Froggy and the Pesticide is a relatively new game in the Windows Store that hopes to raise your environmental awareness. The game has dozens of levels where you guide a frog through a maze filled with dangers to replace dangerous pesticides that threaten the local plant life with safer biopesticides.
The graphics in Froggy and the Pesticide are colorful and nicely drawn up. Gameplay is somewhat challenging and has a slight Cut the Rope feel. The game also includes educational pop-up factoids and a reference section to shed some light on the environmental concerns over pesticides.
While Froggy and the Pesticide has an underlying environmental message, it is also an appealing gaming title for both your Windows Phone and PC.
The primary menu for Froggy and the Pesticide presents you with options to jump into gameplay, view a short animated video on the game's backstory, access the game's store and settings. Settings cover the basics such as muting the sound and music, viewing the developer credits, as well as option to reset the game. The gaming store contains options to buy power-ups with the gaming currency you earn, as well as the opportunity to buy Froggy merchandise.
Along with the core features, the primary menu also has a glossary that touches on all the game's characters. The book icon in the upper right corner that opens up the Environpedia, a glossary that details all the dangers Froggy faces and a little environmental information on a few of the dangers.
Gameplay is spread out across three chapters that feature a Farmhouse, Corn Field and Orchard environments. Each chapter has twelve levels plus a bonus level. You will need to collect at least one vial of biopesticide to advance to the next level and complete all the levels of a chapter to unlock the next.
The gaming levels are a maze of obstacles and dangers you guide Froggy past. The three green biopesticide vials are scattered throughout the maze and the pesticide dispenser (which looks like a washing machine) is your finish point.
The first few levels of play will have tutorial instructions on how to move Froggy around the gaming screen. In a nutshell, you move Froggy around the maze by a series of screen gestures to make him jump or shoot his tongue to latch onto a wall and pull himself across the screen. Some levels will have moving doors or walls that require Froggy to hit a button to activate. Froggy can also catch a ride on a string of ants that are marching up the screen.
Dangers range from buzz saws, spikes, the pesticide dispenser shoots, spiders, electric fields and more. Once Froggy collects the green vials, he needs to head to the pesticide dispenser and replace the pesticides with the more environmentally friendly biopesticides.
There are a few power-ups available to help give Froggy a fighting chance and they are displayed in the top left corner of the gaming screen. The power-ups include:
- Time Frezz: Temporarily freezes saws, electrical fields and snakes
- Bubblinbung; Destroys obstacles buy having Froggy generate a huge bubble
- Camouflage: Allows Froggy to pass through obstacles unharmed
You likely will not need to use the power-ups for the first few levels, but they do come in handy as you progress through the higher levels of the game.
Froggy and the Pesticide tests your skills at timing and problem solving to safely navigate Froggy around each level. The game does have a casual pace with no game timer present. Each level is re-playable in case you missed any of the pesticide vials on the first try.
Froggy and the Pesticide is a fun game for Windows, but with only 39 levels, it can be short-lived. Graphics are colorful and nicely animated with gameplay having its fair share of challenges. The environmental messages give the game a slight educational value and overall, Froggy and the Pesticide isn't a bad gaming title to spend a little time with.
Froggy and the Pesticide is a free gaming title that is available for both Windows Phone and PC.
Download Froggy and the Pesticide for Windows Phone and PC
