It's a jungle out there.

It's kind of like Escape from Alcatraz, except instead of Clint Eastwood it has a wise-cracking zebra, and Alcatraz isn't Alcatraz, but a New York zoo. A sharp-tongued zebra, well-behaved lion, neurotic giraffe and voluptuous hippopotamus leave one island for another in the console game based on the Dreamworks movie. Features* Play as all four major characters, plus penguins, lemurs and more * 11 levels inspired by the movie * Zany minigames of golf, rhythm, shuffleboard and more

Marty the zebra, Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe have a hankering for the wide-open spaces -- precious few of which are in the Central Park Zoo. After eluding none-to-bright guards, making their way across Manhattan by moonlight, boarding a freighter, surviving a penguin mutiny, they find themselves cast ashore on Madagascar. Can city slickers find true happiness in the land of the lemurs You develop new skills as you take the role of each zoo animal during the game. Alex can rev up his claws, roar and pounce; Marty masters the long jump, back kick and crawl; Gloria can butt smash; while Melman soars over New York's finest steam vents, courtesy of his helicopter spin. Throughout the game, you'll find coins, which you can spend at the Souvenir Shop on three multiplayer minigames, apparel (goofly glasses for Marty, flowers for Gloria and much more) and extras like a coin magnet and extra health. The Shuffleboard minigame gives you a choice of three boards: a straightforward poolside board; jungle, which throws in a few bumpers for fun; and the gently bowl-shaped Antarctica Curve. Strategy is limited because you can't put a spin on the puck. There are miniature Tiki Golf courses and Lemur Rave, a simple rhythm game. You can take fun breaks at arcades secreted in the zoo and Manhattan. Once the animals wash ashore on the island of Madagascar, quirky camera work makes the jump-heavy levels more of a challenge than they should be. Still, half-experienced players should be able to blow through the levels on their first tries. Madagascar's linear stages are padded out with lots of FMV and feral banter. Granted that the movie ain't exactly aiming to be a masterpiece of realism, some of the mini-missions seem, well, a stretch. Escort pollen-hungry bees to flowers? Rescue lemurs from a windy mountain top?
Bottom Line Madagascar's chief charm lies in its cheerful, slaphappy ambience.