Common Sense Media Review
By Marc Saltzman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Amusing collection of mini-games for two-player fun.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Ice Age: Continental Drift: Arctic Games
What's It About?
Fans of the animated Ice Age films can now play around with their favorite prehistoric pals in ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT: ARCTIC GAMES, a multiplatform game starring Manny, Sid, Diego, and others. The story tells of a secret treasure that has fallen into the hands of the Ice Age crew, and so they decide to compete in a series of wacky winter sporting events to see who will keep the riches. Up to two players can try their skills at 10 mini-games, including hopping across icebergs, racing down mountains, firing "squirrel cannons," and more. Gamers can choose to play a Story mode, Free Play, or in a Tournament -- and compete for high score as well as gold, silver, and bronze acorn medals.
Is It Any Good?
Loosely based on the Ice Age: Continental Drift feature film, this collection of mini-games can be quite fun (and funny) when the two teams -- the Herds versus the Pirates -- challenge one another in these various games of skill. As you might expect, some of the games are better than others -- such as the downhill racing being more enjoyable than flinging Scrat's acorns at targets -- but kids and kids at heart should enjoy the familiar characters, easy-to-pick-up gameplay, and a nice selection of events to play (not to mention three different modes). The Nintendo Wii version of the game was tested for this review, but the Xbox 360 version, while the same, also requires the Kinect for Xbox 360 peripheral to control the action with your body movements. The Nintendo DS is different from the console versions. Overall, fans of the film should enjoy these humorous and accessible family-friendly activities.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the trend of accessible and social "party" games, where players stand and play in front of the TV in short competitions.
Which of the mini-games did you like best and why?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo DS , Nintendo Wii , PlayStation 3 , Windows , Xbox 360
- Subjects : Science : animals , Language & Reading : following directions , reading , Social Studies : events , history , Hobbies : sports
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , strategy , Collaboration : meeting challenges together , teamwork , Self-Direction : work to achieve goals
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Activision
- Release date : July 10, 2012
- Genre : Mini-games
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Animals ( Wild Animals )
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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