Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (video game)

All of this just works. ― Todd Howard

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Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
"Oooh, that was smooth. Even for me!" -Alex the Lion 2008
Genre(s): Platform Action Platform(s): Xbox 360 Nintendo DS PlayStation 2 PC PlayStation 3 Wii Release Date: November 4, 2008 Developer(s): Toys for Bob (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii) Aspyr Media (PC) Idol Minds (PS2) Griptonite Games (NDS) Publisher(s): ActiVision Country: United States Series: Madagascar Predecessor: Madagascar Successor: Madagascar 3

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a action-platformer game based on the homonymous movie, as well as a sequel to the 2005 game.

Plot

This game follows the same plot as the movie it ties in with for the most part while adding some new subplots, like King Julien wanting to make a brochure for Madagascar in the beginning and the NYC gang having to do some pre-flight preparations (like Melman stopping some moles from stealing plane parts, Marty kicking Julien's suitcases to the loading conveyor belt and Gloria having to prepare the slingshots that will launch the plane).

"Excelente!" Qualities

1. The graphics, animation and voice acting are a noticeable step-up from the previous game, with Danny Jacobs and Fred Tatasciore doing better jobs as Julien and Maurice respectively than Keith Ferguson and John Cothran Jr.. Danny would also take over as King Julien in both TV series and Penguins of Madagascar (2014).
   • Dan White and Greg Eagles are also good at imitating Bernie Mac and will.i.am as Zuba and Moto Moto respectively.
2. Michael Wandmacher does another awesome soundtrack, with new bangers including (but not limited to) the title screen theme, Brave New Wild (the song that plays in Welcome to Africa) and Dam Busters.
3. Alex's moveset is fleshed out, gaining the abilities of riding zipvines and climbing walls. Gloria also gets the ability to swim and dive underwater, which is useful for finding monkeys and extra coins.
4. Unlike the other 3 playable characters, Melman brought back all of his moves and abilities from the first game.
5. While it may not look like it, the aiming for Alex's mango throw was slightly improved.
6. Like its predecessor, there are a lot of fun missions, like taking pictures of Marty with the African animals, busting Moto Moto hitting on other female hippos in secret as Julien equipped with a camera, and throwing soda cans at the safari workers to prevent them from taking the tires that Kowalski needs to make the jeep driveable away.
7. There are even more minigames than the first game. Some examples are Hot Durian, Soccer, Musical Chairs, Volcano Rave, Jungle Chess and the list goes on.
   • Speaking of Volcano Rave, it has some cool songs to dance to, especially Dance Like an African by Lou Bega.
8. The characters are a lot more expressive here, as their eyelids actually move and their mouths are much more malleable.
9. The Watering Hole is a pretty cool hub world with quite a good variety of animals to talk to, like the elephants and the bee-hating rhino.
10. Fun and memorable levels, like Welcome to Africa, Wooing Gloria and Convoy Chase.
    • Mort's Adventure is a fun little level where the player takes control of Mort and ventures through a crocodile/lizard filled land. It also includes a pinball game at the end in all versions except for PS2.
    • Penguin Caper is another cool stage where Private is playable and has to look for parts in a safari park to fix the plane with the help of Rico, Skipper and Kowalski.
11. The part where the characters need to find monkeys to help on the plane repairs is a neat nod to the film.
12. The funny self-awareness from the first installment makes a return in the form of the characters (mostly Skipper) talk about pressing a button to do something.
13. The writing, while not really as good as the first game, is still really nice.
14. While they are only playable in the minigames, playing as characters like Zuba, Moto Moto, and Makunga is still really interesting.
15. The Duty-Free Shop is a nice spiritual successor to the Zoovenir Shop and it also has some cool merch, like Melman's witch doctor hat and Gloria's diving gear.

Bad Qualities

1. Despite the story being the same as the movie, it's certainly inferior in a few aspects:
   • Alex's reunion with his father is nowhere near of a big deal as it was in the film, as they suddenly realize they are related with no explanation and Zuba treats his son's long overdue return as if he only went on a trip;
   • Makunga is even less involved in the plot and isn't even the main villain, only coming across as a mean-spirited trainer in the Rites of Passage level;
     • Speaking of mean-spirited, the other lions are jerks to Alex for no good reason;
   • Florrie (Alex's mom) and Teetsi are nowhere to be seen;
   • Moto Moto is actually kinda unlikable compared to his movie counterpart. While his only known flaw in the movie was liking Gloria just for her looks, he is also a womanizer here, as seen in the mission mentioned in EQ#5;
   • Melman and Gloria's romantic subplot is kind of poorly executed and feels rushed (although the part where she tells Melman she loves everything about him was wholesome);
   • And the drought of the Watering Hole comes completely out of nowhere and also feels rushed.
2. Marty is arguably the lamest character to play as in the hub world. While he is the fastest of the 4 main characters, he has no abilities outside of missions.
3. It's as short as the first game (unless the player tries to find all 100 monkeys).
4. The Jungle Chess minigame can be frustrating, especially if the player doesn't know how to play real-life chess.
5. There are a few animals missing from the film, like buffalos and ostriches.
   • Crispin Freeman as Alex is a bit of a downgrade from Wally Wingert, though he still does a nice work.
6. It reuses a few songs from the first game in rather unfitting situations. For example, in the mission where Melman is rolling on a ball made out of junk to crush some scraps, the Mysterious Jungle theme plays, and the menu for "Musical Chairs" reuses the Zoovenir Shop and Tiki Minigolf/Credits themes.
7. Plot hole: How did Melman and Julien get to the Hippo Grotto if they can't swim? And if they actually can, then why is Melman defeated when he falls in the water?
8. The PS2 version, while being able to run at 60fps this time around, has slightly worse graphics and is missing some features (e.g. the pinball game at the end of the Mort's Adventure level), likely due to technical limitations.

Hints

• The "Impress Gloria" mission is infamous for its difficulty. To beat it, the player has to jump as high as possible use the right control stick to perform the most flips.

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