RECOMMENDED: ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT – ARCTIC GAMES
Ice Age: Continental Drift – Arctic Games
Activision publishes the tie-in to one of the summer’s biggest family blockbusters. James Batchelor gets the drift
[INFO]
Released: June 29th
Formats: 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS, DS
Publisher: Activision Developer:
Behaviour Interactive
Distributor: CentreSoft Contact:
0121 625 3388
MANY have questioned if licensed kids games are worth the investment anymore but Activision is determined to prove naysayers wrong with its upcoming Ice Agetie-in. Arriving two weeks before the new film, Ice Age: Continental Drift – Arctic Gamesreunites fans with Manny, Sid, Diego and Scratt on their latest wacky adventure. Not only does it tie-in with the events of the upcoming movie, it also coincides nicely with the Olympic Games. No, really, bear with us. The land is breaking apart and forming the continents we know today. As this tumultuous change occurs, the island our prehistoric heroes call home drifts across the ocean, where they encounter a ragged band of pirates. The pirates have a secret treasure and the only way to decide who gets to keep it is with a series
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of Olympic-style events. Players side with either Manny and the herd or the pirates, and the team that wins the most events takes the treasure. As previously mentioned, these competitions are heavily inspired by
Ice Age is one of the world’s most
successful film series. The first three movies have made $1.9bn worldwide.
the upcoming Olympic games and – tying in with the ice theme – the Winter Olympics. There are ten events available, including ski jumping and downhill races, curling, ice smashing and glacial hopping.
Different characters tackle each sport depending on their skills, and gamers will have to master all of them if they want to take the gold. The best athletes are even awarded gold, silver and bronze acorns – after all, medals haven’t been invented yet.
Each mini-game caters for up to four players, making this a great title for younger gamers and their parents.
Modified versions of the game will be released on Nintendo 3DS and DS with mini-games tailored to handheld gaming, while the Xbox 360 SKU will make use of the Kinect motion controller. Ice Age: Continental Driftis one of the summer’s biggest movie events, and one of a handful of kids movies out this year. So retailers can expect the game to gather some interest come the film’s July 13th release.
THE DIGITAL AGE Arctic Games isn’t the only Ice Age product on the market this summer. Mobile publisher Gameloft is launching the Farmville-like Ice Age Village this month for iOS and Android devices. And Bigpoint is currently working away on a free-to- play browser-based game in Ice Age Online, which is also due to launch around the arrival of the movie.
BREAKING THE ICE Set in prehistoric times, Ice Age follows a sloth, a mammoth, a saber- tooth tiger and a nut-obsessed squirrel. More importantly, it is one of the world’s most successful film series, with the previous entry – Dawn of the Dinosaurs– currently the fourth highest grossing animated movie of all time. The first three films have taken $1.9bn worldwide.