogger. The graphics, gameplay, and
level design have all been improved over the 1998 game. The
result is an engaging arcade-style action game based on very
simple controls and play mechanics that should appeal to players
looking for a traditional platform action game.
The game consists of more than 30 3D levels filled with enemies,
obstacles, traps, and puzzles. In each level, five frog babies
are waiting patiently to be rescued. Your mission is to rescue
all five babies as quickly as possible in order to complete the
level and move on to the next. Along the way you can collect
extra lives, power-ups, and gold coins - all as you try to avoid
the wide variety of mindless enemies and obstacles. In addition
to the 30 basic levels, there are bonus retro levels that can be
by collecting every gold coin in a particular level.
The graphics are colorful and highly detailed, and the animation
runs smoothly, even when there are numerous moving obstacles and
enemies onscreen. The camera follows you around at a good
distance and gently makes the transitions between a third-person
view in the three-dimensional areas and a top-down view in the
flat areas. The sound is fairly simple, and while it isn't
annoying, it doesn't add much to the game. The music is upbeat
and somewhat reminiscent of the electronic music used in old
arcade games. But sometimes it's less distracting to just turn
the speakers off, if only to avoid the added frustration of
hearing the same noise and music as you try to complete a level
over and over.
There are three difficulty settings in the game: normal, which
gives you a set number of lives and unlimited time to complete
each level; easy, which gives you more starting lives and more
bonus lives; and hard, which sets a time limit on each level.
The levels themselves are well designed and quite varied.
Whether you're hopping through an ancient temple filled with
Indiana Jones-style booby traps or finding your way through a
maze in a futuristic lab, every level features several classic
two-dimensional arcade-style challenges that are cleverly laid
out in a three-dimensional world. The levels are built around a
simple tile-based movement: You can move one space forward,
backward, and to either side. You can also jump up and forward at
the same time.
These simple controls let you focus on the occasionally
frustrating traps and puzzles. In story mode, the game will
automatically save your progress as you complete each level, and
within individual games your progress is saved after you rescue
each frog baby. This system helps alleviate some of the
frustration that can arise after repeatedly trying to get past a
certain level, since it's often not necessary to replay the
entire level up to that point. In addition, amidst all the chaos
and danger in each level, there are always havens where you can
rest your fingers and plan your strategy to complete the
challenge ahead.
Frogger 2's 30 unique and detailed levels, along with the
additional bonus levels, characters, and features should provide
many hours of entertainment for players looking for traditional
arcade action. The game is enjoyable on several levels: The story
mode lets you progress through the entire set of regular levels
one at a time, but if you're looking for a quick game you can use
the arcade mode to jump to any individual level that you've
completed in the story mode. In addition, a multiplayer mode lets
up to four players compete in a hot-seat match on the same
computer. Advanced players can also try to beat their best times
on specific levels by finding shortcuts and alternate routes and
strategies to complete each level.
Frogger 2 improves upon almost every aspect of its predecessor
and provides an up-to-date version of the classic arcade game.
Its basic premise is its greatest weakness, for by re-creating
the classic arcade game it has limited itself to a few basic
controls and tile-based movement. Nevertheless, the game will
appeal to players looking for fast, simple arcade action, and the
many new twists on old puzzles will please fans of the original
game.--Trey Walker--Copyright © 2000 GameSpot Inc. All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. --
GameSpot Review