  Watch for killer-white-cookies-with-Chinese-symbols falling from the sky.
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Dig around enough in New Mexico and eventually millions of unsold "ET - The Extra Terrestrial" cartridges will be unearthed after over 20 years of entombment. Famous for being not only probably the worst movie to video game concept ever, the Atari 2600 title would also rank highly in the worst games of all time listings. Consequently, I don't mind suggesting that invariably video game movie tie-ins suck. I can only count on one hand recollections of genuinely inspired adaptations, whereas I'd need a few extra limbs and therefore many fingers and toes to list the many bombs littering the shelves of our local video game stores.
And yet they keep on coming. "Madagascar" is the latest in what's surely an endless line of movie adaptations; based on the recent Dreamworks box office smash of the same name (s'funny that). Forgive me, I haven't seen its big-screen inspiration (for someone of my age, the new Star Wars movie promised slightly better entertainment value), but the skinny on the back story is as follows. New York's Central Zoo's prize attraction Alex the lion decides in his infinite wisdom to take off and escape the zoo's captivity to discover 'the wild', encouraging friends Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo to go looking for him. Much hilarity presumably ensues.
A simple enough plot perhaps, but almost the perfect opportunity for a traditional two-dimensional platformer; which funnily enough is exactly what Madagascar for the DS happens to be.
I've taken a peek at the GBA version, and the DS situation is pretty much the same game - albeit much prettier. In fact it's damn pretty; Madagascar's stars are lifelike and very fluidly animated. It's quite the joy to look at, and I'm over 30. Who knows how enchanting this might be to its target audience of the early teen and younger?
Which brings me to a very important point; Madagascar is no challenge for an adult. I raced from NYC to the wilds in no time at all. If you're chasing thinking-man's entertainment you should really be looking elsewhere.
But what it lacks in intelligence, Madagascar contains fun in spades. As the journey to the wild unfolds, each character learns new moves to make the trip that much easier; Melman realising he can jump higher than anyone else and Gloria is the only member of the gang who can swim. Switching between characters is one area where the DS's touchscreen comes into play. On each level whereas the action is played out on the top screen, the touchscreen displays whichever animal is currently available at any given time and tapping their graphical representation allows the player to harness a particular character's unique attributes.
However, some levels are played out entirely on the touchscreen. For example one situation sees Gloria the hippo rolled up into a ball, helped along platforms with a circular motion. I won't spoil the other opportunities to pull out the DS's stylus, as these chapters in the game are some of the most fun.
Dotted around each level are coins, collecting which will unlock mini-games. However amassing coins will not hinder the games progress, and in fact each level can be played over in case of missed opportunity for unlocking Madagascar's bonus features.
Madagascar is a great deal of fun and is gloriously cute to look at. If you're completely (animal) crackers about the movie, it's just the ticket.
