The first thing we realized about the game is that it feels like it has been rushed out before the frog gets even more annoying (obviously the game didn’t come out soon enough - Ed). The menus are all very basic, and there is a severe lack of options. From the main menu it is only possible to choose to play either one or two player modes, view records, change the options or listen to the jukebox.
Two player mode for those who can find someone to play against (Good Luck).
Those who prefer to play on their own (or who lost some friends after suggesting a multiplayer battle of Crazy Frog Racer) have the choice of playing through four different modes. These options include a championship mode, single race, time trial and chase. Single race and time trial are relatively self explanatory and chase just lets you race for points. In all three of these modes it is possible to select any track to race on, but the championship mode is where you're likely to spend most of your time.
In the championship mode, all you have to do is select any of the characters and then choose the difficulty level (which includes easy, normal and hard). There are four “cups” in the game to complete including the baby cup, funny cup, crazy cup and special cup. Each cup contains four tracks and the objective is just to rank first at the end of the four races. Aside from these four cups, there really isn’t much else in the way of content. It would have been good to have seen something extra like a mission mode or track editor, but unfortunately the game is basically devoid of any other extra features.
The two player mode allows you to play in either a championship, single race or a battle. It is possible to select from eight characters including a wannabe child rapper, an innocent little girl and a child grim reaper. It is also possible to play as “The Annoying Thing”, which is how the game describes the Crazy Frog; We couldn’t have put it better ourselves. Playing in two player is definitely a better experience, but it's still not that much better.
This looks like fun...
The game controls exactly as you'd expect. Each of the characters do have a unique feel to them but sometimes the tracks are a bit restrictive. Whilst there are a lot of tracks, they aren’t very different from each other, and at times it does feel like you’re just playing on the same track over and over. You also need to stick closely to the track and when going over jumps it is far too easy to lose control of which part of the track you’re supposed to be on. If you land on the wrong part of the course then you are reset on the correct track, which puts you back a few seconds.
Just like in most racing games, it is also possible to drop hazards around the track - these hazards range from bombs to missiles. There are also coins scattered around the track and collecting these is essential to being able to use the weapons. It is a bit annoying having to collect coins just to use the weapons though. It also would have also been handy to have been able to look behind you whilst you are in a race. For some reason the developers have omitted the ability for you to take a quick glance behind just to see how close your enemies are. There is a map but it is useless due to a lack of detail.
Graphically, the game looks very dated and we feel that the game would have looked old before the Dreamcast debuted. At times you can actually see parts of the game being drawn in, which is surprising given that the game isn't exactly that detailed. There are a couple of trees and billboards in the background of the tracks, but they just look like filler material. Sometimes you will pass by buildings, but these look blocky and each of the characters in the game look very basic as well.
There are other characters believe it or not.
The jukebox option on the menu allows you to listen to any of the twelve songs in the game. None of the songs are instantly recognizable though and surprisingly you cannot actually listen to the Crazy Frog song on the jukebox. Whilst you listen to the music the frog dances in front of a boring green background. All of the songs are fast paced though, so anyone who liked the Axel F song is likely to enjoy the music. However, the main menu music and pause menu music appears to be on a ten second loop and the music becomes annoying extremely quickly.
The game isn’t likely to last very long either. The championship mode can be completed in it’s entirety within an hour and there are only a few unlockables although these are only likely to keep you going for another ten minutes. The two player mode could keep you going for a little longer, but there are much better two player games.
Crazy Frog Racer really is up against the odds. The game doesn’t add anything new to the genre but borrows ideas from other racing games. There are quirky characters, weapons and a championship mode, but all of this can be found in just about any other racing game. What other games don’t have though is poor visuals, boring gameplay, repetitive music and limited game modes. The game isn’t unplayable, but it is far from being a good or enjoyable gameplay experience. Even at a budget price point the game is virtually impossible to recommend, simply because it is so far below average.
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