Madagascar (video game)
| Madagascar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) |
Toys for Bob (PS2, Xbox, GC ) Beenox (PC) Vicarious Visions (GBA, DS) |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Distributor(s) | |
| Producer(s) | DreamWorks Animation |
| Series | Madagascar |
| Engine | RenderWare |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, GameCube |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Madagascar is a video game of the action-adventure genre released in 2005 by Toys for Bob for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance and GameCube. The game is based on the animated movie of the same name. Madagascar: Operation Penguin was next to be released on the Game Boy Advance.
Gameplay
The player mainly controls Marty the zebra, while in other levels the player can control Gloria the hippo, Melman the giraffe, and Alex the lion. Each character in the game has his or her own ability. To gain their abilities, the player must first find three cards, known as power cards, to gain the character's ability.
Marty has a special kicking ability, which he can use to destroy hay bales, statues and other things, a sneak ability that helps him get through small holes, and a long jump ability, which he can use to jump to far places. Alex has the double jump ability, which he can use to jump through hoops, a roar to scare small creatures, can also throw mangoes [on Madagascar only], and the claw ability, which he can use to defeat enemies. Gloria has the ability to run fast when she eats a chilli pepper. This ability can be used to charge cars and hay bails and enemies, as well as a butt bounce ability which she can use to defeat policemen, and more. Melman has a spin ability, which he can use to stop enemies, and a helicopter gliding ability, which he can use to glide from place to place from higher places.
However, while some abilities can be used in every level, there are some abilities that usually can be only be used in certain levels. For example, in the level The Final Battle, Alex gains the claw ability, but since the level in which he gains this ability is the last level, he can use it no more. If the player wants to switch characters, the player can use a special totem pole that might be nearby to switch characters (however, in the level Back to the Beach, Alex is absent on the totem pole).
In the 'map', which appears at the start of each level showing which levels are available, or the pause menu, players can access the Zoovenir Shop, where you can buy add-ons and other accessories (for instance, a coin magnet) for your character using silver and gold coins you can find in each level. There are 11 levels in the game: King of New York; Marty's Escape; New York Street Chase; Penguin Mutiny; Mysterious Jungle; Save the Lemurs; Jungle Banquet; Coming of Age; Back to the Beach; Marty to the Rescue and The Final Battle. Players can play 1 of 3 mini-games Lemur Rave, Tiki Mini-Golf or Shuffleboard.
Plot
Marty the Zebra (Phil LaMarr), Alex the Lion (Wally Wingert), Gloria the Hippo (Bettina Bush) and Melman the Giraffe (Stephen Stanton) live in the Central Park Zoo in New York City. On Marty's tenth birthday, Marty starts to have doubts that the zoo is where he belongs, and finds that life in the zoo is boring. That night, a penguin living in the zoo named Skipper decides to break out of the zoo, and invites Marty to come with him, and gives Marty directions on how to clear paths. Skipper, in order to escape himself, is forced to abandon Marty in the process, but gives him more directions. Marty manages to make it to the main exit and leave.
Alex, Melman and Gloria realize Marty is gone and conclude he escaped, and look for him throughout New York City. They catch up with Marty at Grand Central Station, but they are surrounded by police who fire tranquilizer shots at them and they are knocked unconscious. They get locked in crates on board a cargo ship heading towards a wild life reserve in Kenya. Skipper and his team of penguins: Private, Rico and Kowalski are also on board, and escape from their crate and head for the bridge where they knock the captain unconscious and turn the ship around to Antarctica. Marty, Alex, Melman and Gloria fall into the ocean in the process. Alex is washed onto a beach unconscious, and soon wakes up. He believes he is in the San Diego Zoo in California, and finds an opened crate which belongs to Marty on the beach, and concludes that the his friends are there too, and goes off to find them. In the jungle, he helps different animals with their tasks, and in return they give him his friends' whereabouts. He finally reunites with his friends.
They go search for help, and find an entire tribe of lemurs having a party. The lemurs introduce themselves, and explain that the island they are on is called Madagascar, but as they talk, they are attacked by the Fossas, the enemies of lemurs. The animals protect the lemurs, and then start helping the lemurs to collect food for another party: Alex helps Julien collect cave onions and mushrooms, Melman helps Mort, a small and cute lemur, protect the Noogie nuts, Gloria smashes watermelons and protects carrots. After the party, Gloria finds that Alex is acting strange because he didn't eat any food during the party, and tells Melman to go find steak while she goes to find Marty, Melman fails in finding steak, and meets up with Maurice, Gloria and Marty. Marty announces that Alex bit him on the butt. Maurice explains that lions are supposed to eat other animals, and that Alex never harmed animals before because in the zoo food was given to him, and the four flee to the beach. A warthog named Wilbur (whose real name, Guigley, is revealed at the end credits), who falls in love with Gloria and agrees to give them information if she gives him a kiss after the work, tells them that the rescue beacon on the beach is broken, but there are many things lying around the beach that they can use to rebuild the beacon. They collect enough materials for the beacon and finally, a beacon like the statue of liberty is built. Gloria now has to do what she promised and kiss the warthog, but she tells Melman to do it instead (the scene in which Melman kisses the warthog is censored).
Marty decides that he must go back for Alex. He asks Mort for the fastest route to him. Mort suggests that Marty should take the No Chance of Survival Trail, and tells Marty to meet him on the other side. They miraculously survive(despite the name of the trail) and meet up at the end of the trail and after going through a series of caves, they slide down a rapid river. They see a whirlpool after a while. Mort says that to get to Alex, Marty must jump into the whirlpool, but Marty has doubts. To prove he's right, Mort jumps into the whirlpool. Marty follows. Meanwhile, Alex is hiding in the lair of the Foosa, feeling ashamed of himself. He soon encounters some Fossas and he manages to battle them. He then encounters the Fossa leader, King Fossa (King Fossa is not mentioned in the film). Alex defeats King Fossa. Marty suddenly falls through the roof and rescues Alex. They go back to the beach where the penguins, who saw the beacon signal from the ship, dropped anchor their boat, thought the penguins do not tell the animals some important news: the ship is out of fuel which is why they stopped at Madagascar.
Development
The game was intended to be rated E by the ESRB but because of Gloria the Hippo's butt stomp attack that uses the word "butt", the game was rated E10+.[1]
Reception
The game received generally positive to average reviews. Metacritic calculated an average score of 69 out of 100 for the game. On Metacritic, PGNx Media gave the game a positive review, giving it 85 points, and had said "The game boasts respectable gameplay, and an impressive audio-visual combination, as well as a comical plot from the folks at Dreamworks". On the GameSpot website the game was awarded 7.0 points for the PC version. On IGN, the game was also awarded a positive 7 out of 10.
Sequel
A sequel to the game, which was based on the second Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, titled Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa was released on November 4, 2008. The gameplay of the game is the same as the game based on the first film. A video game for the 3rd film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted has also been made.
References
- ↑ Barton, Matt (9 April 2011). "Matt Chat 97: The Horde and More with Fred Ford and Paul Reiche". YouTube. Google. Retrieved 29 June 2014.