The Mediocre Dad

A blog about being a pretty average dad… and stuff (formerly Henry's Blog)

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Camping
  • Family Days Out
  • Sponsorship
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Why celebrate mediocrity?
Menu

Review – Getting Utterly Frantic with ‘Frantics’ on the PlayStation 4

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Henry Elliss

I’d usually start a review like this by pointing out that I’m “not much of a gamer”, or some other excuse to hide my lack of proficiency in matters of gaming. But thankfully, the game I’ve been asked to review this time is VERY different to your average console title – and i’m happy to report it’s RIGHT in my wheel house.

To set the scene a little, I’ve been playing console games for about 20+ years now. My first ever gaming console was a Sega Master System, and fast forwarding to today we have a Nintendo Wii, a PlayStation 4 and a couple of PS Vita’s in the house. But apart from being rather adept at Mario Kart Wii, I’m not really one for console gaming these days.

What I DO play, however, are a few Smartphone games – mainly on my long commute to and from London each day for work. You don’t even want to know what my high-score is on Candy Crush Saga. But I enjoy these skill-based games quite a bit, and the competitive aspect of it adds to the fun.

So when I found out about Frantics from the lovely PR people who are promoting it – and who kindly sent me a copy to test – I realised it was right up my street.

If you’re not familiar with this type of game (I’ve only really discovered them in the past 6 months myself), Frantics is a console-based game that allows players to use their Smartphone as a controller. Why is that any better than using the console’s own controller, I hear you ask? Well, for starters most players already have them – so each player can have their own without the need to buy more controllers for your console. Also: the screen on your smartphone (along with the camera) allow the game’s smartphone app to feed far more into the game than a traditional controller might.

Frantics itself is a perfect example of this kind of game, and uses the abilities it offers up really nice. Here’s a quick explanation of what the game involves:

In a nutshell, you and up to 3 players can play against each other in a series of fun challenges which are picked from a collection of over a dozen mini-games. As you go through the rounds, you earn Crowns and collect coins which help you to gain ground in the “grand finale” challenge.

The mini-games are often fairly familiar concepts, though they’re animated so beautifully that you’ll be hard-pushed to not be impressed by them. Our favourites include “Chair-riots”, where your characters ride on office wheely-chairs in a life-size, 3D version of the Olympic sport of Curling. Another favourite is “Big-Top Hoppity Hop”, where you ride space hoppers and try to knock your competitors into spikes to eject them from the game.

You control your character using the motion-sensors in your smartphone, along with various buttons which appear in the games. So in one race you might be tilting your phone left and right to steer, whilst another game might see you sabotaging other players with a giant button on your controller.

Where the game gets REALLY fun, though, is the added information you get given throughout the game. For instance, various players get picked for a “secret mission” mid-way through the rounds – and have to complete the mission away from the prying eyes of the other players. One such mission might be to complete a certain objective in the next round, or another would be to guess who is going to win more points and gain points for yourself in the process.

The story of the game is presented by a sly old Fox with a very suave accent, who commentates on your progress as well as offering you tips and information about which other players might be picking on you more than others.

My boys both howled with delight while playing this weekend, and have asked if we can play again on an hourly basis ever since. They seemed to especially enjoy the secretive nature of the information they were getting about other players, as well as the obvious competitive nature of the challenges.

The game itself was very simple to setup – apart from downloading the game from the PlayStation store, we simply installed the (free) Frantics app on all of our smartphones and opened them up. Because we’re all using the same wi-fi network, it recognised the console straight away, and we were playing in mere minutes.

The game normally retails for around £15, and I’d definitely say it’s well worth the money. You can play the game in standard mode many, many times without repeating the same collection of mini-games, or you could customise tournaments yourself – so the combinations are endless. You can also choose to practise individual games outside of the tournament, and the in-game tutorials were simple enough for our 6 year-old to find it all straightforward.

It’s definitely one we’ll be playing a lot over the next few months!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Children
  • console
  • frantics
  • game
  • gaming
  • motion sensor
  • playstation 4
  • ps4
  • review
  • smartphone
  • sony
  • Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    henweb

    henweb

    Pun-loving, 👨‍👦‍👦 dad-blogging, 📷 photo-taking, 🏰 Lego-making, 🎅🏿 beard-wearing, 👶 child-caring dad of 2. 💍 Husband of 1. 💩 Strategist

    View Full Profile →

    Instagram Gallery

    Now you see it... and now you don’t! After over Now you see it... and now you don’t!
After over a decade of dereliction, the old abandoned caravan that sits next to our rear driveway has GONE! We’ve only been here for less than 10% of its reign, but even a few months was enough and I made enquiries about having it removed. Today, just 4 months after I started my attempts, it was taken away. And I am beyond pleased. All I need to do now is tidy the ground up and the whole driveway will be usable again.
    Boxing Day walk. Eldest son not in shot due to bei Boxing Day walk. Eldest son not in shot due to being too cool to walk with us.
    Went for a lovely sunny, winter walk through the n Went for a lovely sunny, winter walk through the nearby @wasing1759 estate. Nice day for it.
    A Christmas tree of sledges. As you do. A Christmas tree of sledges. As you do.
    Tis the season it seems. Bring it on! Tis the season it seems. Bring it on!
    The view from our front door, 7am this morning. Sh The view from our front door, 7am this morning. Shepherds: consider this a warning...
    Load More… Follow on Instagram

    A small ad for some stuff




    Subscribe by RSS

    RSS Feed RSS - Posts

    Recent posts

    • Family Camping for Beginners – Camping in the Time of Covid July 14, 2020
    • Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers July 5, 2020
    • Tips for Throwing a Memorable Goodbye Party June 26, 2020
    • 4 Signs That You Need to Make More Money May 20, 2020
    • Male Pattern Baldness is a Dad’s Worst Nightmare April 21, 2020

    A bigger ad for some stuff

    Recent Comments

    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Camping Tech & Gadgets
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Preparation
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Fatherhood: Even more camping tips for families
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Next Level Camping Gadgets
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Fatherhood²: 7 Lessons I’ve Learnt After Our First Summer of Camping
    © 2021 The Mediocre Dad | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme