Welcome, guest! Click here to log in and submit reviews/comments
Jacky Griswold's review of Crossy Road Review
Date last edited: 12-06-2024 at 05:11PM
Rating: Everyone
Review: Jacqueline Griswold
Com 123
Dr. Eugene Gan
Game: Crossy Road
Developer: Hipsterwhale
Genre: Enldess arcade hopper
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Primary audience: Kids and family
Version: 4.10.0
ESRB rating: Everyone
Platform: Android and iOS
Cost: Free (You can buy extra packages in the app)
Crossy Road is a fun, endless-hopping game that requires extreme patience and a sense of humor. It is very user friendly and its lovely color pallet instills a feeling of joy in the player. The game requires a quick eye and a fast finger in order to get the avatar safely across the treacherous roads. It is family friendly and an enjoyable for all ages.
First Media Key: Balance
When we stumble and wobble on our feet there is clearly something wrong. We are imbalanced. What causes this imbalance and how do we become balanced again? As Catholics, “We have to be willing to look at more than one viewpoint so that truth can emerge.” 1 This is how we regain our balance, too many of us Catholics fantasize about the ‘perfect world’ not willing to look in the face of evil and fight. Too many of us turn our heads when we hear the flaws of others and are immediate to chastise them, judging them instead of trying to understand. The more we look at the world through the eyes of others and keep our mind fixed on our Catholicism, then we can properly evangelize. We need to approach lost souls at a level they will understand, not everyone is prepared to hear the whole truth and it is our job to reveal it to them in little doses. The first step to doing this is to pray for the virtue of temperance.
What does balance have to do with the endless-hopping game Crossy Road? With everything in life, we need balance. The game itself can be quite addicting. To get the character across the roads safely, the user has to tap and swipe the screen. It’s fun music and satisfying sound effects makes the game hard to put down sometimes. Combine the car horns, the unique hopping noises for each character, the trains, rivers, beautiful block graphics, and prize winning noises, the game draws the player into the competition. There is even a game within the game where one competes against other players for the farthest run. Without proper discipline, this game can cause imbalance. The positive of this is that this app does have ads, since its free. These ads are frequent enough that they interrupt the players’ focus and can be used to help put the game away.
Second Media Key: Attitude Awareness
When we walk through a city, or down a road surrounded by woods, the one thing that we all should do is look around and be aware of our surroundings. This is just common sense in order to keep ourselves safe. Being aware of what we are seeing and hearing is critical when we walk through anything in life, even the media. “It keeps us on our guard, helping us to maintain a critical perspective about the messages coming at us through the media.”2 The first step to accomplish this is to pray for the virtue of prudence.
In the game Crossy Road, it indirectly teaches us how to be aware of our surroundings because its entire purpose is to get the character across roads without dying. The player has to have a sharp eye to avoid cars, trains, and obstacles. It can be a challenging game depending on what character the player is using. It trains our brain to look for things in order to avoid them, this is a great stimulate for our awareness.
Third Media Key: Dignity of the Human Person
We wear clothes for a reason. It’s to protect our precious beings because we are fallen. It is to preserve our dignity. Each of us play a part in preserving human dignity by properly dressing and treating others with kindness. We avert our eyes when we see someone’s nakedness because we know that we shouldn’t be the ones to see it. By doing this we are giving them the respect they deserve as child of God. This needs to be done in media as well; movie makers shouldn’t put content in their films that disgraces the human body. The first step to achieving this is to pray for the virtue of justice. “In life, we’re supposed to nurture our spirits, care for our bodies, give ourselves in love, and defend the dignity of others.” (Gan, pg. 53). The first step to applying this is to pray for the virtue of justice.
In the game Crossy Road, it can promote human dignity and also disregard it. It all depends on how one looks at it. It doesn’t uphold human dignity in the sense that when the player’s character gets hit by a car, train, or falls in the river, there’s a funny splat sound. This is hysterical but it is also making fun of what would be a serious life situation. It does uphold human dignity in the sense that the game promotes life, it doesn’t want the player to die, it rewards them for not dying. Also, the game does not promote killing other characters because that is not the point of the game.
Fourth Media Key: Truth Filled
The truth is like a pair of wings, it also can seem like it is ripping our flesh off. The truth hurts, but anything that makes one grow is painful. Without the truth, we flounder. Some of us start believing we are different sexes, species, or no sex at all. This is the avoidance of truth. The truth is applied to all aspects of life, it is up to us to either ignore it or see it. “In word and action, our use of media should be filled with truth.” (Gan, pg. 68). The first step to accomplishing this is to pray for the virtue of fortitude.
Crossy Road succeeds in this media key because firstly, it obeys the laws of life and death. If the player’s character gets hit by a car then he/she dies. One has to wait for either the ads to end or to respond. Of course, coming back to life does disobey the laws of nature but not God. God resurrected and resurrected others from the dead. So, one can look at the game Crossy Road and see a parallel in this.
Fifth Media Key: Inspiring
The man stands alone. He raises his sword. Blood streams from his missing eye-in one last attempt to stop the enemy he brings down his weapon. It finds its mark, but not before he goes down with the bridge. If this inspired you, then good. Media needs to inspire others to lift them up and motivate them to do the right thing. Media “inspires us to action by reveling how great things are a little further along the journey, showing or telling us the steps we need to take to move forward.” (Gan, pg. 86). The first step to applying this is to pray for the virtue of hope.
In Crossy Road, it is doesn’t seem upfront very inspiring but it is in one area, it is a beautiful and well made game. It inspires the creative mind to take that idea and turn it into something new. It inspired Pac-Man 256, Boom Dots, The Quest Keeper, and many others.
Sixth Media Key: Skillfully Developed
If something flows smoothly, looks beautiful, and appeals to the intelligence, then we say that whoever did that was skilled. “Catholic schools and organizations cannot ignore the urgent duty they have in this field.” (Gan, pg. 102. Communio et Progressio 107). When something is created by artists who pay attention to the details it speaks to a broad audience.
In Crossy Road, it is very skillfully developed. The graphics are beautiful, the sound effects are satisfying, and the game is easy to operate. There is very little if almost no glitching. The ads sometimes interrupt, but otherwise it is a wholesome game anyone can use.
Seventh Media Key: Motivated by and Relevant to Experience
What’s the point if one can’t relate to the story? If no one can relate then the point, then the story is lost. Media has to speak to us through our experiences or else the message will fall flat. Media “Is accessible, understandable, and relatable.” (Gan, pg. 118). The first step to accomplishing this is to pray for the virtue of charity.
Crossy Road succeeds in this media key because it is motivated by experience. It is about something that we do every day, cross the road. We take a perilous journey and trust others not to end our lives when we cross the black divide. It is very relatable.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Crossy Road succeeds in all seven media keys because it is skillfully developed and is a fantastic game that speaks to all ages. Its beautiful graphics and fun endless hopping programming make it a mind enthralling game.