iPhone and iPad for now, with ‘other platforms to follow’
I’m not one to get into mobile gaming but every few months something comes along and enough friends and peers tweet about it that I feel compelled to join them, if only for a day.
Crossy Road, a sort of isometric, voxel-y, infinite take on Frogger, is the latest title to join my iPhone library due to peer pressure. The fact that it’s free to play (or should I say, “free to get“) made it hard to turn down. Here, you tap or swipe to hop, and once a car flattens you, or a train sends you flying, or you miss landing on a log and drown in a river, it’s back to the beginning.
Except the beginning is ever changing. Crossy Road is a high score game, and to earn one, you’ll need to learn which vehicles move at which speeds and know your limitations. I try to move in short, rapid bursts — several jumps forward at a time — but often become too aggressive for my own good. There are tempting, dangerously-placed coins to collect, too. Damn those coins.
You can spend them on a gashapon machine that dispenses new characters at random. I unlocked animals like a horse and a turtle, but what I really want is the cool robot. I could buy him with real money (I won’t) or watch ads to earn extra coins (I won’t). Which is fine. It’s easy to play Crossy Road without spending anything or feeling pressured to do so. Sorry, robot.
In my struggle to reach a three-digit score, I began to wonder why our streets aren’t permanently lined with roadkill. Even from a high-up viewpoint, weaving in and out of traffic is tricky business. Poor critters. After seeing some great runs like this, I’ve decided to retire early.
