This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Brian Mohr.

Starting off in the early 1980’s, Frogger was a hit that put you in the role of a frog trying to cross a busy street. Now our hopping friend has evolved into the 3D realm with his latest incarnation coming on the PlayStation Portable in Frogger: Helmet Chaos.

The game puts you in the role of Frogger as he battles a crocodile named Dr. Wani who has found a way to control animals with helmets. The story isn’t the most interesting part of the game, but it gives you an idea of where you’re headed. Overall, the game doesn’t quite do Frogger justice and makes me wish for more of the good old days.

First off, the actual comic sequences are pretty attractive and colorful. Even if the story isn’t very interesting, the comic book style cutscenes look very good on the PSP and stand out on the glossy screen. The actual voicework that coincides with the comic is also very well done as there is a steady variation between voices and steady tones. Konami didn’t find just anyone to fill the voicework; instead they wanted to make it good. The actual in-game music and menu music is also nice and similar to what you’d get in a Mario or Sonic title. It’s upbeat and helps keep the action going while sticking to the environments on-screen.

As for in-game graphics the game still uses an overhead view, but this time in 3D, which keeps you directly in the Frogger experience. Frogger himself is well designed and cute. He moves appropriately, hops in various ways, and uses his tongue. All of these actions look good on the screen. The enemies are also well developed, but more than that the environments are beautiful. Everything is colorful with flowers and trees shaded in deep blues and greens, which all show well on-screen. All the graphics are very crisp and they really do the PSP justice with a solid framerate to boot.

The actual controls are pretty intuitive after a bit of play time. By pushing the D-pad, Frogger hops in the direction you want one space at a time. To jump a space, you simply push the X button. To jump in mid-air you push triangle. To stick out your tongue push square and to adjust your direction press the trigger buttons. The controls can get a little confusing early on as you can confuse multiple buttons to jump, but it is simple and to the point. You can also combine the tongue and mid-air jump to swing across trees.

One other note is that the game features a lot to do with approximately 30 levels to play through and a variety of four-player minigames. Players are able to uncover side quests in most levels and unlock extra content and mini-games by collecting coins. If that’s not enough, the game does feature game-sharing and multiplayer support as well. This is especially nice as you only need one copy of the game to play the minigames with friends. Of course one of the minigames is the Classic Frogger which plays just as well as it used to, although you’ll have to turn the handheld sideways.

There are a few problems with Helmet Chaos, most notably is that the game gets tedious after just a little while of playing. The goal of the approximate 30 levels is to get to the end of each map. The problem with this is that you can land on save points in the middle of levels, but if you die by hitting an enemy or falling in the water (can’t Frogger swim yet?) a few times you have to start at the beginning of the level again. When starting over you’ll find yourself rushing through the parts you did to get back to where you screwed up; I found myself become irritable and thus careless going through these parts and this resulted in me pressing one of the buttons by mistake and falling into the water, causing me to have to do it all over agai. If that’s not bad enough, I also found myself still occasionally pressing the wrong button by mistake and falling into the water and dying. These parts become very frustrating as you’re just looking to finish the level.

The actual boards are kind of dull. The first few are fun as you face various blocks that you must push/jump on and trees to swing across amongst other things. After a bit of time though, it becomes the same old thing and the result of this is a pretty dull experience later on. Enemies will also be in the way although they make things much easier by staying on a set path which is kind of silly.

The minigames in Frogger have a few issues of their own. Most notable of these is that they don’t tell you the rules of each game you’re about to play. Instead you’re just trying to figure it out as you go along. To figure out how to play each game I had to go to the booklet and read about each of them. I found that to be a real problem as many people may not keep the booklet with them on the road especially with a portable game. Why couldn’t they include the rules when selecting a game on screen?

The other problem with the minigames is that they are also dull. Classic Frogger is a great addition that I still love, but the other games just didn’t keep my interest for more than one round. The areas to play in were small and the in-game action was tedious.

Frogger: Helmet Chaos certainly seems to be directed towards a younger gaming audience with its colorful environments, cute characters and simple controls. The game is pretty childish with a straightforward story mode and a nice selection of multiplayer games. The problem is that I found neither part very engaging. The gameplay gets tedious and boring after a short while of play. Beyond that, the game just doesn’t do anything new for the platform genre and thus I’d say Frogger is no more than an average title.

The controls are temperamental, but simple once you have them down. Dull gameplay.

The visuals stand out on the PSP screen with deep, rich coloring. Solid framerate.

The in-game music is upbeat and fits the mood of the various environments. Solid voicework.

The first few levels are fun but after that the gameplay becomes routine.

The single-player and unlockables will keep you busy, but the minigames aren’t worth playing.