Well, I'm waiting for Mystery Science Theater 3000 to come on, so I'm kinda bored right now. I think I'll write stuff.<P>Yeah, all last week, as far as video game time goes, I pretty much played my ten dollar copy of Ridge Racer Type 4 lots. Yup,
as that lady says, or sings rather, "Stand back it's Ridge Racerrrrrrr!" Yeah that's right, you'd better stand back! I'm Ridge
Racer! And I go fast! I go fast because I can't remember where the brake button is! I'm a speed demon and I'm gonna be
chasing after...someone.<P>But anyway, after the Solovou Team things started getting kinda hard in that game. Plus I was getting tired of racing the same
tracks over and over and over and over. I'll never get that Pac-Man car. Oh well. 320 cars? Hah! Where's a GameShark
when you need one?<P>Luckily, Hasbro came to the rescue with a Frogger Xing sign, some orange pylons and Frogger 2 for PSX and GBC. So I've
been playing these FUN games instead of RR4. I thought I'd tell you all about them. Think of this as my extended review, as
my real review won't be near as long...or entertaining I think.<P>Let's start with the PSX version. Now THIS is what a Frogger update should be! Now, I liked the first Hasbro Frogger, but it
really needed help bad. Frogger 2 totally makes up for the first one. The graphics are great and the music isn't too bad either. I
like the song in the start up screen, although seeing that Frogger arcade machine sinking into the swamp kinda seems like
blasphemy. <P>The levels are laid out really well, although some are better than others. I especially liked the anthill level, where you must hop
on moving food being carried by a sea of ants below. There's also endless droves of marching ants that you can see in little
nooks and cravaces, so you know they really took attention to detail. Other levels aren't quite as cool, like the annoying Space
Chase level which I haven't gotten past yet (but then, I only tried it once). <P>Play control is a little 'jumpy' (ohh, I'll have to remember that one for the newspaper review), but you'll get used to it soon
enough. Double jumps are kind of hard to do sometimes, but overall it's OK. The added challenge of finding coins to unlock
secrets makes this game really neat. <P>There are retro levels, but they're really hard to describe. Maybe someone who already has played Frogger 2 can help out
here. You know how Hasbro's first Frogger had those 3-D retro levels? Well, this one has a 3-D frog, but the rest of the
moving sprites are flat and look like the sprites from the original Frogger game. It's kind of a weird mixture, but it's still fun. But
I still want the original Frogger game. Emulate the damn thing, people! Oh well. It might be a super secret thing to unlock
maybe? I haven't played the mutlitplayer modes yet cuz I haven't found anyone yet who'd be willing to try them with me. <P>Now for the GBC Frogger 2. This is more like the original Frogger arcade game, with original sound effects and remixed
Frogger tunes. The levels are longer and there's more obtacles like oil spills and whatnot. There are hints and checkpoints in the
levels, too. Gems are scattered around for you to collect, but I'm not sure if they unlock anything like the coins do in the PSX
version.<P>Both versions of Frogger 2 are really fun. Not as good as Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness or anything, but still really good
games. It's too bad that Hasbro has some financial difficulties right now, because while they don't cater to 'hardcore' gamers
like us, they make games that anyone can pick up and play, and I think we need more games like that.<P>Did anyone see that one episode of Seinfeld where that one guy bought a Frogger arcade machine? I know it was fake, but did
anyone else cringe when that mac truck ran over and crushed the Frogger machine? If it was a Namco Classics Collection vol.
2 that got crushed, I think I would've weeped uncontrollably!<P>Now then, what's on MST3K? Episode 822: Overdrawn at the Memory Bank? Ugh, I don't think I can fathom that one a
second time. Oh well, back to bed!<P>--Klonoa
(hopefully I'll get Pac-Man Adventures in Time next)