Ice Age 2: The Meltdown Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My family and I LOVED the movie Ice Age 2, and so, of course, my 7 year old wanted the game for PS2!

I was hesitant to pay the $ for it, but decided to get it for him. Boy, is it worth the money!

Both of us have played the game for HOURS today and yesterday, and it's truly a lot of fun. Playing as Scrat, you roam through different areas collecting acorns (think Spyro collecting gems or Curious George collecting bananas). Small brown acorns (1 point), medium green acorns (5 points) and chestnuts (20 points) go towards unlocking bonuses. In each area, there are walnuts that Scrat has to find in order to leave the area and go on to the next one. He can also get fruit from trees and bushes, which helps to replenish his energy. If you use the sniff function (L1), it will help you find hidden fruit.

Throughout the game, there are sparkling signs. When you press the triangle button, a hint appears. (Early in the game, the hints are straightforward. As the game progresses, though, you have to think creatively. No worries if you're stuck. You can choose a Hint button that helps.)

Scrat can also interact with objects. For example, some acorns are buried in the ground (you can see the tops), and you have to use the triangle button to dig them out. If his energy meter starts to run down because of fighting with rodents and other animals, you can replenish it by interacting with flowers and collecting their petals. Some games (and enemies) need to be combated with pebbles, so when Scrat is close to a pebble pile, he can collect up to 25 at a time.

The mini-games are a blast, too...and not exactly easy! The first one, Sid's Slide on "The Eviscerator", has you going down several long slides with the goal of getting at leat 7,000 points at the end. To get these points, you slide on acorns and chestnuts, go through gates, and use the directional button for mid-air flip routines. However, watch out for falling ice! Every time you run into a piece of ice--or miss a directional challenge sequence--points are deducted!

Another fun mini-game is penguin bowling (the penguins are the pins!). You have to score 100 points before you move to the next part of the game. There's a monkey shooting gallery, a Whac-a-Mole-type game, and other fun (but challenging!) mini-games.

Scrat find himself climbing up walls (some are slippery!), swinging on vines, climbing trees, jumping ledges and through treetops, swimming underwater (he has a bubble meter showing how much air he has left!), etc. He even gets helps from other creatures, like when he must climb on the back of a swamp bird in order to get to higher ledges.

There are 5 levels at each place, including the ice/water park, the forest, the mud bog, the sloth village, and more (we're not through the game yet).

Although my son is a pretty experienced platform gamer (Sly Cooper, Crash Bandicoot, the Spyro series, etc.), he still needs my help on some of the sections. For example, I had to do Sid's Slide about 4 or 5 times before I finally accumulated 7,000 points! This game is great for kids and adults alike, but since the hints have to be read (they're not spoken) this could prove problematic for beginner readers.

Also, if you're skittish about kids hitting animals or adolescent humor like fart games (no joke...one of the games has a Fructose Bear who has a Fart meter that helps propel Scrat to acorns on ledges LOL), then you may want to think twice about the game. But if your child is used to mild "cartoon violence" and humor like I've described, I think you'll be delighted and amused with this game.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

Product Description:
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown takes you back in time for a great adventure! The world is melting and your Ice Age pals need help escaping from the rising waters. Swim, splash, scamper and scurry through all the action and adventure from the new Ice Age 2 movie and unearth fun, laughter and surprises along the way!

Want to read more honest consumer review about Ice Age 2: The Meltdown now ?