Madagascar: Escape to Africa is the sequel to the animated movie of the same name. As always, to coincide with the movie release, there are multiple games also released for the current handheld, console and computer systems. This review is of the PC version of the game.

Everyone likes to trash any game that is based on a movie.  This is an easy thing to do, as many of these tie-in games are usually pretty lame. Most of these games are also targeted toward children, which is understandable since the movies are for children. Some reviewers forget that a kid’s game has different requirements from an adult game, and double-trash it (I just made that word up, but I like it).  However, Madagascar Escape to Africa is a decent kid’s game and quite a bit of fun, so no trashing here.

Like in the movie, our friends from the first movie are still stranded on the island of Madagascar. The penguins devise a way to get an old, decrepit plane to fly and so everyone (including Madagascar native King Julien and his band of lemurs) boards and sets off for New York.  Unfortunately, they only make it as far as Africa and crash. The penguins get busy trying to fix the plane, and Alex the lion, Melman the giraffe, Marty the Zebra and Gloria the Hippo begin looking for help. The game is based on all of their misadventures while searching Africa.

The main mode is the Story Mode.  The first level is a tutorial, which demonstrates the different types of mini-games and platforming levels that will be featured.  The basic controls for these are also demonstrated. Players will play as each of the four characters in the tutorial in turn.

The set-up for this tutorial is amusing. King Julien wants to promote Madagascar as a tourist attraction, and wants everyone to participate in various photo-ops while performing fun and daring feats. So, the player will practice all sorts of moves and mini-game formats. Alex is mostly used for platform gaming, Melman for flying with his helicopter move or rolling on top of a ball, Marty for running or kicking, and Gloria for swimming and diving. The penguins are also playable characters from time to time. Once this tutorial is finished, it’s off to the real levels.

This game is a bit unusual in that it is more of a collection of mini-games rather than a traditional platforming type of game. Players will play all sorts of different types of games to advance, most of them fairly short. Taking photos, diving, kicking a soccer ball, sliding, and rolling on a ball are just some of the things players will be doing.  Platforming is mostly a matter of jumping from ledge to ledge and then sliding down a zip-line. Of course, there is also plenty of collecting.

Having such a large variety of short mini-games is good in a children’s game, as it keeps their attention.  However, the segments could be a bit longer before moving on to something new, as it makes the game a tad choppy. In between most of these mini-games is a short animated cut scene.

Most of the games are fairly easy to finish, except for the soccer games and some of the platforming. Maneuvering Morty around backwards in order to kick with his back feet is a little awkward. It’s also too easy to fall off ledges when jumping in the platform games. (A funny note about falling off into the water, when Alex falls into the water, he’s dripping water and leaves wet footprints!) The platforming portions are not as much fun as the mini-games, mainly because they don’t offer a lot to do besides jumping around and collecting items. But, this isn’t a big deal in this game because the platforming takes a back seat to the other game elements. And, as the platforming is easy, it won’t frustrate younger players.
 

The levels in story mode can be revisited after the player has played through them via a main hub at the watering hole. This is good, because many times collectables have been missed, and players may have also missed a mini-game or two.

The camera viewpoint is mostly good, and will adjust automatically and swing around when the character is repositioned. It takes a few minutes, though.  The camera can also be adjusted manually. It is easy to get stuck in corners, however, and often players won’t be able to see around the corner, which makes it difficult to get unstuck.

Besides the story mode, there is also a separate section of mini-games which can be played at any time. There are 10 games in this mode, and they can be played in any order singly or multi-player in a quick-start mode, or can be played in a tournament mode multi-player. Some of these are quite good, especially the chess and matching games.  These both require a bit of critical thinking. The chess game plays with slightly different rules than regular chess.  In fact, it’s more like a simplified game of Stratego. The matching game is played against a monkey who’s trying to collect matches at the same time.  This will require the player to be faster than the monkey, but the player can slap the monkey to stun him momentarily. Some other fun games include a dancing rhythm game, musical chairs, and mini-golf. The rest of the games are alright, but not as much fun. However, with 10 games, there is sure to be something that everyone will like.
 

There is a store where players can purchase game extras and accessories. Players can buy clothing items and have the different characters wear them, which is pretty fun.  There is also a Monkey Gallery where players can supposedly see all the monkeys they’ve collected, but I couldn’t figure this feature out quite right, I think. There are crates where players can throw bananas at the crates to enter, but nothing ever happened when I threw bananas.  User error, I presume, or maybe I didn’t have any monkeys yet.

We played the PC version, which uses either a game controller or the keyboard.  Our game controller is ancient, so it wouldn’t work and we used the keyboard.  I wouldn’t recommend using the keyboard. The manual lists the Xbox game controller for Windows as the preferred choice. This runs around $30. It’s a hard choice on which game version to buy, as the console versions are always more expensive than the computer versions, but this type of game is really meant for console play in front of a TV, especially the multi-player mini-games.

Overall, Madagascar Escape to Africa is a fun game that enlarges the movie experience for young players. While not the best designed game around in terms of execution and polish, it still has plenty to offer. The huge amount of variety, the easiness of most of the mini-games, the short and easy platforming elements, and the separate mini-games that are repayable make this game amusing and very accessible for children. And, I really like the tournament mode where kids can play against their friends, siblings and parents.  This is a great way for families to play a video game together.

Again, this is a cute and amusing game for youngsters. If considering purchasing a console version, it’s a better value for families with multiple young children who love Madagascar.
 

Gameplay: 7.5
The gameplay is varied and interesting. The huge amount of variety is enough to keep most kids’ engaged. While many features need improvement, such as the platforming elements and overall choppiness of the game itself, overall the game is just what kids will like.

Graphics: 7
The game is cute and representative of the movie, but the graphics aren’t as detailed as they could be.

Sound: 7
The music is good at times, but repetitive. The sound effects are adequate.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The overall level of difficulty is on a medium level. There are three levels of difficulty to choose in the mini-game mode. The bulk of the game isn’t very difficult, although some of the jumping can be a little hard in the platforming.

Concept: 7
Hmmm, a kids’ game that is fun for kids….what a concept! The execution is good, but could be better in terms of overall design.

Multiplayer:  7.5

This is the best part of the game, where players can play mini-games against their friends and family. The different difficulty levels are good for families, too.

Overall: 7.5
This game is right on target for kids. It takes a popular movie and translates the humor very well onto a gaming platform. The large amount of variety will keep the kids’ interest, and the ease of difficulty will allow them to play without undue frustration. While there could be improvements in the platforming elements, and more originality in some of the mini-games, overall this is a lot of fun for kids, which is the point. And, there is definitely a lot of replay value, which is always a consideration for families.