The developers made an attempt at including a stealth element to Madagascar 3, unbelieveable as that sounds. There are animal control officers on the prowl, and if they catch you, the mission restarts. To avoid these enemies, you can hit the disguise button, where your animal wears funny glasses and slows down to a walk. It's difficult to tell whether you are in disguise mode without panning the camera around to your character's face, which is irritating. Obviously the intention was to add some tension to the experience, but the stealth aspects are poorly implemented to the point of frustration.
All told, Madagascar 3 is the textbook definition of a bad movie game. The "go get this" missions are boring, and the few racing and mini-game sections are not enough to spice it up. All of the fun and humor of the films has been drained away, leaving only a pedestrian exercise in frustration. Even King Julian's appearance in the cut scenes can't save Madagascar 3. I reservedly recommended it as a rental at best; even the most dedicated fans of Alex and the rest of the crew will find this one distasteful.
Editor's note: This review is based on the Xbox 360 version of the game.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: 2 local players can wander through the cities on fetch quests together in split screen mode. Each character's special powers are needed to progress.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.