Zapper: One Wicked Cricket

Ностальгія))

This is a game I used to own on the original Xbox so when I saw that cover here on Steam it just unleashed a lot of nostalgic memories for me, what's weird is I don't remember playing this title in particular, but once I started playing it, it reminded me of 'Frogger 2' on the PS1 which is something I did play a bit of again nostalgic, but once you learn this was supposed to be a sequel to that it makes sense. Blitz Games wanted to make a 'Frogger 3' to follow up on their previous 'Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge,' but was ultimately turned down by Konami so they could make their own games inhouse and instead of just abandoning the concept in general Blitz Games decided to make 'Zapper: One Wicket Cricket.' The game itself is very similar to Frogger 2 so if you've played that you'll be very comfortable and knowledgeable about how the game works. Zapper will hop is away across levels trying to collect all 6 eggs in a level to move on while collecting and freeing fireflies. The only real critique I have is how clunky the game can be at times. You have to manually rotate Zapper at times in order to even able to jump gaps. Otherwise I really like the "avoid em up" gameplay of Frogger, avoid things, grab the main objects, get to the end of the level, very simple and fun. If you want to get the resolution to anything close to modern you can download a file on Guides that will get the game to 1080p. The models max out at 1080p so anything above it just makes them look blurry. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3574215183 I also used a controller layout ingame by [b] Jelloriki [/b] which while doesn't get rid of the clunkiness, it still makes it more bearable especially if you want to use a controller.

I had played a small segment of this game as a kid, since it was packaged on a PS2 demo disc. Back then I had little desire to play more, but seeing it on steam evoked some minor nostalgia. I don't recommend it for a few reasons, split into two categories: the port and the original game. The port is functional, but barely so. There's a lot of settings missing, especially related to video and controls. Thankfully there's a guide showing you how to fix the resolution and somebody uploaded their steam controller bindings. In levels there are occasional visual issues, every once in a while I'd find an object that wouldn't interact like it should or that I could phase right through. Between these and the fact that the launcher quotes TV Tropes instead of writing its own summary, you get the feeling there just wasn't much passion or QA effort. For the original game, there's not much there to recommend and if you want to go for 100% the game feels outright hostile. To 100% a level, you need to find all 100 fireflies within it in one go. If you miss one and finish the level, now you have to redo it and collect all 100 that time. Sometimes they're hidden offscreen, sometimes you can prevent one from being reachable if you break a crate too early, sometimes your muscle memory throws you into the yellow orbs that have to be picked up in a certain order to unlock hidden paths. Thankfully this is 'optional', however you will not experience a fourth of the levels in the game if you don't go for 100%. As for the regular gameplay, it's mediocre. It's a bit Frogger and a bit punishing platformer, nothing to write home about.