This isn't Lost Vikings where switching characters is on the fly - players can only change their on-screen guy by touching an icon representing the mammoth, sloth or sabretooth. The problem with this is, players have to switch between the three different characters in order to follow the path. But even with these opportunities, it's very rare that you'll be able to finish a level on the first try, and depending on player trial and error is more for a puzzle game, not an action game.The designers point the way to the level's one collectible by lining the way with golden acorns. Everything's on a clock with time that's replenished by scooping up snowflakes, so there's plenty of opportunity to keep the clock alive.

If you don't find that item before time's up, the level ends, the game records the high score and throws you back into the level to do it again. Each level is a collect-a-thon through huge levels that challenges players to find the ONE collectible that will allow them to open up the next level. So, while yes there's solid 3D engine, dual screen gameplay, touch screen minigames at work, the issue with Ice Age 2 boils down to poor design planning.The problem is, the primary level design is structured so poorly that it actually requires players to romp through them multiple times. But just because it's exclusively developed on the Nintendo DS doesn't mean anything for its quality control. Not so with Ice Age 2 - this game is ground-up design on the dual screen platform. This is good news, especially to those who may remember last year's saturation of GBA-Plus development where teams would double up handheld development with one title spanning across both Nintendo portables. But at least the game promises to follow the film's plot with the three main characters Manny the mammoth, Sid the sloth and Diego the sabretooth out to rescue animals trapped by the great meltdown of the ice age's end.The Nintendo DS version is a completely original SKU, meaning though its situations may be similar to the console and handheld games, the design is completely separate from the Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Game Boy Advance versions released at the same time. We'll leave commentary and criticisms on the actual movie out of this since, well, we haven't seen it. Just not much better.As of this writing the film still has about two weeks to go before it officially hits theaters, sliding onto the screen three years since the original film. The addition of DS-tailored mini-games is a little cliché, but it does make the game better than average. Unluckily, the more original design is insanely flawed and frustratingly repetitive, forcing players to constantly replay levels over and over in order to complete them and move on.

Luckily for the film's sequel, the Nintendo DS design steps away from being badly ordinary. That game was stunningly generic and overwhelmingly underwhelming in originality, a bland platformer that couldn't even go by the numbers in its design. Retrieved September 3, 2020.It seems like only yesterday when we blew through the Game Boy Advance rendition of Fox's Ice Age film.

^ a b Navarro, Alex (December 14, 2006).

^ a b c 'Ice Age 2: The Meltdown for Xbox Reviews'.

^ a b c 'Ice Age 2: The Meltdown for GameCube Reviews'.

^ a b c 'Ice Age 2: The Meltdown for PlayStation 2 Reviews'.

^ a b c 'Ice Age 2: The Meltdown for Wii Reviews'.

GameSpot gave the Wii version a 7 out of 10 saying that the game is a fun engaging platformer that ought to appeal to multiple audiences but criticizing it for its brevity saying that it takes no more than a few hours to complete, while the GameCube and Xbox versions received a 7.3 out of 10, writing, 'A kid-friendly platformer with more heart than your average film-to-game marketing tie-in, Ice Age 2 can be quite fun-for as long as it lasts'. The Xbox version received a score of 68 out of 100, based on sixteen reviews. The GameCube version received a score of 67 out of 100, based on nine reviews. The PlayStation 2 version received a score of 68 out of 100, based on nineteen reviews. Metacritic gave the Wii version of the game a mixed or average score of 66 out of 100, based on nine reviews. The game received 'mixed or average' reviews from critics.

Ice age ii