The Penguins of Madagascar: The Video Game - Reviews

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15.10.2015

If you’ve read any of my previous reviews you’ll probably see a trend when it comes to games based on Kids TV Shows of today; they’re full of complaints about how the quality of TV Programs have been on a steady decline since the early 2000s. However, if there was ever a show which gave me hope for this young generation it would have to be Penguins of Madagascar, the spin off series from the hit film by DreamWorks. It’s not full of the usual gibberish or rubbish that you get with a lot of shows which seem to be created with a lack of imagination or intelligence; instead Penguins of Madagascar uses clever humour and entertaining storylines that all members of the family can enjoy.And thanks to developers Little Orbit you can now enjoy the fun and hijinks the penguins get up to on the 3DS in a new puzzle solving platformer. However will they have a tough time converting this ever so popular children’s show from the big screen to the little screen?The starting point to any successful conversion from a film/TV show to game is making sure that you capture the essence of what makes it stand out initially. With Penguins of Madagascar that would be to successfully capture the amusing scenarios that Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private get up to which keeps us hooked to our screens TV Screens. The best way to do this is carrying plots over from one format to the other so fans can instantly recognise and associate with what is going on. Therefore fans of the show will be happy to see the return of Dave, an evil Octopus who is constantly plotting to destroy the Penguin World, and surprise surprise he is up to his old tricks again. It’s your job to take control of these feathered flightless birds and travel the globe to take part in covert Penguin operations in an effort to foil the evil plans of Dave the Octopus, whilst collecting delicious Cheezy Dibbles.The game follows a simple but addictive design which combines brilliant graphics that capture the essence of the show perfectly along with excellent gameplay. Following the simple mechanics of a side-scrolling platform game in a 3D environment with stealth elements, you’ll have to make your way from start to finish on each mission exploring your surroundings whilst remaining undetected by the enemy. This is probably an unusual concept to young children as we all know being quiet and unseen is a hard thing for them to grasp, instead they are constantly screaming and running around. However it is nice to see a game that doesn’t promote violence with the exception of Skippers special ability which I’ll discuss later, even the enemies won’t attack you. As an alternative the player has to remain undetected and is given a little meter which slowly fills as enemies follow you, hit the top and you’ll have to restart again.You’ll then continue through the game whilst collecting items like collecting Cheezy Dibbles which have very little relevance to the game other than collecting for collecting’s sake. It would have been nice if you were able to unlock some rewards by collecting them like outfits for the Penguins or maybe unlock mini-games, something that doesn’t make the task pointless. Ignoring that though and carrying on with the game you’ll find you need to switch between all four Penguin agents to help solve bamboozling puzzles put in the way to try and halt your progress. There is a method to the madness though in making you switch between all four Penguins because each has their own special ability which will come in handy for different scenarios.First of the Penguin abilities is Skipper who has a special stun slap ability, as mentioned above, that he can use to temporarily disable enemy Octopi. This comes in really useful because it stops them being able to follow you, meaning you can create some space to prevent the enemy getting close and forcing you to restart the mission. Secondly you have Rico, who fans of the show will know is a big fan of explosives so no surprise really that his special ability is blowing things up, mainly doors in these circumstances. Next up is Kowalski who manages to do the impossible in travelling small distances from ledges using flight, this just teaches us to never give up on your dreams, you can do anything if you put your mind to it! Finally we’re left with private who can travel through tubes to travel to different areas within that particular level.Each of the puzzles you face in the game will require you to switch between the characters and combine their skills to complete your mission because otherwise you won’t be getting very far. It would’ve been nice however to have seen some kind of multiplayer option allowing you to link with friends who also have the Penguins of Madagascar game and then take part in co-op missions. That way it’d be a little more like the TV show because the Penguins can work together as a unit rather than being separately controlled one at a time. This would allow for combination moves to be introduced and adds another dimension to the game, as well as teaching those of a younger generation the importance of teamwork.So now to answer the question of whether Little Orbit managed to take this incredibly popular series (and now a film) and do the Penguins proud, or have they forced Skipper and the gang to take all the copies of the game and bury them deep at sea. Well if like me you are a fan of the series this game will not disappoint, it’s suitable for not just children but the whole family as it is an all-round enjoyable game to play. Even those who don’t necessarily care for the movies or the show will find some enjoyment out of this game, as the gameplay is solid and the puzzles will provide even the more intellectual gamers with a bit of a challenge (although not too big of one because small children still have to be able to work them out too). I’d have like to see some kind of reward system involved which makes collecting items gratifying more than just a chore, as well as the introduction of a multiplayer mode. Still despite that Penguins of Madagascar has to be one of my favourite third-party games I have played on the 3DS behind Fire Emblem Awakening and Pokemon X/Y, definitely worth a purchase.