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Frogger returns to the PlayStation 2. The classic frog best known for his classic adventures is making his third appearance on the PlayStation 2. The franchise has been a stable of gaming for many years now, and Ancient Shadow doesn’t go far from the formula established by previous games in the franchise. Despite the 3D graphics, you’ll be playing the same game that Konami has pumped out numerous times now.
The game’s gameplay is pretty elementary. Nonetheless, the developers included a long opening sequence and tutorial to make sure everything is in order. The gameplay is pretty simple: move Frogger from one square to another while making sure that you pull items towards you. The game isn’t really rewarding, after playing it for a while it was very monotonous. Perhaps the game could have been more solid if it was more challenging but the game is aimed at kids. This is somewhat puzzling since the low-paced action of the game is surely to bore the older kids. The younger kids will have other concerns that I will cover below.
The chief concern is that the control system is pretty frustrating. It mirrors the first few games of the 3D era; hit up, down, left or right to move on box in that direction. You can jump one or two boxes at a time. You can turn in the same square by pressing one of the shoulder buttons. Nonetheless, you’ll often jump off a platform because you meant to turn around and instead jumped into a nonexistent platform.
The game’s visuals don’t impress. The low-budget technical aspect is clearly evident in the stale environments and disjointed animation that mark the game. That said, the game’s visuals, because they are so simplistic, properly give homage to its roots and give the game a cute quality. Nonetheless, some better art could have made the bare-bones graphical approach easier to stomach.
The game’s music doesn’t do much better. The game’s background music is repetitive though strangely energetic. The sound effects are also cyclic, with the bare minimum being outputted at any given time. Some sound effects like Frogger’s whine are more annoying than anything else. The other voice-overs aren’t much better.
Overall, Frogger: Ancient Shadow is not recommended. The game doesn’t have a defined audience: older kids will find the game too slow-paced and easy, while younger kids will get frustrated with the touchy controls. Only diehard fans of Frogger would want to venture into playing this game. -- Michael Taylor, PGNx Media
---- Oct 6, 2005
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