As you'd expect, the story sticks closely to the movie and introduces the major characters from the film such as Sid the sloth, Diego the smilodon and Manny the mammoth. Surprisingly though, the majority of the game is actually played out as Scrat, the loveable but weak sabre-toothed squirrel-rat who most people will remember from the Ice Age promotional advertisements. Being so weak and devoid of confidence, he's an unlikely hero, but boasts a wide array of moves, including the ability to jump, double jump, hop, run and climb. In fact, it's really surprising just how many moves Scrat has, and you'll actually need to utilise all of them at some point throughout the game.
The main adventure is pretty straightforward and there are a few mini games scattered throughout the game, such as a DDR-style mini game. Every platforming title has something you need to collect, and in The Meltdown you will need to collect nuts. Diego and Sid both get a small playable part towards the end of the game but 90% of the time you’re actually playing as Scrat. The other three characters still appear prominently through the game, so their absence isn’t really noticed.
This could be a problem...
Our main complaint with the game is that a lot of what you do with Scrat is pretty formulaic. Whilst the levels are varied and the tasks are quite different none of them really stand out, and it seems like developer Eurocom was a little too cautious when putting the game together. The difficulty level of the game is spot-on however, and even adults will have to work hard in a few levels. At times we did encounter a few problems with the camera, but none of these ever stopped us from accomplishing a task.
One of the greatest compliments we can give the game though is the fact that it feels like a natural extension to the movie. All of the characters are well-animated, the voice work is authentic, and the colours are vibrant and look very similar to the movie. The cut scenes aren’t overused either, though when they do appear they look great. The game also runs with a smooth frame-rate as well.
The level designs are varied and all of them are visually impressive. At one stage you’ll be swimming through a fish belly and then ten seconds later you’ll be playing a mini game. A lot of effort has been put into the character models, which is very unusual for a licensed title. The animation is high quality as well and Scrat in particular looks extremely weak and vulnerable; it seriously looks like he could just collapse at any time.
Ray Romano, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo all lend their voices to the game, which is a lot better than audio impersonators. All of the actors sound enthusiastic as well, and it actually seems like they wanted to be in the game. Surprisingly, some of the dialogue is actually quite humorous at times as well, although it does sometimes become a little repetitive towards the end of the game. The music is fitting, and even though it isn’t that prominent, it does help to add to the atmosphere.
One of the more colourful levels
However, one of the major disappointments with the game is longevity. Unfortunately, the entire game can be completed in just under four hours, a serious disappointment. The lifespan can be increased by going for some of the bonuses, but they aren’t really worth going for and feel like filler material. Most people will probably end up just finishing the single player adventure and not coming back to the game again. The short lifespan also means that it feels like the game was rushed and the game could possibly have been better if the developer was given a little more time to add a few more levels. Sadly, working under a tight time frame is just one of the drawbacks of a licensed movie-to-game adaptation. Some form of two player mode would have been nice as well, even if it was just a challenge to see who could get the highest score on one of the mini games.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown really is the ideal children’s game. It genuinely feels as if the team at Eurocom cared about the quality of the game, and as such this is one of the best licensed movie-to-game adaptations in a long time. The gameplay doesn’t really deviate that much from traditional platformers, and the game is a little short, but the presentation is high quality and, if you loved the movie, then the game comes highly recommended. It’s just a shame it's all over far too quickly. We’re hoping Ice Age 2: The Meltdown sets a precedent for what we can expect from kids licensed movie-to-game adaptations from now on.
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