Despite high sales, hardcore reviewers were left pretty cold. Frogger remains in the domain of mass-market brand-name fodder. Now there's a sequel. Developed by UK-based Blitz Games, Frogger 2 uses a new engine and promises better performance. Come mid-September, eager Frogger enthusiasts of all ages will be hopping over to the PlayStation, PC and Dreamcast shelves in their local game boutiques.

So what is it with Frogger 2? Hasbro Product Manager Mark Goodreau faces Daily Radar's questions.

DR: What have you added to the sequel that wasn't in the original Frogger?

MG: First of all, the storyline for the game is new. We have built up a story that will give players a sense of adventure and a reason for going to all the different levels. In addition, we did a lot of research with players of the first Frogger game to find out what they liked and used that feedback within the game. The most important thing is that we've made the levels easier to navigate in a sense that the camera is much more intelligent as far as leading you in a proper direction is concerned. This game is also more forgiving -- when you die, you do not get sent back to the very beginning; you get sent back to the last place where you rescued a baby frog. It's not as frustrating.

DR: Can you tell us about the setting of the game in terms of location and the 3D environments?

MG: Frogger 2 is a sequel to the first game, so we have built in a bigger storyline for Frogger and his friends. But basically, the story is that Frogger is being challenged by an enemy, Swampy the crocodile, who steals all the baby froglets. Frogger has a friend called Lily; Lily is a female frog, and the froglets are her siblings, her brothers and sisters. It is up to Frogger and Lily to recover them by going through seven different worlds and 21 different levels. In each level, players are trying to rescue the froglets. There are five different colors of baby frogs, and players basically have to go to each level to find and recover them. Gold coins can also be collected, which will give extra powers and a bonus level. And players will also be allowed back into the levels that they want to replay to attain higher scores.

DR: Are there any multiplayer features, and if so, what gameplay elements will be available?

MG:There will be multiplayer on all the platforms, although it will be slightly different on PlayStation and PC. On PlayStation up to four players can play and there'll be multiple characters, so players can adopt the role of Frogger, Lily, Toad or Tree Frog. A racing mode can be played, and on PC you will also have online and LAN multiplayer options. There will be some secret and bonus levels.

DR: What challenges will make Frogger 2 more difficult?

MG: Basically just getting past certain enemies. The main one is Swampy; he's the main nemesis. Other names will be introduced, but we haven't released the names yet. And, of course, unlocking puzzles to find the baby froglets will be a big challenge.

MG: Well, we keep track of your time and score at each level, so that you always have motivation to go back and beat your time and score. And collecting the gold coins will allow you to unlock the secret levels.

DR: What competition do you anticipate, and why should people buy Frogger 2?

MG: That's a good question. Frogger has been a huge success, especially in North America, as the character is so well liked. Children love him, and adults remember him from their childhood, so the 3,000,000 plus that had the first one will be really excited to play the sequel game. As far as competition, the other character games, like the Spyro series from Sony and Pac-Man, of which there is another coming out on PlayStation. Those are the real competition, yet Frogger has been more successful than both of these on PlayStation. Last year Frogger was the fourth best-selling PlayStation title.

DR: What are your plans now that Frogger 2 is complete?

MG: We are already talking about a Frogger 3 on next-generation platforms.

DR: Any particular platform in mind?

MG: All of them.

DR: Which next-gen console do you favor?

MG: They all have different strengths based on demographics: Nintendo will continue to appeal to a younger audience, and the rest to an older, initially. But we think Frogger is ideal for any platform because it appeals to a broad range of people. The capabilities will be increased on next-gen platforms, so we could take Frogger beyond a 3D adventure game into new environments, to make him more realistic looking. We're working on concepts right now. Hasbro has high expectations of the game based on the phenomenal success of the first Frogger, and we're really excited about launching it: We finished the play tests this week and received a good response from consumers, and we'll continue to push ahead.

MG: We're aiming at everybody. I think we want to get people who already bought the first version but also attain a broader reach than that and target anyone who is familiar with the brand. There will be a lot of marketing behind this, as it's our highest priority title, and so we will advertise on TV worldwide for this game to let people know it's available.

DR: How will you market to those two sets of consumers?

MG: The people who already played the first Frogger will be targeted through a number of different marketing programs, certainly not just TV but print ads, previews and demos in PlayStation magazine, so this will help us target the core audience who are already familiar with Frogger. Also we have an Atari website up right now, which will preview info on Frogger. We have addresses of people who would like more info on the game, and we will continue this mailing list as well as emailing. The aim is to give them some internal info before the game ships. The TV ads will go beyond people who already know Frogger. We're making a sequel to the first TV ad which will instantly be recognized by people, but even if you are seeing it for the first time, you will be impressed and say, oh, that's the new Frogger game updated.