Madagascar
Ages: Everyone 10+

It's all happening at the Zoo - Alex the Lion, who is king of the zoo; Marty the zebra, with an itch to go wild; Melman the giraffe, with more legs and neck than a giraffe twice his size; Gloria the hippopotamus, everyone's den mother and, last but not least, my favorite, the penguin gang. By putting the animals through their paces you will help them learn how use their special skills. There is an escape, a chase through heavy New York traffic, and a side trip to Antarctica before they land in Madagascar, where there are lots of small friendly animals and a few that are not friendly at all. You play all four characters as the need for their special skills arises. It's basically a good story, the animals are appealing and here is a game that ten year olds can play without shooting up the place.

The game is designed for a (PC) controller, therefore the combinations needed for navigation using mouse and keyboard are simply awful. The one that annoyed me the most was not using the mouse to move the characters, but instead relegating the mouse to camera movement. Had I known, I would have played the game on a console.

On the other hand, the voice talent was so good that it had me looking at the credits to see who I recognized. But even with good talent -- there is too much repetition. With a simultaneous release on all platforms, Activision must be counting on a hit. If the movie is good -- kids will want to play the animals themselves -- We'll see.

Reviewed by: Editor - 06/05

In this game you play using the four main characters: Alex, Melman, Gloria, Marty and a little bit with the penguins. The animals try to escape from the zoo, and they end up on a tropical island. All together there are eleven levels. On the first level it is Marty’s birthday, and he is depressed so he goes to Alex to try and be cheered up. You have to be Alex and perform a show. Then you have to race against the ostriches with Gloria. After that you spin the trash out of Melman’s cage. In the game there are a few main locations. They are the zoo, the streets of New York, the boat, the beach and the jungle. Every level is a little harder.

I really liked the game. If you have seen the movie it would make more sense, but even though I played it before seeing the movie and it was still fun. The graphics did not look exactly in the movie, but it was pretty good. Younger kids usually have more trouble playing, after all it is rated ten and up. It was a really fun game. It was challenging. I would recommend it.

Raina B. 10

Madagascar is a fun game. I really like it though it’s hard sometimes. My favorite part is buying things at the zoovenir shop. I also like jumping through hoops. My favorite character was Marty (the birthday zebra). When Marty escapes the zoo Alex, Gloria and Melman escape too. All four of them get packed up in a ship. When the penguins reroute the ship to Antarctica the crates with the animal in them fall off the ship. Alex is washed up a beach and starts looking for his friends. Melman is the first one he finds. The four friends crash a lemur party and help them get away from a foosa- the most dangerous creature on the island. When the lemurs have a banquet; Marty, Melman, Gloria and Alex help them find food. Unfortunately for Alex (the lion) all they have is fruit.

I really like the game. Mini games could be played with either one or two people. I loved watching my big sister play. Some parts of the game I needed help with. I would recommend it for eight and up.

Marnie B. 8

Madagascar is about some animals from the zoo trying to escape into the wild. The point of the game is to help the other animals with what they are doing and then try to escape from the zoo. You help the animals do different things. At the end it starts getting harder at each task. When you are escaping you have to make sure no one sees you, and the next time, you have to help them get through the streets without anyone attacking you, and then you get boarded onto a ship to be taken to the San Diego Zoo. On the streets you have to help each character get around with no one attacking you. At one point the police try to capture you but the animals have different attacks and ways to get rid of them. And when you are on the ship you have to become some wacky penguins to get control of the ship. Next, you land on a mysterious island and then you find out it’s not that mysterious

at all. When you get to the jungle you are trying to find your other friends and help out some other animals. Once you find out the jungle is great you meet some lemurs and their king and you save them from a creature called a foosa.

I like it because of all of the challenges. Sometimes you have to play them over again to get better at other challenges. You could probably play by yourself if you’re over eight, but if you are younger you might need help, and if you are under five you might be a bit scared.

Lauren B. 8

Reviewed by: - 09/05