Game: Crazy Frog Racer 2
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Neko Entertainment
Release Date: 6th September 2007
I'm fairly certain that most if not all people aged 14 and above will remember "The Annoying Thing" or "Crazy Frog" as he was marketed by Jamster!. Originally just a silly animation and soundclip, the character was licensed and used to sell ringtone service subscriptions with over 70,000 adverts airing on British TV channels in May 2005; so many in fact that there were an unprecedented amount of complaints to the Advertising Standards Agency.
Despite this, various remixes of famous songs featuring the Crazy Frog were released and even made it to the number 1 spot in many charts. It stands to reason then, that eventually a video game would be released to further promotion of the brand. And so, Crazy Frog Racer and its sequel were released.
The core gameplay is essentially that of a Mario Kart clone, with some elements of F-Zero mixed in for good measure. All of the tracks featured in the game are floating in the middle of nowhere, and have no real defining features or interest to them. Items are available to help players gain positions, but unlike Mario Kart they're extremely ineffective; so much so that there's more chance of hindering your own progress than helping it.
The handling is pretty awful whether players choose to use the analog stick or the d-pad; with the analog stick, it's very touchy and even the slightest movement will result in a wild turn, but with the d-pad the handling resembles early ps1 era racing games, where turning only occurs after holding the desired direction down for a short while.
The overall difficulty of the game is hard to define as it varies based on track design, the racer you pick, and whether or not you're able to come to terms with the handling. On simple tracks whose coners don't require telepathy to navigate the game is insultingly easy, allowing players to finish miles ahead of the opposition. However there are many tracks with unexpected turns, badly designed jumps and other flaws. When racing on these, it's almost impossible not to finish last.
In addition to the main racing mode, players can also attempt mini games. There's an unenjoyable Dance Dance Revolution clone as well as a poorly made pinball game which seems to be never ending. Honestly I'm not sure what's worse as both games seem like half baked attempts at adding content to a game that had very little to begin with.
Graphically the game is nothing special, although it's not as bad as it could have been either. The biggest issue is with the music, as every mode features songs remixed to include the Crazy Frog which tend to grate on the ears after the first 10 seconds or so. Having sat through Axel F, Popcorn, Hey Baby, The Final Countdown and I'm Too Sexy being thoroughly trashed, I'd have to say that the best way to play this if you're going to at all is on mute.
Overall Crazy Frog Racer 2 is exactly as bad as you'd expect it to be. The racing is shallow and bland, with a poor variety and quality of tracks, the minigames are pitiful and are essentially clones of existing games but with far less appeal and everything is set to the music that we were all sick and tired of 9 years ago after being bombarded with ringtone ads. All in all, not a bad way to start this look at 12 of the worst games ever.
Rating: 25/100
Grade: F
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