Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

They never thaw it coming

NA release: 14th March 2006
EU release: 31st March 2006
JP release: N/A
Developer: Eurocom
Publisher: Sierra
NGC Magazine Score: 70%
Mods Used: None

The Ice Age films are something that, despite their popularity, I’ve never actually properly watched. I am aware that Scrat, the squirrel-like creature that is the star of this game – spends the entirety of the films hunting for an acorn to bury it. So I found it odd that in this game, you collect thousands of icons – and they’re only used to unlock gallery images so you’ll quickly start ignoring them. There is a golden acorn that seems to be Scrat’s aim here, but it still seems odd.

That said, using Scrat is a somewhat clever move, as it means he has his own adventures that loosely take place near the main cast, plus means that the film only need to do a handful of lines for the occasional time you see them standing around in levels. It does solve the issue of having to try and convert screens from the film into levels, so it’s a good idea.

What you get is a fairly typical 3D platformer. The movement and most mechanics are good, although you can only stun enemies for half a second so it’s best to just ignore them all. The problem, instead, lies in the game’s tedious challenges, like slowly collecting chicks or really dull minigames. Some levels also have hidden walnuts you need to progress, but there’s no consistency to them. Some are rewards for minigames, some are at the end of obvious platform challenges while others are just off to the side, hidden behind tree trunks or something.

It feels strange to say this, but if Ice Age 2 was a bit simpler – remove most minigames, make some shorter and make all the collectables optional, then this would have been an enjoyable romp, especially for children, but the extra tasks just end up hindering the game.

Fine

As this sort of thing goes, Ice Age 2 is one of the more professional and playable examples of the genre. While you won’t get much out of it if you’re an experienced gamer looking for new challenges or thrills, it might be just enough to persuade the little ones to stop cracking each other round the head fighting over Wii Sports.
Martin Kitts, NGamer Magazine #6 (Wii Review)

Remake or remaster?

Not for this

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to get Ice Age 2: The Meltdown