Frogger is a classic game of skill and timing that –while fun- may be too shallow for the tastes of the modern gamer.
Frogger is a classic for many reasons. It is a simple game of timing your movements. There is no antagonist, only the satisfaction of overcoming the obstacles of your environment. It is a simple pleasure often lost on today’s gamers to overcome your previous high score rather than building your levels, acquiring new weapons, or beating your teammate. Your high score is your own personal best, and there is an immense sense of accomplishment whenever your beat your own score; but I digress.
Graphics: Frogger had graphics typical of the Atari 800, with simple solid colors for the various characters on-screen. The graphics were not quite as abysmal as, say, The Empire Strikes Back, but back then all of the graphics were relatively mediocre. Today, the most simple flash game would look have better graphics, but at the time the graphics were par for the course.
Sound: As with the graphics, the audio was reflective of the technology, with simple beeping sound effects to represent on-screen actions such as hopping.
Gameplay: Frogger was just plain fun. The developers had a simple concept for a game and they executed: get the frog from Point A to Point B without hitting anything. The game might not entertain for hours, but provided a good diversion for a short period of time. You could also have multiple players, but you would have to alternate play (similar to the first Super Mario Brothers).
In short, Frogger was a fun diversion that became iconic for its test of skill and straightforward gameplay. It is difficult to score the game in graphics and sound due to the limitations of the consoles of the time. Also, it might not be anyone’s favorite game today. However, it is certainly worth a few minutes to work off some stress, or to try and beat your old high score.