The 10 mini-games in Ice Age: Continental Drift — Arctic Games are ambitious in what they ask of you: your every move is meticulously read by Kinect, and coordination is key. As you guide the movie’s characters through activities ranging from plugging leaking holes in an ice wall to hurling coconuts into targets, you’ll soon realize that even the tiniest movement affects the onscreen action.
What separates Continental Drift from other mini-game–centric Kinect games is the sense that there is a method to the motion-based madness. As you might guess, using your whole body as a controller doesn’t offer the precision that analog sticks and button-presses would’ve, even with the game’s obvious polish. With enough time and patience, though, you’ll be able to consistently prevent Diego from running into an obstacle-course wall or keep Granny from missing most of her slalom-skiing gates, and as we gradually adjusted to the controls, we felt with (many) hours of additional practice, we had a real shot at truly mastering the game. The question is: do you want to invest that much time?
Younger, devoted gamers (and/or fans of the franchise) probably won’t mind this uphill challenge: bragging rights are due to anyone who can navigate an event with precision and flourish. And they’ll likely enjoy story mode’s loose, simple plot and charming cutscenes, while overlooking its very short playtime. (We finished it in just under an hour.) With this game, repetition is the source of fun — either through an attempt to master favorite activities or the use of hotseat multiplayer to determine the family pecking order for that day. There’s definitely satisfaction in learning the game’s mechanics (as opposed to just flailing through the movements), but those not willing to weather the learning curve may become frustrated and bored quickly.
Continental Drift has the markings of a great family game, but we couldn’t help but feel like it overestimates what the human body + Kinect can currently control. Only the most devoted players will enjoy mastering this game for the sake of doing so.
PUBLISHER: Activision • DEVELOPER: Blue Sky Studios • ESRB: Everyone • MULTIPLAYER: 2 in local hotseat play • ACHIEVEMENTS: Lots of work • RELEASE DATE: July 10, 2012
+ Charming cutscenes and very good voiceovers; ambitious use of Kinect controls.
– Limited content: game’s appeal is based on the desire to replay and master the mini-games.
– Game requires a lot of practice to master its body-based controls…if you have the patience for it.
? Should an elderly animal really be tackling slalom skiing if we keep running her into the gates?
