Madagascar ring a bell? No? How about Fantastic Four? Oh, wait, I know, let's talk Total Recall. No? OK, then. It seems that the list of movie-licensed games have a majority that run into the same problem. They just don't translate that well into an enjoyable gameplay experience. This could be either the result of the source material running dry in a matter of hours (or even minutes), or the project being handed off to a development team that could just give two craps less and slap together something for the sake of the license. So, yeah, I approached VU Games' Ice Age 2: The Meltdown with caution. After all, it's not like the first Ice Age game for the Game Boy Advance was anything memorable.

But, surprisingly, the game has heft. Not enough heft to really reflect upon older audiences like some game companies hope for, but, for the fans of the Ice Age movies and kids, it's a better game than you might expect. In the game, you'll find yourself dealing with characters from the film, including Manny the Mammoth, Diego the Tiger, Sid the Sloth, and Skrat, a cute little critter that wants nothing more than to get his hands on his trusty acorn, only to run into a number of obstacles along the way. The game's storyline follows pretty closely to the movie, complete with film clips and CG-produced scenes that manage to piece it together quite well...unlike other examples I've mentioned above.

The game does manage to run into a noticable problem- it seems a bit typical in some aspects of its design. For instance, some parts of the gameplay simply run along the lines of the platforming formula, with item collection here and "gain access to this area only after finding this item" there. However, this problem is remedied thanks to the inclusion of little mini-games here and there, from a DDR clone to having to use stealth tactics, like Skrat having to play dead as Diego creeps around, looking for a snack. This mixes things up elegantly, and the fact that the clips surround these to keep the flow of the story going is something we haven't seen in a while in a movie-licensed game.

As far as presentation, eh, could've been a little smoother. Some of the level designs, while true to the look of the film, could've been a little sharper with details, although the animation is pretty smooth, complete with a little character for each of the main parties in the film. It gets better in terms of audio quality, as there's music taken from the movie, along with cute sound effects from Skrat himself. I was real surprised, however, to hear the actual actors from the film (Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary) provide voices for their characters. Again, Eurocom went the extra mile when they could've just taken a quick exit.

I think the best thing that works for ice Age 2 is its sense of humor. It actually manages to be pretty hilarious at times, with situations tied in to the game's events while not losing sight of what the project had in mind in terms of the flow of storyline. This also comes in handy for the duration and the conclusion of your adventure, as there's bonus unlockable extras that are worth checking out for a few laughs and a few more hours of play. It would've been nice to see some bumped-up difficulty for the older players, as well as a possible versus opportunity to see who's better- the mammoth or the sloth. (Of course, I'm sure they would've both argued their cases in only the most comedic fashion.)

No, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown isn't hot enough to be an instant pick-up for audiences all around, but it's a far more suitable movie-licensed game than one would expect. The gameplay may follow familiar territory, but it still manages to work rather well, and it's backed by the sense of its own craziness. I never thaw it coming. Get it? Thaw. Alright, alright, I better stop before the staff starts throwing ice cubes at me.

Our Final ScoreOK

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