Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

As sure as night and day, one can also rely on the fact that if there’s a big movie aimed at kids coming out, chances are that a lot of licensed toys and games will usually follow it. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown is another one of these titles that’s released to tie in with its respective movie. The game doesn’t begin with much of a back story, which is disappointing and a little disheartening to be thrown into a game with no sense of anything that’s going on. Thankfully, the story doesn’t play a huge role in this game and chances are, if you’re playing it, you’re already familiar with the story.

You start off the game as Scrat, a little rodent who’s always looking for nuts to collect, which is what the majority of the game is based upon. The unlucky, yet loveable personality of Scrat is transformed seamlessly into game form. While Scrat is the character that you play for the majority of the game, you will also be able to control some the other characters, which does a nice job of adding variation to the game.

The game is a platformer that doesn’t stray too far from the established formula of licensed platform games, but it does do some things very well, adding a well needed layer of variety to a genre that became stagnant long ago. There is A LOT of collecting in this game, which can get a bit tedious, but once you hit 1,000 acorns (it happens a lot quicker than one might think) you unlock a bonus feature, which is an interview with a voice actor, so your collecting is not done in vain. One particular thing I thought the game did very well was the feeling of non-linearity it gave you. One example early on was that I needed three walnuts to continue and I was given the choice to go where I wanted and collect at my leisure. The levels don’t feel restrictive, but instead very open, which makes it more pleasurable to play, because you’re not following one set path. There is also some action elements to the game, which by pressing X, will allow you to attack and knock out enemies.

As you progress, there are a very healthy amount of mini-games and different variations in gameplay, which add more depth to the title. At one instance, you are given the task to collect acorns, but you need to play dead when Diego turns and looks for you. Sid also has a level of his own, where you control him sledding down a path, while you collect nuts and avoid obstacles, but there is also a little DDR minigame which takes place as he jumps across a gap. The plethora of minigames and scenes from the movie blend in very well with the rest of the game, keeping you entertained throughout.

Ice Age 2 isn’t a shabby looking game either; the winter environments and snow effects are well done, making the game a visual treat for any youngster who plays it. The animations are very well done as well, in particular when Scrat is sliding across ice or using a special attack to spin around at a high speed. The audio also shines due to the voice actors reprising their roles for the game; Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary all do a bang-up job and the humor in the game is enjoyable and appropriate for any age. Sometimes I had trouble hearing some of the voices, which made me all the more glad to see that subtitles were included in the options. Sound effects are done in your typical slapstick manner, which kids will probably get a kick out of. However, where the voices succeed, the generic sounding music falls a bit short, but it’s something that most gamers probably won’t notice or care about.

Controlling the characters is simple and on a positive note, the game never forces you to learn the controls or forces hints on you. Going up to a sign and hitting Y will cause a hint to pop up on screen, which will tell you certain controls or how to do things. These hints are good for new gamers; yet older, more experienced gamers won’t have to bother with them and can just continue on, as to not interrupt the game’s pacing. It’s a simple game to control and even the camera isn’t too bad, although at times, it’s a bit slow, but that’s preferred as per the alternative, which is an uncontrollable game-ruining one. 

Ice Age 2 does a number of things right, even though it does feel a bit clichéd due to all of the collecting that you do. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to enjoy the game, mostly due to the unrestrictive levels and surplus of minigames. The four main characters are present and the ones with voices are done well to add that layer of quality one should come to expect. However, the game isn’t all that long and is only one player, so one should take that into account when debating purchasing it. The number of things Ice Age 2 does right certainly adds to its quality and appeal, but the abundance of items to collect can get a bit tedious. Still, this game is a tier above most other licensed platform games and if you or your kids are fans of Ice Age, you could do a lot worse.

Gameplay: 7.8
Ice Age 2 has a lot of minigames and variety. The unrestricted levels add a lot to the relatively generic platforming of the rest of the game. There is still a lot of collecting, but in this game, it doesn’t feel too tedious.

Graphics: 7.3
It’s not going to blow your socks off, but the game is no slouch in the graphics department either. The water effects, snow and ice look especially good, although the grassy levels don’t share the same amount of quality.

Sound: 7.9
The music is forgettable at best, but the slapstick sound effects and solid voice acting make up for it. It should be enough to keep the young ones entertained.

Difficulty: Easy
Easy, but not too easy is the key here. Some very young games may have to call on mom or dad to help them with something, but overall, the difficulty is just right, and shouldn’t bore younger gamers. The simple controls add to the game’s ease to pick up and play.

Concept: 6.9
There is a lot of collecting and a bunch of jumping and some hitting, which is basically the formula for movie tie-in games.

Overall: 7.6
Ice Age 2 makes some advances in an otherwise stagnant genre. The amount of minigames that you can play and the unrestrictive levels really put it above other tiles in the same genre. While it’s not the longest game, it’s certainly something that’s easier to recommend than most other movie-based titles. Eurocom has done some great things with this license, but some of it is just too similar to other titles in most respects.