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[PC] [PS] [DC] Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge

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[PC] [PS] [DC] Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge

Unread postby System Blower » 18 May 2014 00:05

For the longest time this was the only "shovelware" game I could recall having played in my youth. But after tracking it down out of nostalgia, setting up the windows '95 DOS, and clearing the first world, I discovered that it was actually a perfectly good game, and my memory kicked in from there. Ostensibly a 3D platformer, the best way to imagine how this thing plays is to take classic Frogger (the Seinfeld episode shows you everything you need to know), then apply the (winning?) formula to 3D, maze-like stages. There isn't as much verticality as in something like the 3D Marios, but for the first time in the series you'll be ascending and descending the maps, complete with forced camera angles. There are also brand-new "setpiece" sequences that radically change the mechanics for a brief period as well, such as an Indiana Jones-style boulder escape, and a high-speed space race that has you dodging obstacles at a frantic pace.

It isn't so much about coordination in Frogger 2, as it is in a traditional platformer — I don't think it is even possible to mistime, or overshoot a jump (since you always travel the same distance forward lol) — but about situational awareness and pattern recognition. You'll get sealed in rooms with ravenous enemies (a word about "enemies" in the game: they all behave like cars, basically running through the same pattern and inadvertently slaughtering poor Frogger when he is run over by them. I believe there is at least one sequence where something intelligently pursues you though) and basically have to navigate the correct pattern through them. This is mixed up with the actual "platforming" part of the game, where floating logs, or disappearing/retracting platforms will drop you to your doom if you fail to correctly clear them.

So yeah. I'm sure at this point people are wondering: "Wtf? Why would I want to play this game? And why are you speaking highly of it? It's a mishmash of outdated arcade design and the sensibilities of an autistic child. Playing as a fagoty little stunted frog? Gimme a break". Well, all I can say to that is: the game works. Each of the 17 stages are totally distinct, going from the garden stage that I revisited, to a series of ancient egyptian ruins, the center of the earth, a disco research facility, outer space, a creepy undead graveyard, and the steampunk-ish finale that has you going straight up a stage instead of across it. Add responsive controls and an interesting array of powerups, and you've basically got the most mechanically advanced Frogger game ever.

As for the aesthetics — if you can get over the essentially western-children's-cartoon art, basically all the environments/enemies are well-designed and more than adequately modeled for a PS1/Dreamcast game. The enemies are genuinely repulsive and frightening at times (the aforementioned pursuing enemy some sort of unholy combination of Wolfenstein's loper and Biohazard 4's regenerador), with my personal favorite being the stuff in the two "haunted" stages. Machinery in the background belches smoke and steam, lava flows convincingly, and the ants in the ant nest stage go to work diligently. The music is also pretty rad, and scored to fit each stage, from sitar and flute ensembles on the ruins stages, disco in the labs, and slasher music in haunted stages.

You will begin to wonder what sorts of drugs the developers were on when you see the hilariously bizarre cutscenes: it literally begins with a sex scene between Frogger and his equally amphibian girlfriend, with the rest following the deranged exploits of Swampy, their archnemesis. In a particularly frightening scene, he guns down a number of Frogger's tadpoles on some sort of TV show or movie he is filming. Yikes!

The difficulty peaks early at a lukewarm level, but other than that, it's a pretty solid game. The best way to enjoy it is to just turn your brain off, grab a beer, and enter a sort of Frogger trance, frantically dodging, jumping, and of course, dying in the games many hilariously gory fatalities. Someone gift it to Costanza!

****
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Unread postby icycalm » 18 May 2014 06:22

I am thinking of trying some sort of peer-review system, when it comes to reviews from new contributors. Basically, two established reviewers must volunteer to TRY the game out (i.e. simply to have a few goes, not to finish it or anything), and then post some brief impressions on it in here. As long as there is no wild divergence between their views and those of the reviewer (and of course as long as the submitted review sounds reasonable and is well-written, which this one is), the publication can go ahead.

So how about it? I need two volunteers who've already had at least two reviews published on the frontpage. There is no time limit for this and we are not in any rush. Help us out if you can.
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Unread postby icycalm » 20 May 2014 06:09

I'll say this much just going by the review and the game's description that you gave: "Frogger in 3D" sounds retarded to me. I mean I am glad you could get enough enjoyment out of it to recommend it to people, but it would take the recommendation of someone whose opinion I respected very very much for me to bother giving this a try. Maybe I should look up some screenshots, but I bet those would look retarded too.

Consider that I find even the idea of "Mario in 3D" retarded, and you might be able to see a little bit where I am coming from.

And even beyond that, there's nothing in your praise that makes me excited... The most I got out of your criticisms was that the designers somehow managed to take a retarded idea and make something out of it that's not completely unplayable. If something more than that was achieved, you fail to convey this properly. And if only that was achieved, then the game barely even deserves 3 stars, never mind 4. I just don't know.
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Unread postby icycalm » 20 May 2014 06:17

System Blower wrote:As for the aesthetics — if you can get over the essentially western-children's-cartoon art, basically all the environments/enemies are well-designed and more than adequately modeled for a PS1/Dreamcast game.


You realize the DC has games like JSR, Shenmue, etc.? Granted I haven't looked at pics of this game yet, but it sounds to me like your standards are very low.
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Unread postby System Blower » 20 May 2014 07:16

Yeah, I'm seriously sorry about this. I replayed the entire game after posting the review and it was pretty disappointing. I shouldn't have presumed to review entirely from memory, and I feel like an ass giving it that rating. The huge rush of nostalgia is what did it I guess.

Your comments have been really helpful, and it's awesome how much patience you've had with me. I'll see if I can't fix this review up, though the very thought of the game is bumming me out right now :(
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Unread postby zinger » 20 May 2014 09:15

Never played the game before but I can give it a spin as soon as I am through this semester (three or so weeks from now) and give you my perspective – in case you want to rewrite it since you changed your opinion.
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Unread postby System Blower » 20 May 2014 09:24

I seriously don't want to burden anyone with this. That, and I'd probably die of embarrassment if anyone DID go ahead and play it. Basically it was even easier than I'd remembered and 1-1/2 hours long. So I screwed up in the first two sentences of the review (it was indeed shovelware, and certainly not good), and bungled the rating. As icycalm suggested, I was describing a game that was retarded yet sorta playable, but was too dumb to realize it.
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Unread postby icycalm » 20 May 2014 11:06

Shovelware is automatic 1 star. You are saying that you confused a 1-star game for 4 stars?

Don't post in this subforum again. And start posting in the News forum as per this if you don't want to lose your account.

No need for zinger or anyone else to bother validating this review, it's obviously not seriously meant so I am locking the thread.
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