Game: Crossy Road
Platform: Android
Developer: Hipster Whale
Release Date: 20th November 2014
Whilst deciding what mobile games to download for this month of reviews, I thought it'd be a good idea to see what the most downloaded mobile game was. Crossy Road initially sounded like a parody of Flappy Bird, and it's not without its similarities, but instead of guiding a bird through a difficult course of pipes players must guide various characters across roads, rivers and railroads Frogger-style.
The aim of the game is to get as high of a score as possible while collecting coins that are scattered about the map. These coins exist for the sole purpose of purchasing a turn on a Gacha style machine (gumball/toy dispenser) which distributes and unlocks characters for 100 coins a turn. If the character that comes of the machine is already unlocked then the 100 coins are wasted and players must go back to earning coins.
Other ways to earn coins include waiting for a timed gift which is given out every 6 hours (it begins at 1 minute and works its way up once players start redeeming the gifts), and watching various advertisements. As coins are pretty scarce overall, the best bet is usually to wait for the daily gift as it often contains in excess of 100 coins. I barely collected any coins whilst playing, although it'd be possible to get a spin every 10 or so turns with some skill and dedication..
The general gameplay of Crossy Road is good, if a little simple. The screen is tapped to move forwards, and swiped to move from side to side or backwards. Standing still for 10 seconds or more will result in an eagle swooping to end the player's game, as will moving back 3 rows. There's some fun to be had in timing your runs and making it through to reach a high score, but at its core this game is about unlocking all of the characters and sharing/comparing high scores with friends.
Graphically the game looks great with an impressive pixel art style, and a wide range of characters to unlock. Each character has specific death animations and moving traits, which adds excitement to unlocking new ones. The sound effects featured in the game lend it an air of realism without taking away the fun of the simple style.
Overall while there's not a whole lot to do in Crossy Road as such, it can be fun to try and reach higher and higher heights. If the developers had perhaps taken upgrade ideas from other games, there'd be more replayability with various upgrades to prolong turns and help with coin collecting. As it is though, this is a game that should be played in short bursts regularly.
Rating: 59/100
Grade: D
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