Madagascar’s cast of four zoo animals (and five deranged penguins) begged to be utilized in the game. Kids would be disappointed if just one character was playable. This presented a serious problem for the developers: design a side-scrolling action/adventure with four different characters, and make their purpose relevant to the levels and the gameplay. Vicarious Visions, who is famous for the Game Boy Advance versions of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, did not flinch. They rose to the occasion and pumped out a game that anyone can enjoy, not just kids.

Madagascar follows the story of the movie very closely. Game Boy Advance has full motion video capabilities, but the developers opted for cartoon stills and text dialog from the film. They may be skipped, but this is one of the rare times I didn't want to skip them (not all of them at least).

In between the brief story segments is the thing that gamers really want: good gameplay! Play as Marty, the optimistic zebra who runs faster, jumps longer and can kick harder than his energetic friends. Gloria, the glamorous hippopotamus, is built like a tank. She'll crush most enemies just by jumping on them! Level traps like spiked plants are no match for her mighty girth.

If you know what it's like to be embarrassed, choose Melman. The next time you say to yourself, "I wish I could crawl into a hole," stick your head in the ground and pretend that no one can see you. Giraffes can't see anything when their faces are covered in dirt – who says the opposite ain't true?

Alex is the lovable lion with an extra loud roar. He struck fear in those he encountered in the movie; now he's striking fear in birds, rats, and creepy, crawly spiders! (You know how he hates spiders. A pack of wild carnivores – they're harmless. But when a spider pops out of a tree, run!)

No Madagascar game would be complete without its most lethal inhabitants: the penguins. They're not very suave and they're not all that sophisticated, but when duty calls they're as deadly as a psychotic James Bond. Their moves were taken directly from the film: duck and crawl to avoid being seen, and slap pesky rats when they get in your way.

A hint of Metal Gear Solid is there during these missions where players hide inside boxes to avoid getting caught. The camera does a nice trick, pulling back so that players can see the crew of the ship they are trying to take over. Ironically, the humans have as much intelligence as the guards in Metal Gear. They'll see you, rub their eyes and walk away up to four times. On the fifth time it finally dawns on them that what they're seeing is real; they kick you out and the mission has to be re-started.

There's no limit to how much time you can spend exploring one world. Madagascar encourages the player to return to levels that have been completed by limiting the characters that are available the first time through. Over 1,500 coins are hidden in the game. Most of them are visible just by jumping around, but an estimated 30% of them are specific to one particular character. Marty's crouching ability lets him crawl through tiny spaces. Melman sticks his head in the ground out of fear; do it in loose soil and it'll cave in, leading the way to a different path and/or an additional coin. Gloria is the only one in the whole bunch who can swim, and Alex is the only one with a double jump.

These exclusive moves are one of many things that separate the characters. I was very pleased by how each of them controlled. The hippo is the heaviest, slowest and strongest; the zebra is the fastest; and fearsome giraffe is the weakest. Alex's attack is the worst. All he can do is scare animals away by roaring. Ground animals aren't affected since they walk below his roar. Birds and spiders are it as far as he's concerned.

Madagascar may be a kids' game, but that's no excuse to bog the player down with a lengthy tutorial. The developers agree, using small billboards to tell the player what to do at key points in the game. Very little text is involved here – the billboard uses button icons to show exactly what needs to be pressed. A text explanation is given when the task is visited for the first time. When you come to it again in a later level, all you have to do is look at billboard to jog your memory. Those who don't need it can run right past it.

Vicarious Visions hasn't failed us yet. Fun for all ages but designed for kids, Madagascar is the perfect game for anyone who loves DreamWorks's computer-animated hit.

Gameplay: 7.5
Thoroughly enjoyable. Each character has a unique look and feel, as well as an important move that is needed to either pass a level or to collect all of the coins. Coin collection leads to bonuses. It's fun locating and obtaining them just for the heck of it, but with a reward involved, the search is more enticing. The challenge is mostly limited to enable gaming fun for all ages, but there were a few times when I couldn't prevent myself from losing. Oblivious as they may be, the ship crew is not as stupid as you'd think.

Graphics: 7.5
Generic 2D imagery and 16-bit style effects. Not ugly, but not "Advanced" either.

Sound: 7.0
Fairly decent. The music and sound effects share the same theme as the movie.

Difficulty: Easy
This mostly easy adventure has a few slightly more difficult areas that'll make gamers say, "Oh man I can't believe I just fell for that."

Concept: 7.5
Excellent use of the film's different characters; the levels are laid out effectively; and the missions are entertaining (and action-oriented) without being violent. Believe it or not, the penguins are more violent in the movie than they are in this game.

Overall: 7.5
It's really hard to play an action/adventure and not be skeptical. Add a movie license and the skepticism doubles. To that end Madagascar is a wonderful treat for young game players, starring the film's kooky cast and features the same locations explored in this tale of a zebra who wishes to find himself. The variety of gameplay types is considerably higher than most action/adventures, let alone games with a movie license attached.