Dizzypad HD: A new pinnacle in weird frog games

Posted by James Eunson | May 18, 2010

Perched at the top of the Free Apps list in the App Store is Dizzypad HD, an unassuming and somewhat unappealing-looking game involving leapfrogs and lily pads. The reality isn’t that far from this, but it does have a certain charm. So why again is it getting so many downloads — so many as to put it at Number 1? I’m confused.

The reason behind the name of Dizzypad HD becomes obvious when you find out the basic premise – you control a frog tasked with jumping from lily pad to lily pad. The pads rotate making the task of pad jumping more than trivial, thus rotating = dizzy and you can see the deep thought that went into this title.

And that’s it really. Skipping a pad will net you a free life, and falling into the water loses you a life (because frogs can’t swim?) The paid version of Dizzypad HD offers another variation on spinning pads – this time, the pads move horizontally but it’s pretty much the same game.

“Memory” otherwise known as concentration with frogs is thrown in for laughs, although I can’t personally see myself ever touching that let alone laughing using it.

We have the technology… (and the spinning lily pads… wait, what?)

The paid version also includes a 2-player linkup battle, where a new game mechanic is introduced – eating your opponent! This cannibalistic Kirby-esque turn for the worst is probably OK if you have a willing iPad owning friend and provides a bit of longevity.

Notable aspects include a repeating loop of banjo music – this is actually quite endearing, almost enough so to distract you from the game. Also, the frog and lily pad graphics are actually not bad and decently animated, although the rotation is kind of silly.

There are a whole bunch of unlockable frogs available in the paid version as well as achievements, although I’m curious, just what kind of variety of achievements can you get out of jumping on rotating lily pads? Perhaps someone that enjoyed this can chime in.

Upsale Fail

The most disappointing feature was this – and when I say disappointed I mean disappointed for the author because when presented with the upsell to the premium version (which occurrs on no less than 3 screens) the “Error: tap to unlock game mode” didn’t actually do anything.

Pretending to be a short attention-spanned everycustomer I tapped till my finger was sore (I didn’t really, but I assure you it was quite a few times) and still no in-app purchase. Being the top free app, if this is happening to everyone I see a lot of lost sales in Nimblebit’s future. Too bad guys.

Frogs, Pads, Oh My…

Dizzypad HD is a decent bit of free amphibious fun that should keep you occupied for at least 5 minutes. The quality of the art and music is above average. Amidst a sea of cheaply produced crap, Dizzpad HD stands out and would serve as a good, if a little bizarre feature game for showing off your iPad.

And to answer my question back at the start – Why is it getting so many downloads? My honest answer. I don’t know, I just don’t know. It’s not a great game. I can only fathom people are virally finding out about it, downloading it, realising it’s bad and deleting it.

Note: Irony. I find myself rating it exactly the same as App Store!

Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5