Category: 
Vivendi Games
<b>THE BACKSTORY</b>
Who doesn’t love Scrat? The hapless supporting character of the <i>Ice Age</i> films is almost their default hero. It was Scrat, after all, who was the star of the first film’s teaser trailer as he flailed around trying to get an acorn. 20th Century-Fox obviously knew where their bread was buttered, because when it was time to start the hype for <i>Ice Age 2: The Meltdown</i>, Scrat was front and center in <i>that</i> film’s trailer, too.
I adore Scrat, so I was eager to play Vivendi’s <b>Ice Age 2: The Meltdown</b>, in which you get to <i>be</i> Scrat. Other characters from the film show up, and you get to play as Sid the sloth or Diego the sabertooth tiger in mini-games, but for the most part you play as Scrat as he hops through various levels, picking up acorns and completing missions.
<b>THE GAMEPLAY</b>
The game’s meant for kids, so it’s easy as pie to pick up the controls. You hop forward, double-jump, wall-crawl with the triangle button, whack predators with your tail, jump/stomp to break ice, and attack/spin (a move I rarely used). There’s a level where you hop onto a flamingo and ride him up to various peaks so you can get special acorns, but he can be hard to control — you have to get the launch perfectly timed. Another level requiring Scrat to double-jump to a high ledge is so frustrating that people have posted on forums whining for pointers; it took me ages to get past it.
I was sometimes reminded of a videogame from my misspent youth, <b>The Smurfs</b>, in which you never did anything so upsetting as <i>dying</i>; you ‘got sleepy.’ Such are kiddie games, and in <b>Ice Age 2</b> you very rarely ‘kill’ or ‘die.’ Most of the critters you attack will sit down in a daze or go ‘poof,’ and if Scrat runs out of energy or falls off a cliff the moment isn’t emphasized too much. I was kind of surprised that if Scrat runs out of air while swimming underwater, he pretty obviously drowns. Try not to drown. It’s not very pleasant.
The object of the game is to compile things you’re supposed to, or carry out tasks you’re supposed to, in order to advance to the next level. In other words, a classic platformer. As many folks on the web have said, though, it won’t take up much of your time. I’m notorious for having little patience with games, rarely completing them, so I was happily surprised to actually complete this one. But if you’re looking for a lengthier diversion, don’t look here. You don’t unlock any levels of gameplay either — you just get short interviews with people involved with the movies and game, like Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, and Alan Tudyk (all of whom vocally reprise their characters from the films).
<b>THE VERDICT</b>
It’s fun. It’s fast. It’s easy (if occasionally frustrating). It’s the ideal <i>rental</i>. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of <b>Ice Age</b> and Scrat, I can’t see buying this. For the few cute hours of Scratitude it gave me, I bestow a rating of 7.
G-V Replay Factor (Replayability): Once it’s over, it’s over, and you might not want to start all over again.
Girls Point of View (Graphics): Some pretty environments, some harshly beautiful environments.
Girl Power (Are girls going to want to play it?): Might be a little too little-kid for older gals. Although I’m 35 and I got addicted pretty quickly.
Purse (Value for money): Uh, rent it. Seriously, you’ll be out of there in a couple of nights, if that.
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