Hipster Whale's free iOS arcade game Crossy Road is the latest addictive game about chickens getting run over by speeding trains, in which you simply tap with proper timing to guide critters across unreasonably dangerous roads and raging rivers, for as long as you can without drowning, going over a waterfall, or, well, y'know... splat. You have to keep moving since the screen is slowly scrolling after you, and jumping into the side of a moving vehicle is as fatal as being run over. It is, essentially, Frogger, though as you play you can unlock a myriad of different characters to play as, from goats and frogs to vampires and celebrities. You need one hundred coins to unlock one at random, and coins at given out by picking them up one at a time during play, opting to watch a short advertisement video when the game offers it, or granted in varying quantities as one of the "free gifts" you get after a certain amount of time has passed. Of course, if you're impatient or you want a specific character, you can just pick one up via an in-app purchase, but all characters can be earned for free with a little patience and a lot of splatting.
While "free" often feels like something that should come with the world's biggest air quotes when referring to a mobile game, Crossy Road really is about as unobstructive and gentle with its mild monetization as possible. The game will only show you ads when you ask for them in order to earn more coins, and unlocking all the different characters is a lot of fun since they all have their own sounds, and even special animations or other surprises for some of them. That said, if you don't want to pay, you're going to be grinding to watch video ads, since coins are doled out very, very slowly during gameplay, and ads are only offered sporadically. The machine that gives you your random character can also give duplicates of those you've already unlocked, which is a downer. But really, if you enjoy Crossy Road, and if you love simple arcade gameplay bolstered by lovely voxel visuals you definitely will for a while, toss the developers a buck or two and pick up a character in the process. It's a game that packs an almost obscene amount of charm into its itty-bitty package, sleek and easy to pick up whenever you have a spare moment. Sometimes you want deep, complex, and thought-provoking, and sometimes you just want to see the Dark Lord get run over by a train. Crossy Road is funny, silly, and hard to put down, perfect for fans of endless arcade action with a sense of humor.
Crossy Road (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)
While I don't have a device to play this game, I have to say the description reminds me less of Frogger and more of the Atari game Freeway ... where you are a chicken trying to cross the busy road! :)
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