Probably the best Sisyphus-style game for the Atari 2600
Written: Sep 16 '08 (Updated Jan 29 '10)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: always fun to play; consistently challenging; great controls; impressive visuals
Cons: Not enough sounds; no wraparound
The Bottom Line: If "easy to learn, difficult to master" was the mantra for the Atari 2600, then Frogger II is the inspiration for this maxim.
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| Chad9976's Full Review: Frogger II: Threeedeep! for Atari 2600 |
When I encounter a game of high quality for the Atari 2600 I wonder why they’re in the minority since most tend to be fairly simplistic in gameplay. I pondered this throughout playing Frogger II: Threeedeep! This is a game that is relatively simplistic in its object but had a true sense of challenge to it; not to mention a high replay factor, an overall sense of fun and great graphics and sounds. That’s what I call a 5-star game.
PRESS FIRE TO START
The original Frogger was an arcade smash and remains popular today, and for good reason. In it you guided a frog across a highway and a river to one of five berths at the top of the screen. In this sequel, the basic gameplay remains in the same in that you must carefully navigate your way to the top of the screen while dodging incoming obstacles from all sides.
This time around, Frogger must reach home base several times over the course of three screens instead of just the same one repeatedly indefinitely. The first has three berths, the second and third each have one berth, initially, until all give goals are achieved and the next stage begins with additional berths and a higher degree of difficulty.
Since this is an arcade-style, action-oriented game in the Sisyphus tradition, there are of course plenty of points and 1-ups to be earned. However, the game is so much fun to play, these things seem more like afterthoughts.
PLAYER 1 – READY!
The best way to describe the gameplay to Frogger II would be to state the fact it plays pretty much the same as the original only with additional stages and goals to accomplish, which makes it much less repetitive and more varied. This is a game whose challenge relies on dexterity and quick-thinking but still incorporates a bit of strategy. You can’t simply fly through the obstacle course - you have to map out your path, especially since this game doesn’t always give you the option of wraparound (where you exit the screen and come back on the opposite side).
In the original Frogger I felt the lack of wraparound made the gameplay too difficult, but the game designers seem to have realized that too and compensated for it. Instead of aiming for stationary berths, this time they are constantly moving across the top of the screen which means you must adjust and plan accordingly.
Probably what makes Frogger II such a gem is its multiple stages. The basic gameplay and goal never changes, but there are different strategies to take towards finishing a stage. When you reach a berth, you can either land in the exact goal or simply land on the adjacent area which will take you to the next screen. What’s interesting is that on the second screen simply reaching the berth doesn’t take you to the third screen. That can only be accomplished by landing on the right character within the field of play.
Special mention should be made to the third screen which takes place in the clouds and in order to reach the top of the screen, Frogger must continually jump whereby each jump will increase in height until he reaches a flying object to hop on to. This screen contains the only stationary berth and is quite tricky to reach considering how fast the rows of characters move across the screen.
JOYSTICKING
Great games often have great play control and Frogger II is no exception. Since this is such a fast-paced, action-oriented game it demands very fluid, quickly-responsive controls. The game is actually made up of an invisible grid whereby each tap of the joystick will move Frogger one place. Simply craning the controller will not provide for continuous movement.
In a way, this could be considered a flaw since you must move very fast at times and it came feel tedious. However, this is a game of precision, so the one-movement-at-a-time method is definitely for the better. I think the controls would have felt too slippery had they been continuous.
SPRITES & PIXELS
The original port by Parker Bros of Frogger to the Atari 2600 always impressed me with its visuals. Not that the graphics were exquisitely detailed, but the fact the screen was made up of so many different colors, and vivid ones at that. The same is true of this sequel which utilizes just about every color in the rainbow and nearly all are on the screen at the same time, and yet it never looks tacky or gimmicky.
The graphics are a tad bit blocky, but overall, this game has an aesthetically-pleasing visual component. There is a bit of flicker along the row Frogger is at any given time, but considering there are so many objects on the screen, and that the game never suffers from memory shortage, is remarkable.
CHIPPED TUNES
What’s ironic about Frogger II is that despite the fact the game is a pinnacle in the VCS library; it doesn’t have a very notable soundtrack. Not that the aural component here is bad, just that there are not many sounds to comment on.
A catchy tune plays when you start the game; complete a stage, and when the game ends. The only other sounds are of Frogger’s movements and when he reaches a goal or dies. All of these sounds are fairly original since so many games of this era tended to recycle the same sounds. What’s heard here is listenable and certainly not grating.
INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE
Playing Frogger II is like playing Pac-Man or other such arcade games for the first time: you can’t believe how addictive it can be to play such a relatively simple, monotonous game.
Probably what makes this game superior to its sequel is the additional screens and the different goals to accomplish. Even though the object never changes, there are so many ways to go about reaching the finish. The difficulty increases at a perfect pace so that the game never seems to turn on a dime into an impossible feat. This is how all Sisyphus games should play.
GAME OVER
There are so many aspects to Frogger II: Threeedeep! that imply a perfect game for the Atari 2600. It’s easy to learn and difficult to master, but on top of that it’s consistently challenging and fun to play. Those guys at Parker Bros. made it look so easy. How come other video game publishers couldn’t have taken a clue from them?
Recommended:
Yes
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Chad9976
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Member: Chad Polenz
Location: Albany, New York
Reviews written: 686
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About Me:
Hi, I'm Chad and I like beer.
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