Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Bell
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun, well-paced homage to the movie.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
What's It About?
MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA's storyline essentially follows that of the DreamWorks movie on which it's based. In it, the group of New York zoo animals who were marooned on the island of Madagascar in the first movie decide to return home by repairing their rickety airplane only to have it crash-land in the African savannah, which becomes their new stomping ground.
Players take turns controlling Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe in a variety of mini-games and challenges tied together by short running and jumping sections. There are dozens of different activities to perform, including running races and kicking soccer balls at targets with Marty, playing musical chairs and wall-climbing with Alex, swimming and diving with Gloria, or riding on rolling boulders and administering medicine to sick giraffes as Melman.
Is It Any Good?
Although none of the activities in the game would hold up particularly well on their own, as a collection they're great fun. A large part of the game's appeal is that the activities are all short and sweet, and don't drag on past the point of being fun. The ability for up to four people to play the mini-games together in the multiplayer Africa Arcade mode, as well as being able to spend coins in the Duty Free Shop to unlock character outfits and videos, just sweetens the package. The game is also an excellent homage to the movie, with cutscenes and voice-over dialogue that is sure to please fans.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about who their favorite character was to play as, and why. Did you want to play this game because you saw the movie? What kind of challenges did the zoo animals from New York face when they met other wild animals of the same species for the first time.
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo DS , Nintendo Wii , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , Windows , Xbox 360
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Activision
- Release date : November 4, 2008
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : June 19, 2019
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