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FROGGER: HYPER ARCADE EDITION (X360)
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Publisher: Konami.
Developer: Zombie Studios. Released: July 2012. Genre: Arcade. Other versions: WII; PS3. Posted 30th November 2024. By Tom Clare © 2024 |
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Given the popularity of Namco’s Pac-Man Championship Edition and the general clamour for coin-op classics in the wake of the Xbox Live Arcade boom, it’s surprsing it took Konami until 2012 to give Frogger the HD magic makeover. The result is okay: it’s solidly programmed and captures the vibe of the original game. Unfortunately, it’s missing a spark, a new feature to differentiate from the Frogger games we’ve already played.
You know the score: starting at the bottom of the screen, hop a frog across a busy road dodging traffic, then across a river bouncing across lilypads and logs, until said frog is reunited with what is presumably their home. Repeat this with what is likely the frog’s family ‘n’ friends, and it’s on to the next level. This too will sound familiar: more traffic, snakes in the grass. Otters in the river! Crocodiles masquerading as logs! Fewer actual logs! You’ve all this to contend with, as well as a 45-second time limit per frog.
The 8-bit theme has more in common with Minecraft than it does the eighties
Classic mode delivers good, straightforward fun. Dodging cars is fun, and the need for accurate timing makes the simple action reasonably absorbing. That said, the gameplay would have benefited from some new ideas to help maintain a consistent tempo. The staccato nature of darting between traffic and then waiting several seconds for a viable combination of lilypads and logs to drift by, feels awkward and a bit unsatisfying.
Visually, it plays things with a similarly straight bat. The 8-bit theme feels more like an HD misremembering, with sharp, angular blocks and brash colour contrasts meaning that, whilst it looks clean, it’s not especially kind on the eyes. Elsewhere, there’s a rather bland next-gen layout and a Hyper theme which has Tron vibes. Perhaps the best themes are those that branch off into Konami’s history, with Dance Dance Revolution, Contra and Castlevania all making for novel stages. As was the want of the time, this reimagining must come accompanied by a crunching electronic dance soundtrack. It won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but there’s a diverse mix and some decent earworms.
Visually, it plays things with a similarly straight bat. The 8-bit theme feels more like an HD misremembering, with sharp, angular blocks and brash colour contrasts meaning that, whilst it looks clean, it’s not especially kind on the eyes. Elsewhere, there’s a rather bland next-gen layout and a Hyper theme which has Tron vibes. Perhaps the best themes are those that branch off into Konami’s history, with Dance Dance Revolution, Contra and Castlevania all making for novel stages. As was the want of the time, this reimagining must come accompanied by a crunching electronic dance soundtrack. It won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but there’s a diverse mix and some decent earworms.
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The game’s best new mode is Paint. This sees the player winding through set patterns of tiles, colouring them as you go. It’s made more interesting by narrow time limits and the need to thread back and forth through traffic. Without the river, this mode allows for a more consistent pace, and plenty of perilous gameplay. For true amphibian masochists, there’s Twin Frogger, which sees the player controlling two frogs simultaneously. You’ll need to point your attention in two different places at once, and it’s a bit of a head-scrambler.
With a Challenge mode setting the player a modest smattering of tests across different game setups, there’s perhaps a couple of hours’ worth of play for most. It’s fun, without ever threatening the realms of real addiction. By introducing some party-themed modes for up to four players, Frogger: HAE does create some scope for social fun: Paint is a madcap highlight as you fight to reclaim tiles, whilst the deathmatch Battle Royale is rather dull by comparison.
With a Challenge mode setting the player a modest smattering of tests across different game setups, there’s perhaps a couple of hours’ worth of play for most. It’s fun, without ever threatening the realms of real addiction. By introducing some party-themed modes for up to four players, Frogger: HAE does create some scope for social fun: Paint is a madcap highlight as you fight to reclaim tiles, whilst the deathmatch Battle Royale is rather dull by comparison.
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That’s about as much as there is to say about Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition. As HD-era reinventions of eighties arcade classics go, it falls right down the middle. Zombie Studios’ effort is no disgrace to its lineage, but it fails to produce any memorable new gameplay tricks. Frogger fans should at least enjoy Classic mode, but although the rest of the game works fine, there’s not a lot to get you jumping.
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VERDICT
"Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition is middling. Zombie Studios’ effort is no disgrace to its lineage, but it fails to produce any memorable new gameplay tricks. Ultimately, there's not a lot to get you jumping." OVERALL: 5/10 |
OTHER ARCADE-CENTRIC XBOX 360 GAMES REVIEWED
Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007, Xbox 360)
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Charlie Murder (2013, Xbox 360)
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