More sad news was announced today when Sony let the world know that Guerrilla Cambridge, a subsidiary of Killzone and Horizon Zero Dawn developer Guerrilla Games, would shut down.
After any studio closes, the games press is contractually obligated to do a retrospective piece on that studio's best games, and, undoubtedly, we'll be seeing lots of pro-MediEvil think pieces in the next few days, as Medi-Evil was assuredly Guerrilla Cambridge's most recognizable IP.
Admittedly, I even tried writing a 'Member Medi-Evil piece, relying on the fond memories I had of playing the game on a demo disk that they used to hand out with pizza deliveries (those were the days). The truth is, though, with clunky, repetitive combat and a camera operated by a drunk five-year-old, MediEvil and MediEvil II simply aren't as good as I remembered, despite their charming, macabre weirdness.
But you know what's even better than I remembered? The 1997, Guerilla Cambridge-developed Frogger. Known also as Frogger: He's Back!, Frogger was a 3D version of the popular arcade game where you need to run across a busy highway and a treacherous river to rescue your tiny, multi-colored frog babies that have found themselves in a heap of trouble.
While I'm sure your original PlaySation or PS One is long gone by now, and you'd have trouble getting your hands on this title for the console even if you did still have it, collecting dust in your closet, you can find a PC Emulator for this game pretty easily, and I strongly recommend checking it out.
If you look up reviews for this game, they will be less than favorable, but that is a bunch of hogwash. The game was criticized for being too much like its arcade version, but I imagine that assessment was made by someone who never got past the first zone, because only five of the levels take place in the street/river Retro Zone, and the remaining 28 levels are incredibly different.
Another reviewer said it had an "impossibly high level of difficulty," reminding us all of the "it's tooooo haaarddd" complaint, but I, on the other hand, happen to value a game that actually challenges me, but hey, what do I know?
The truth about Frogger is that it's an underrated gem, with just the right level of challenge, complex and inventive level design, addicting gameplay and (forgive me) a hopping soundtrack. With 33 levels spread across nine zones, Frogger also had just the right amount of gameplay – enough to warrant a purchase, but not too much that you'll get bored or never finish.
It also had a progression system that allowed you to move on to the next Zone even without completing every level in the previous Zone. So even if it was, as plebeian reviewers would complain, "too hard," you could still get to the next area and not be restricted to the more basic, less imaginative levels.
It's a shame, too, that this studio will be remembered more for an albeit charming but mostly derivative hack-and-slash when it's also responsible for the successful reimagination of one of the most beloved arcade titles of all time.
Thus fulfills my contractual obligations. If you want to fondly remember Guerilla Cambridge, grab a PC Emulator of Frogger.
