Madagascar(video game)

Madagascaris aplatformvideo gamebased on the animated film of thesame namebyEric DarnellandTom McGrath,produced by DreamWorks. The game was released on May 24, 2005 in North America and on June 30, 2005 in Europe. TheGameCube,PlayStation 2andXboxversions were developed byToys for Bob.TheMicrosoft Windowsversion was developed byBeenoxand theNintendo DSandGame Boy Advanceversions were developed byVicarious Visions.All versions of the game were published byActivision.Madagascar: Operation Penguinwas the nextMadagascarvideo game to be released on the Game Boy Advance.

Madagascar
North American GameCube box art
Developer(s)	Toys for Bob(PS2, Xbox, GC) Beenox(PC) Vicarious Visions(GBA, NDS)
Publisher(s)	Activision
Director(s)	Paul Reiche III Fred Ford
Producer(s)	Iana Iasiello Alex Ness
Designer(s)	Toby Schadt Mike Ebert
Programmer(s)	Peter Lipson Robert Leyland Jamie Davis
Artist(s)	Terrence C. Falls Alec Franklin
Writer(s)	Billy Frolick Alex Ness Kelly Wand Kelly Byrd
Composer(s)	Michael Wandmacher
Series	Madagascar
Engine	RenderWare
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance,GameCube,Microsoft Windows,Nintendo DS,PlayStation 2,Xbox
Release	NA:May 24, 2005 EU:June 30, 2005
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, platform
Mode(s)	Single-player,multiplayer

The game received mixed reviews but sold well; critics praised its humor and gameplay variety, but criticised its graphics and length. A sequel,Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,was released on November 4, 2008.

Gameplay

Madagascaris mainly aplatformerwithstealth,puzzle,andcombatelements. The player mainly controls Marty the zebra, while in other levels the player can also control Gloria the hippo, Melman the giraffe, and Alex the lion. Each character in the game has his or her own ability. To gain said abilities, the player must first find three cards, known as power cards, to gain them. Skipper the penguin and Mort the mouse lemur are also playable in some levels. Outside of platforming, there are also challenges including using acraneto eliminate the crew of a ship, shooting darts at a hunter, protectingmushroomsfromcockroaches,escorting lemurs to safety, flinging explosiveduriansat worms, as well as defeating crocodilemartial artists.

Throughout the levels, players can collect Monkey Coins, which can be cashed in at the Zoovenir Shop, an in-game store, for character accessories,mini-games,extra health, and cheats. The player can also collect healing tikis, which when ten of them are collected, grants the player an extra life. The player can also earn bonus coins by performing additional tasks, including jumping through a number of rings as Alex and destroying a number of vehicles inNew York Cityas Gloria.

Plot

Marty thezebra,Alex the lion, Gloria theHippopotamusand Melman the Giraffe live in theCentral Park ZooinNew York.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, apenguinliving 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. Realizing this, Alex, Melman and Gloria decide to go and look for him. As they find him, they are surrounded by police, tranquilized, and sent to a wild life reserve. Skipper and his team of penguins: Private, Rico and Kowalski are also on board. They 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. Finding an opened crate which belonging to Marty on the beach, he concludes that 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 and finally reunites with his friends.

They go search for help, and find an entire tribe oflemurshaving 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 thefossas,the enemies of the lemurs. The animals protect the lemurs, and help them collect food for another party. 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, 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 and finally, they build a beacon resembling theStatue of Liberty.

Marty decides that he must go back for Alex. Meanwhile, Alex is hiding in the lair of the foosa, feeling ashamed of himself. He encounters the king of the fossa and defeats him, after which Marty arrives and rescues Alex and they give the leader to the penguins and reunite with Melman and Gloria at the beach. There, the lemurs thank the gang for their help.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	(DS) 66/100 (GBA) 71/100 (GC) 70/100 (PC) 73/100 (PS2) 69/100 (Xbox) 71/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
GameSpot	7/10
IGN	7/10

Madagascarreceived "mixed or average" reviews, according toreview aggregatorMetacritic.While it was praised for its simple and fun gameplay, humor, and variety, it was criticised for its low-quality graphics, short length, and lacking replay value. Alex Navarro ofGameSpotgave it a score of 7 out of 10, calling it "a short but endearing adventure that will be immediately appealing to the adolescent gamers in your household, whether or not they've seen the movie. And if they have, all the better.". Likewise,IGNalso game the game a 7 out of 10, stating "those looking for a good, kid-focused platformer will find it inMadagascar.It doesn't force you through level after level of mindless item collection. Instead, it boasts a number of well-designed levels that feature a variety of play styles. ". Game Informergave the game 7/10, saying "the gameplay is simple yet heavily varied, which in turn keeps the action fresh and fun.".Official U.S. PlayStation Magazinestated "overall, the mechanics are OK, though the camera is kind of unwieldy. But very frankly, that probably won't matter all that much to the target audience."

Despite the mixed reception, theAcademy of Interactive Arts & SciencesnominatedMadagascarfor "Children's Game of the Year"during the9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.

The game shipped more than 1 million copies.

External links

• MadagascaratMobyGames
• Madagascar(Game Boy Advance & Nintendo DS)atMobyGames