In Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, players of all ages get to experience the adventures of Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe trying to find a way home through the perfect cover: a travelling circus. Travel across Europe and promote the circus by completing missions and putting on a mini-game based show to take the gang back to the states...

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is a game for one or two players that sees you playing as four of the colourful characters from the Madagascar film series.

This is a game squarely aimed at the younger end of the market, and as such the game play is obviously a little more simple than you'd expect with the average adult game.

Each of the four playable characters has their own unique special moves (for example Melman can walk a tightrope, reach high places and stomp on items to break through them). You start the game in Rome and must go around collecting special items and plastering posters for your circus around the city - all the while avoiding the animal control officers who patrol the streets. You can avoid them by disguising yourself (just wearing a pair of sunglasses to pass unnoticed) but if you get too close they give chase. If they catch you you'll get a few chances to escape, otherwise you'll have to start the level again.

Each level has areas that can't be accessed by one character, you'll need to use both at your disposal to complete your mission. Along the way you'll need to pick up items your other animal friends have requested and collect each character's own special item that is unique to them (for example, there will be large yellow stars in your environment, which you can only pick up if you are playing as Alex)

Only by working together in teams of two will the missions and quests be able to be completed. Playing alone you can switch between the characters, or if you play with a friend, you can work together.

These early levels help you promote the fact that the circus is in town, when you've found all the items you need, you'll move onto the publicity stunt, where two characters have to perform death defying feats in order to pull in the crowds. Next you're onto the circus levels. This includes a number of mini games (six in total) that include selling tickets; feeding your audience and then performing some of the circus acts. For me, as fun as it was, this was the least enjoyable aspect of the game. It's probably more fun if you're competing against a friend, but playing on your own, against the computer, is a little boring. I personally found the platform levels a little more challenging.

Once you've finished this level, the circus packs up and moves onto the next location. There are cities to play through (Rome, Pisa, Paris, London and New York).

While this game won't hold the attention of the average adult gamer, for young players this is quite a good game - certainly better than the usual movie tie-in you get. It's fun, big and bright and the sense of humour that runs throughout will appeal to adults and kids alike. This is one game that parents can play comfortably with their small ones.

7

Darren Rea