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Madagascar (video game)
Encyclopedia
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
.
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 steam ship. 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. Marty, Alex, Melman and Gloria fall into the ocean in the process. Alex is washed onto a beach unconscious, and soon he wakes up. He believes he is in the San Diego zoo, 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 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 Foosa, the enemies of lemurs. Marty follows the King of Lemurs, King Julien and his aid Maurice, through an escape route. Alex later meets Julien and Maurice who tell him that Marty has gone off to their next party's destination. They get attacked by the Foosa again but Alex protects them. The animals reunite and then start helping the lemurs to collect food for the next 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. Mart announces that Alex bit him on the butt. Maurice says that Alex has found his predatory side. 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 wart hog(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 rescie 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 wart hog, but she tells Melman to do it instead(the scene in which Melman kisses the wart hog is censored).
Marty decides that he must go back for Alex. He asks Mort for the fastest route to Alex. Mort suggests that Marty should take the No Chance of Survival Trail, and tells Marty to meet him on the other side. They 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 liar of the Foosa, feeling ashamed of himself. He soon encounters some Foosas and he manages to battle them. He then encounters the King of the Foosa (the king of the Foosa is not mentioned in the film). Alex uses mangoes to defeat the King. They battle again, and this time Alex uses his claws. The king is finally officially defeated. Marty suddenly falls through the roof and rescues Alex. They go back to the beach where the penguins, whom saw the beacon signal from the ship, dropped anchor their boat (though the ship is actually out of fuel, and they don't actually leave Madagascar until the sequel).
Marty a special kicking ability, which he can use to destroy hay bails, statues and other things, and a long jump ability, which he can use to jump to far places. and a long jump ability, while Alex has the double jump ability, which he can use to jump through hoops, and the claw ability, which he can use to defeat enemies. Gloria has the ability to run fast when she eats a 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(in the level Back to the Beach, Alex is absent on the titom 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 outfits and other accessories for your character using silver coins you can find in each level.
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 points.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
genre released in 2005 by Toys for Bob
Toys For Bob
Toys For Bob is a small video game developer founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford. They are most known for creating Star Control and its sequel Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters, but they were not involved in the development of Star Control 3...
for PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
and GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
. The game is based on the animated movie of the same name
Madagascar (2005 film)
Madagascar is a 2005 computer-animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation, and released in movie theaters on May 27, 2005. The film tells the story of four Central Park Zoo animals who have spent their lives in blissful captivity and are unexpectedly shipped back to Africa, getting shipwrecked...
, . Madagascar: Operation Penguin
Madagascar: Operation Penguin
Madagascar: Operation Penguin is a game based on Dreamworks' Madagascar.-Playable characters:*Private*Skipper*Kowalski*Rico-Non-playable characters:*Alex*Marty*Melman*Gloria*Julien*Maurice*Mason*Phil*Mr. Chew*Ted the Polar Bear...
was next to be released on the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
.
Plot
The game revolves around four zoo animals, Marty the zebra, Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe, whom live luxurious lives in the Central Park Zoo located in New York City. The story of the game begins 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 named Skipper gives Marty directions of how to escape the zoo, but Marty is discovered, and encounters the night time security guard, a man whom the animals call the Zoo Hunter. After defeating him, Marty steals his keys and successfully escapes the zoo.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 steam ship. 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. Marty, Alex, Melman and Gloria fall into the ocean in the process. Alex is washed onto a beach unconscious, and soon he wakes up. He believes he is in the San Diego zoo, 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 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 Foosa, the enemies of lemurs. Marty follows the King of Lemurs, King Julien and his aid Maurice, through an escape route. Alex later meets Julien and Maurice who tell him that Marty has gone off to their next party's destination. They get attacked by the Foosa again but Alex protects them. The animals reunite and then start helping the lemurs to collect food for the next 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. Mart announces that Alex bit him on the butt. Maurice says that Alex has found his predatory side. 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 wart hog(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 rescie 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 wart hog, but she tells Melman to do it instead(the scene in which Melman kisses the wart hog is censored).
Marty decides that he must go back for Alex. He asks Mort for the fastest route to Alex. Mort suggests that Marty should take the No Chance of Survival Trail, and tells Marty to meet him on the other side. They 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 liar of the Foosa, feeling ashamed of himself. He soon encounters some Foosas and he manages to battle them. He then encounters the King of the Foosa (the king of the Foosa is not mentioned in the film). Alex uses mangoes to defeat the King. They battle again, and this time Alex uses his claws. The king is finally officially defeated. Marty suddenly falls through the roof and rescues Alex. They go back to the beach where the penguins, whom saw the beacon signal from the ship, dropped anchor their boat (though the ship is actually out of fuel, and they don't actually leave Madagascar until the sequel).
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 a special kicking ability, which he can use to destroy hay bails, statues and other things, and a long jump ability, which he can use to jump to far places. and a long jump ability, while Alex has the double jump ability, which he can use to jump through hoops, and the claw ability, which he can use to defeat enemies. Gloria has the ability to run fast when she eats a 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(in the level Back to the Beach, Alex is absent on the titom 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 outfits and other accessories for your character using silver coins you can find in each level.
Sequel
A sequel to the game, which was based on the second film, titled "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" was released in November 4 of 2008. The gameplay of the game is the same as the game based on the first film.Reception
The game received generally positive to average reviews. MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
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
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
website the game was awarded 7.0 points for the PC version. On IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, the game was also awarded a positive 7 points.