Frogger, the universally recognized videogame icon. No matter if you are the most hardcore gamer to ever pick up a controller, or as casual as a Sunday stroll, you know that frogs hopping across busy highways is synonymous with videogames. The latest entry into this time-tested series is Frogger’s Adventures: The Rescue. Traditional Frogger gameplay components are thrown in with new elements, such as boss fights, supporting characters, and even a storyline. Fans are going to love the game off the bat, but it may have a hard time bringing non-believers into the wonderful world of Frogger.

After players have gone through the first few levels of Frogger’s Adventures: The Rescue, they have experienced most of what the game has to offer. While the level backgrounds change, from swampy areas to cities, and even volcanic islands, the general outlines don’t. All the levels just feel that they have undergone and aesthetic change, not truly a physical one. Players will quickly become bored with the repetitiveness of the game, and many will stop playing after that. Even the boss fights, something new added to the series, falls victim. Almost every boss fight requires the player to push a certain item into a certain square to cause damage to Frogger’s opponent. The bosses themselves look varied, from a giant catfish to a helicopter.

The gameplay, however, does stay true to the Frogger franchise. Hopping past and avoided obstacles and enemies. This wouldn’t be so frustrating, if not for the jittery and overall unforgiving controls. With one push of the d-pad, players can make Frogger hop one space. By pushing A he will hop two spaces, and the triggers will change Frogger’s direction. The controls are unresponsive, and make some levels much more of a pain than they should be. About the thousandth time you have watched your frog drop into a pool of lava because of poor controls, the game is going to become about as much fun as a kick in the groin.

The sound, while acceptable, is hardly overwhelming. What few sound effects the developers tossed into the game sound good enough, Frogger’s hopping sounds just like Frogger’s hopping should sound. The level music speeds up when it needs to, and the boss battle music keeps pace with the action on screen. The character models look smooth, and the FMV’s look very well done. The in-game graphics are nice enough, and the game never really suffers from any slowdown or framerate issues.

The storyline, while obviously just thrown in to give a reason for the all the hopping, follows your simple damsel in distress plotline. Frogger’s girlfriend, Lily, has been kidnapped by a group of evil lizards. The Frog International Support Rescue Team (F.I.R.S.T) has come to aid Frogger along in his quest, by offering him advice. The FMV’s, while nice looking, don’t do a very good job of explaining the story. Of coarse, the Frogger series never really relied on a gripping story to sale copies, it has relied on a consistent gameplay formula of Frogs dodging dangerous situations.

A challenge mode was also put into the game, allowing players to go back through a level and try and beat their old time. While this mode does add a small amount of replayability, only the hardcore fans of the game are going to give it a whirl. The multiplayer modes are mildly entertaining, with a small collection of minigames and a level where players can race their friends down a trap laden hill. The minigames range from confusing, to slightly fun. From guessing when an invisible timer will reach zero, to overturning squares by hopping on them to create a portrait of Frogger, these games will barely hold you and your friends attention for very long.

Fans of the Frogger series will enjoy most of this game. For rest of us, however, the repetitiveness and poor controls are going to keep us away. The Frogger series has gotten a little stale, and could use a “hop” in the right direction. Taking care of the controls, and level boredom could do wonders for the series, and make Frogger the hottest game on the block again.