500 points down the drain

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I was sitting on the couch browsing the Wii Shop with my four year old daughter. I hit the "most downloaded" list to see what was hot. Hey, what's this Frogger Returns thing? Sounds interesting. It's like the fourth most downloaded, so it can't be that bad.

Can it?

HELL YES IT IS!

Holy fuck. This game is worse than one of those flash banner ads which pretend to be a game. You know, "punch the monkey" and the like? As soon as I saw the startup "Konami" logo, followed by "Random Dev Shop #465" logo, I knew I was in trouble.

The sound effects are stilted and awful. The level layouts are just fucking ridiculous. Frog trying to get on a SUBWAY? What the fuck? There are "powerups" which do shit like FREEZE THE ENTIRE LEVEL.

Who came up with this crap? It's like they told an intern "Hey, whip up something this afternoon so we can slap it on the Wii Shop".

I immediately wanted my money back.

I was actually going in the Wii Shop to download the other Konami games like Contra and Castlevania, but after this, fuck them.
 
[quote name='Mospeada_21']sorry, I am not familiar with the Wii points system, but how much does 500 points translate into; dollar wise?[/QUOTE]

$5. 2000 point cards are $20.
 
[quote name='Green Rupee']500 points = $5.[/QUOTE]

cool, thanks. I was tempted to purchase Zombie Apocalypse on LIVE, but after checking reviews and seeing how it's damn repetitive and lame, I decided against it and saved my $10 for Dead Rising 2.
 
[quote name='Zing']I was actually going in the Wii Shop to download the other Konami games like Contra and Castlevania, but after this, fuck them.[/QUOTE]

I'm considering Castlevania SOTN, heard and read great things about it, luckily it's available on disc format at retail, so I may pick it up that way. (20G HDD is running out of space for DLC anyway)
 
[quote name='Mospeada_21']cool, thanks. I was tempted to purchase Zombie Apocalypse on LIVE, but after checking reviews and seeing how it's damn repetitive and lame, I decided against it and saved my $10 for Dead Rising 2.[/QUOTE]


Get 'I maed a gam3 with Zombies' or whatever it's called. It's an XBL indy game, costs 1 measly dollar, and it's worth it just for the theme song.
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']I like that a Frogger ad appears in the OP if you're not signed in.[/QUOTE]

LOL. I got that one for my top of the screen banner. CAG 2.0, it's watching you.
 
If you think that game was bad, don't ever try any of those 'Family...' games.

I thought how can somebody screw up a simple Air Hockey table game that would be perfect with Wii controls. You know what? 'Family Glide Hockey' is the worse piece of excrement possibly conceived by a human mind. I let them know during my 10 coins Nintendo pt. review, as I stopped short of cursing them out (and asking for my money back).
 
Now if Nintendo offered demos the way XBLA does, you would have discovered that this game is crap. But maybe this is why they don't offer demos? :bomb:
 
[quote name='vherub']don't ignore castlevania and contra on wiiware just because of frogger, those two games are well made throwbacks.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I'm torn between sympathy and laughter (because it isn't me) that Frogger Returns was your blind pick... but don't ignore Castlevania/Contra simply out of spite. Both are decent games if you like the old-school titles they are based on.
 
[quote name='mogamer']Now if Nintendo offered demos the way XBLA does, you would have discovered that this game is crap. But maybe this is why they don't offer demos? :bomb:[/QUOTE]

Not offering demos does probably result in some sales that wouldn't have happened, but when the game is so unsatisfying, that makes you not buy other games, and those may have been worthwhile, and ones that you'd have liked had you been able to try a demo. In the end, letting us try games and thus avoid ones we aren't going to like while finding ones we will, earns them more money and makes the customer happier. I've bought very little WiiWare/VC due to the lack of demos.

EDIT: case in point, Blast Master Overdrive. Everybody says it's great, but I never played the original and I'm not sure I'm going to like it. I really wish I could download a demo to see if it's something I'd like. Unlike a disc-based game, I can't trade-in or resell a download game, so I need to be pretty damn confident that I'm going to like it before I'm willing to spend money on it. As it is I contemplated spending some of my 7500+ points on Blaster Master last night anyway, but I just couldn't do it. I've been sitting on 7500 points for probably half a year now. Meanwhile I've bought several games on Xbox Live because I can try demos and find out if they are something I'm going to like.
 
It seemed like it would be Frogger with 3D graphics and high score saving, which would have been great. I didn't realize they could fuck up one of the most basic games ever made.
 
Frogger (original game) is great, for what it is. An occasional time killer. I enjoy playing the version on the iPhone every once in a while. It's not the best version, but it is at least just a graphics upgrade for the original more or less, which is what I would have presumed this WiiWare version was too.
 
Thanks to the OP. I've thought about buying this game more than a few times already. There should be a list of WiiWare that's absolute trash. I'd nominate Reel Fishing too. It's also an absolute ripoff, among others.
 
I usually like nintendolife's reviews for WiiWare. They seemed to like Frogger Returns though, gave t a 7/10 ... so that is a bit disturbing.



Frogger Returns makes a welcome addition to the WiiWare line-up. It features good old-fashioned gameplay which remains faithful to its arcade ancestor whilst providing interesting new levels that enhance the experience: a hallmark of good retro game design. It's let down by limited options and lackluster multiplayer modes, but if you're a fan of classic arcade games it's definitely worth your 500 points.
Click to expand...
 
[quote name='vherub']don't ignore castlevania and contra on wiiware just because of frogger, those two games are well made throwbacks.[/QUOTE]

I think the OP was looking for something for his daughter. Castlevania and Contra may not of been the best choice.

Perhaps Bubble Bobble Plus, Adventure Island: The Beginning, or Bomberman Blast would of been better choices.

Frogger very much died after...well..Frogger.
 
I just wish Nintendo would make demos a standard feature. Then I could try this game and make my own mind up. As it is, I'll stay away.
 
The Wii just doesn't have a big enough hard drive to store demos for games like the PS3 and 360 does. I think disc demos are pretty much gone as well, since it probably costs to much to keep manufacturing.
 
Trailers and gameplay footage only carry you so far though. Then again, even a demo doesn't always do the trick. Case in point, 'Splosion Man on XBLA, a game which seemed fun in the demo, and then I found that playing the demo pretty much covers as much as you need to play of the game. I played the full version for a while and mostly just found the seemingly endless world 1 to have to be a joke, that maybe there was no world 2 and 3. Then I found out it wasn't a joke and there is a 2 and 3. I'm now even less interested in continuing it. Oh well. Still, in general I think demos make a big difference.
 
"gameplay which remains faithful"? Did these guys even play this game?

Yes, a powerup which literally freezes the entire map is totally faithful.
 
[quote name='UjnHunter']Dude... what did you expect? The game is called Frogger! When was Frogger ever good? Never.[/QUOTE]

I actually really enjoyed the original frogger that came out on the PS1. I spent so many hours on that game, as some of the levels are very challenging. Never enjoyed any of the other frogger games though, so overall your Frogger claim is true.
 
[quote name='Green Rupee']500 points = $5.[/QUOTE]

Wish nintendo and microsoft would just adopt a normal dollar amount system for stuff, its fucking confusing sometimes.
 
[quote name='GUNNM']yup no demos is bullshit[/QUOTE]


Im sure not having demos is intentional because Nintendo and other developers realize that a lot of these cheap download games are of questionable quality and they are looking for ignorant parents or people with points to burn to make the impulse buy and make a quick return on their investment of development costs.
 
Is there any recent Wiiware/VC buyers guide anywhere? Yes we all know about Mario and Zelda shit but why waste time mentioning games everyone already know. Only if Nintendo allowed publishers to write some game description on Nintendo store channel instead of just title and price.
 
[quote name='Kaoz']I usually like nintendolife's reviews for WiiWare. They seemed to like Frogger Returns though, gave t a 7/10 ... so that is a bit disturbing.[/QUOTE]

This link is bad.

This one works:

http://www.nintendolife.com/


They give Gyrostarr a 7/10, but is another pisser on my list that's a waste of 700 points. This game looks "amazing" on the surface, but the low res graphics is a huge drawback for the fast paced action it tries to provide. Plus, you can basically play the game blindfolded and just press fire repeatedly to advance. I don't even think you can die in the game making any strategy unnecessary. I played it for a good 45 minutes straight and kept wishing it would just end already.

I thought it looked like a dead ringer for a Tempest remake, but it doesn't even come close to being as good as that classic title.
 
I wasted 500 Wii points too... I bought 1000 points... downloaded Ninja Gaiden (AWESOME!) then decided to spend my last 500 points on... Kid Icarus (NOT awesome!) :(
 
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