Enjoy the serene rainforest-ambiance of Ancient Frog as you struggle to maneuver starving amphibians into place for a tasty snack. Eating a fly has never been such hard work.
Title: Ancient Frog | Developer: Ancient Workshop | Genre: Puzzle |
Players: 1 | Version: 1.0 | Size: 14.15MB | Price: $2.69
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For the most part, I’ve always viewed frogs with general indifference – except, of course, for those awesome poison-dart ones. They multiply like crazy, move en-masse over roads, croak obnoxiously, keep mosquito populations in-check, and provide treats for many residents of the South. But when you watch one simply enjoying itself, sitting on a mossy branch in the middle of a lush rainforest, it’s almost zen. And it’d better be zen, since that’s exactly what you’ll be doing in this puzzler. Well, almost.
In Ancient Frog, you’ll help over 100 positionally-challenged frogs rotate this way and that, with the sole objective of sticking their face in front of a fly. You can see this game as a training course for amphibian dining. As the saying goes, “You can lead a frog to a fly, but you can’t force it to eat.” Lucky for you, all your frogs are apparently starving.
Using your finger, you’ll tap one of the frog’s four feet to lift it up, drag, and place it over any of the available footprints. By dragging and dropping your frog’s appendages, you’ll effectively (and slowly) be moving him into position to snap-up the fly. It sounds simple, but it gets really hard rather quickly. You see, there’s a specific “dance” each frog will have to do in order to properly align itself, and each level joyously reminds you just how many placements it takes “normal” people to accomplish the task (par). If you align the frog under or within par, good for you. If you’re like me, this won’t happen very often. Should you make a mistake, you can always undo by swiping the screen, and should you get stuck, you can always ask for a hint.
Controls: To move a frog-leg, tap and drag the foot to another placement-pad. Controls work fine, for the most part, aside from a minor “fat finger” annoyance – it’s tricky to see beneath your finger on some moves. Often-times, you really won’t understand why a foot isn’t allowed at a certain spot, but you just have to roll with it.
Graphics: Serene and atmospheric are two words that come to mind. The graphics are really quite pretty, and use realistic renderings of actual frogs, lily pads, and branches to add to the “natural” feel of the game. While you’re pondering which move to make next, shadows gently dance over the background giving you a nice sense of depth and realism. The frogs themselves are quite well done.
Sound: Aside from a distinctive “pop”-effect that happens when you stick a frog-foot to a new location, Ancient Frog is pure relaxing ambiance. The din of the rainforest – complete with birds, monkeys, and crickets – provides the background music in this game.
Options: Not much in the way of options, I’m afraid. You can toggle sound on and off, and that’s about it.
Verdict: Ancient Frog strikes a fine balance between insanely frustrating and environmentally soothing. The graphics are beautiful, and there are more than enough levels to keep you busy. I found myself growing weary of doing the same dance over and over and over again, but according to the Market comments and other game-review sites, y’all don’t seem to mind much at all. Should you find yourself getting hopelessly frustrated, leave the game on, set the phone down, turn off the lights, and pretend you’re in the rainforest. Awmmm.
Rating: ★★★★☆
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