App Review No. 91 Crossy Road

Strong points:
Colourful vibrant graphics
Sound effects are nice
Addictive
Lots of characters
Characters change the game... Cosmetically at least
Prizes are a good way to get coins
Frequent themed updates
Challenges help to gain coins
Certain characters can be found in game by fulfilling certain objectives...

Weak Points:
Hard to get enough coins for characters outside of prizes
Prize times increase dramatically
Frustrating
Repetitive
...although no hints are given about how to unlock them

Rating: 75%

In-depth Review:
Release Dates:
World Wide: November 20, 2014

Controls:
Tap to move forward
Swipe in direction to move

Crossy Road is another app in the great swarm of one-touch games which infest the App Store jungle like locusts. Eating up other apps, both in popularity and in the use of features, these apps are, just like locust swarms, short-lived and annoying to most people. However, Crossy Road is one of the few exceptions, in that it is fun, addictive to play and has grown a loyal fanbase.

A Frogger-esque game, the sole objective is to cross the road/river. And then again. And again. And so on and so forth until with a death animation, your journey ends on the side of a bus. You start again, gather a couple of coins and just as you think you are about to hit your high score... Boom! You fall into the water. So you try again...

This is where the repetitiveness and frustrations starts to sink in although it is softened slightly by the gaining of characters. Each character has a slightly different animation and some change the backround of the place you are crossing the roads in or adds other effects (e.g a wizard destroys trees etc.) You gain these characters by spending 100 coins for a go at a capsule machine. You get a random chance of getting a character although if you get the same one as you have already then the coins are wasted.

This would be fine if the coins weren't so hard to get. An average of three coins is what I can accumulate in a game, so it falls to watching videos (which give 20 coins each) and waiting for a prize (which gives you a random amount). These prizes are given out regularly at first, but the wait times increase until you have to wait six hours for a prize. This is a shame, especially if all it gives you is yet another of the same chicken! Of course, you can purchase (most of) the characters, with each of them being priced at 79p.

The graphics are nice and vibrant, with shadows etc. giving it a nice, polished feeling. The sound effects are of the location with the cars and rivers making effects.

Conclusion:  Overall, the general feel of the game is one of polish, with frequent, themed updates adding more characters and effects. Now, to have another go.

Thanks for reading, Satamer

Update: nine new figurines have decided to try to cross the road and include characters from Monument Valley, Land Sliders and Shooty Skies!

Update: five new characters have arrived to cause some tricks and get some treats in this Halloween update!

Update: 3 new figurines and multiplayer for Apple TV!