Ribbit King (Gamecube)

Ribbit King is a ridiculously original sports adventure game from Bandai. The game in question isn't golf, but 'frolf', a new hybrid of the familiar gentleman's favourite, where the clubs are replaced by a mallet, and the balls by, yes you've guessed it, frogs. And the squishy green creatures in question not only tolerate being hurled skywards, but even seem to enjoy it. But then, it must be quite a rush flying towards your goal at high velocity through the air. Of course, it's an even bigger rush if you hit a tree. In the game you play a young space creature named Scooter, sent on a mission by his king to restore his home planet's supply of Super Ribbinite, the power source on which his world relies. Naturally, the only way to secure the Ribbinite is to travel the galaxy winning games of frolf. And so Scooter heads for the planets in his space craft accompanied by his faithful companion, a small picnic basket with limbs and eyes called Picwick. A satisfying round of 'frolf' wouldn't be complete without a range of different courses along which to send your own frog, Kero, hurtling. Bring the hammer down on the frog launcher and instantly give Kero a bird's eye view of whichever planet you're playing on, be it the shimmering blue ice-scapes of Planet Frosticle, Planet Lavatron's lava rivers, or the green green grass of Ribbetopia. On landing, Kero will give a few helpful hops, but it's not that easy. There's plenty of strange and wonderful obstacles between Kero and your goal. Some can be a big help; a good rebound off a spider's web is worth its weight in frogs for example. A broadside straight into an elephant, however, is unlikely to increase your chances of topping the leader board. As well as the main story mode the game offers a versus mode with stroke or match play options. The multiplayer mode allows up to four players to join in the battle to be the first to sink their frog.