Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge

"Frogger, Back And Better Than Ever"

Introduction

In Frogger 2, you will hop, dodge, eat, rescue, and croak in another adventure starring the frog that started it all, Frogger.

Gameplay

You start off at the main menu area where you can choose between options and extras which is the cheats you've unlocked, story mode which is the normal game, or Frogger's Arcade.

Frogger's Arcade is where you can replay the levels you have already beaten in story mode to try to get the best time or to just collect all the coins in the level without using story mode. You can also play old school original Frogger levels if you succeed in unlocking them. In these levels, you are presented with an old Frogger layout and have to do the same mission you do in Frogger 2, which is rescue the babies. The babies and the character you control which you are allowed to pick for the arcade are in 3-D, while the rest of the level remains in 2-D. These levels are very fun and you will try over and over again to try to get the best time on the level.

Finally, there's story mode, which is the normal game. In story mode you are greeted by an opening movie to give you the background information of what's going on and then start your adventure in the tutorial. You discover that your mission is to rescue the five baby frogs and this will remain your sole mission in every level of the game. This may sound like it become boring and repetitive, but it never ceases to be fun. Your mission is to jump around the level dodging enemies, not drowning, not falling off cliffs, and just basically not getting yourself destroyed in whatever means that particular level has in preventing you from winning. I mean you will encounter a ton of obstacles in your path on your way to rescuing the frogs: running from a giant boulder a la Indiana Jones, dodging lawn mowers, avoiding ghosts, making sure you're not crushed, electrocuted, or impaled. To complete the level you will jump, send out homing signals to your children, and eat insects with your tongue. All of this may sound near impossible except for the fact that there are power ups scattered around all the levels. The power ups you find are actually various colored insects just hovering in a stationary spot. A purple one, for example, indicates an extra life. There are other power ups, like quick-hop that makes you jump faster and auto-hop that lets you hold down the d-pad and jump without having to press it. These will benefit you greatly and help you reach your goal of defeating Swampy. There is also a set of 25 gold coins with a blue outline scattered around the stage. You will want to make sure you don't miss any of these because gathering them all will cause you to unlock a secret that the game has to offer. These secrets are definitely worth your while and you won't want to miss them. Also, you usually alternate missions between Frogger and his wife, Lillie Frog. They both do the exact same thing, but I guess the developers wanted to add variety to the playable characters.

I do have two complaints about the gameplay in Frogger 2, though. First, it is sometimes hard to judge exactly where on the path the enemy is located causing you to think you are ahead or behind the enemy only to find out you've just been killed because you were standing on the spot. A good example of this is when you're on a three block wide path and an enemy bird flies across it at various locations. I was killed quite a few times simply because I couldn't tell where the bird was. Another complaint I have is that you cannot make your frog turn and face a certain direction. Instead, you have to push the d-pad and that direction to hop a space and face that way. Let's say you are on the edge of a cliff and there's another cliff a double jump away but you are facing away from it. You have to simultaneously double jump to that other cliff while pushing left which is a lot harder than it sounds. Frogger constantly either double jumps the direction you're facing or hops off the edge.

Other than these two thing the gameplay of the game is perfect and is the best part of this game. You will want to play this game non-stop simply because it is so addictive and fun.

Gameplay = Addictive & Enjoyable

Story

The story of Frogger 2 is a very good one. You start off the game by seeing Swampy, the crocodile and Frogger's nemesis, ripping an advertising poster of Frogger 2 off a wall. I have never seen this technique done before, addmitting that the game you are playing is, well, a game. I thought this was an interesting way to begin the game and couldn't wait for the plot to unfold futher. In the beginning movie of ''story'' mode Swampy sneaks into the pond that Frogger, Lillie, and their kids are currently occupying and kidnaps Frogger's children. He then runs away while in hot pursuit from Frogger and Lillie. You receive further advancements in the plot after about every other level. Each advancement introduces you to more levels as well as more intriguing details about what Swampy could be up to. The story is very interesting and I found the ending to be particularly amusing to find out what Swampy was trying to accomplish by kidnapping the children. I think everyone will enjoy this story as it is interesting and has a good and funny conclusion.

Story = Interesting & Funny

Control

The controls in this game are very easy to get used to and put to use. You use the ''A'' button to jump and press it twice for a double jump, the ''X'' button and ''L Trigger'' for sending out a signal to your babies, the ''B'' button and ''R Trigger'' for eating with your tongue, and the ''D-Pad'' to hop around. You press the direction on the ''D-Pad'' for one hop and press it again for another hop. You can't hold it down unless you pick up a power-up. These controls are pretty simple as there are no combinations of buttons for complex movements and you should be able to do it all in no time at all. They are also very responsive and you should never get killed because the game took to long to react to your command. Even if you are having trouble with them, the game starts out with a tutorial to help you get them down.

Control = Responsive & Easy

Sound & Music

The sound and music in this game is simply wonderful. Everything has its own particular sound and it fits every object perfectly. When you play as Frogger and Lillie, they each have two croaks. Frogger's sounds deeper than Lillie's and Lillie's sounds more feminine than Frogger's. There are sounds that the water makes as you jump from lily pad to lily pad that actually sounds like water splashing. It's amazing how realistic some of these sounds are. The music is also great since there is a different tune for every level. The music never becomes annoying and you never want to go so far as turn it off.

Sound & Music = Matches Everything Perfectly

Graphics

The graphics in this game are definitely good. Everything looks smooth except for the frog that you are playing as looks a little blocky. There are all kinds of vivid and luscious colors all over the every level. There are also many varieties of the levels. You may be jumping from meteor to meteor in outer space or jumping from cart to cart in the gold mine. Everything you encounter is beautifully done including the characters, level design, and enemies. These graphics definitely do Frogger justice and only improve on this already terrific game.

Graphics = Luscious Colors & Lovely, Smooth Characters

Difficulty

The difficulty is changeable using the options menu, but all it affects are the number of lives you have. The difficulty is generally reasonably hard and you will do man levels over and over again do to certain spots being so hard. This game IS a challenge and you will not be able to beat it in just a couple lives, trust me.

Difficulty = Reasonably Hard

Life Span

This game is a pretty decent length and will take about six or seven hours to beat and longer if you want the high scores on all the levels. This game is very good, though, and you will want to go back and play them again: just for fun, to gather the coins, or to put some cheats you earned to use. There is also a multiplayer option on this game, so you can get together with your friends and play until your eyes bug out. There are three games you can choose from in multiplayer which are: Capture the Frog where you try to see who can collect the most frogs, Race where you , well, race, and Snake which is when you are in an arena and every time you hop off of a square it raises behind you and you go for as long as you can. As you can tell from all the things there can be done and the multiplayer, you will play this game for a long time.

Life Span = Fairly Long

Gameplay = Addictive & Enjoyable
Story = Interesting & Funny
Control = Responsive & Easy
Sound & Music = Matches Everything Perfectly
Graphics = Luscious Colors & Lovely, Smooth Characters
Difficulty = Reasonably Hard
Life Span = Fairly Long

Conclusion

Frogger 2 is a delightful game that will have you glued to your TV for hours wanting more and more of one of the most addictive games to come out in quite a while. I recommend that you pick this game up and enjoy it, too.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/02, Updated 02/27/03