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I appreciate what this game was going for. The use of rising water to make you think quickly to figure out how to traverse the stages is a fun idea, and ties into the theming of the license well.
However, the moment-to-moment gameplay is both clunky and confusing, and the natural 'timer' makes this way more stressful than it needs to be. Especially if you played it when you were young, like me.
Well, that and some of the levels are stupidly big, alongside the fact there's three characters to swap between, each with different abilities, meaning that you both have to figure WHICH character to use for each puzzle, and HOW to get them there.
And if you missed the solution, which is now under a layer of water? Then you have to do the whole thing again.
However, the moment-to-moment gameplay is both clunky and confusing, and the natural 'timer' makes this way more stressful than it needs to be. Especially if you played it when you were young, like me.
Well, that and some of the levels are stupidly big, alongside the fact there's three characters to swap between, each with different abilities, meaning that you both have to figure WHICH character to use for each puzzle, and HOW to get them there.
And if you missed the solution, which is now under a layer of water? Then you have to do the whole thing again.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown for Nintendo DS is an interesting beast of a game. It's a sort of top-down puzzle game with exploration element to it. You control one of three main characters that you acn switch between with their dedicated tiles. Your goal is simply find a special character that unlocks the next level (Scrat, Crash and Eddie (both are located separately), or the boss statue). This was actually a relief to me. See, the levels are actually quite open and extensive, and get larger as the game progresses. Along the way, there are other creatures that you can rescue from The Meltdown. You don't have to rescue them, and they only count for score. Needless to say, I sacrificed a lot of creatures to get to the end of the game.
From the tutorial, I expected this to be a middling straightforward puzzle game, but it was anything but. There are golden acorns that lead the way, but you still have to go out of your way to get a proper character, and in later levels, they aren't present at the start of the level for guidance, which, in my opinion, leads to a bit of trial and error and confusion. In later levels, you're required to use one character, then backtrack for another, and come back, all simply to beat the level. There is a mini-map at the top of the screen, which marks all the creatures as dots, and level completion stuff as stars, but I do wish the game also marked character swap pads. On top of all of this, there's a timer constantly ticking, indicating the flood level. You must pick up snowflakes or destroy objects to get smaller snoflakes to freeze the water and reset the timer. Collecting 50 acorns also freezes water. Once you're past the game's confusing beginning, you're in for a tedious time. I didn't like the game that much, the mechanics can be occasionally janky, the level design can be a bit of a mess, and it's just not very fun. I was actually worried about each world having 6 points to unlock. Thankfully, there are only 3 required levels with 1 boss at the end, the 2 other pads are optional mini-games.
Speaking of the boss, you use touch screen to fling snowballs at the fish, and drag the ice platforms in place of broken ones, and occasionally, said ice platforms can have vicious plants that can stun you. Simply touch one to rid of it. While the boss does get slightly harder each time, it's still not very difficult and it's just one and the same thing. Very generous, game.
Overall, not a very fun game. The only good thing I can say about it is its humorous dialogue. The graphics are decent. The presentation is actually quite unique, as it seems to use some pre-rendered videos for like the main menu and game over screens (and these are unique for each world). The levels themselves use 3D graphics and look alright. The world and level selection is simplistic, but it has a 3D-like appearance when you scroll between worlds. The music is ok. In the end, I don't really recommend this game, as you may find it boring and tedious. I'd rather play Ice Age for Game Boy Advance than this. That game wasn't amazing (in fact, quite mediocre), but at least it was straightforward and relatively pain free. This game is a miss.
From the tutorial, I expected this to be a middling straightforward puzzle game, but it was anything but. There are golden acorns that lead the way, but you still have to go out of your way to get a proper character, and in later levels, they aren't present at the start of the level for guidance, which, in my opinion, leads to a bit of trial and error and confusion. In later levels, you're required to use one character, then backtrack for another, and come back, all simply to beat the level. There is a mini-map at the top of the screen, which marks all the creatures as dots, and level completion stuff as stars, but I do wish the game also marked character swap pads. On top of all of this, there's a timer constantly ticking, indicating the flood level. You must pick up snowflakes or destroy objects to get smaller snoflakes to freeze the water and reset the timer. Collecting 50 acorns also freezes water. Once you're past the game's confusing beginning, you're in for a tedious time. I didn't like the game that much, the mechanics can be occasionally janky, the level design can be a bit of a mess, and it's just not very fun. I was actually worried about each world having 6 points to unlock. Thankfully, there are only 3 required levels with 1 boss at the end, the 2 other pads are optional mini-games.
Speaking of the boss, you use touch screen to fling snowballs at the fish, and drag the ice platforms in place of broken ones, and occasionally, said ice platforms can have vicious plants that can stun you. Simply touch one to rid of it. While the boss does get slightly harder each time, it's still not very difficult and it's just one and the same thing. Very generous, game.
Overall, not a very fun game. The only good thing I can say about it is its humorous dialogue. The graphics are decent. The presentation is actually quite unique, as it seems to use some pre-rendered videos for like the main menu and game over screens (and these are unique for each world). The levels themselves use 3D graphics and look alright. The world and level selection is simplistic, but it has a 3D-like appearance when you scroll between worlds. The music is ok. In the end, I don't really recommend this game, as you may find it boring and tedious. I'd rather play Ice Age for Game Boy Advance than this. That game wasn't amazing (in fact, quite mediocre), but at least it was straightforward and relatively pain free. This game is a miss.
lixo