When You Need Relief, It's Nowhere to Be Found
add_circle Pros
- The graphics are top-notch, with detailed environments and characters that look amazing.
- Some of the features have been simplified, making it easier to navigate and play.
- The game's storyline is engaging and fun to follow.
- The sound design is great, with realistic sound effects and a catchy soundtrack.
- The game's weight is a decent 4.3 GB, which is a bit hefty, but not outrageous.
remove_circle Cons
- The game is a system hog, even with 16 GB of RAM, and can cause crashes and blue screens.
- The game's difficulty is severely imbalanced, making it frustrating to play at times.
- Some of the features that were present in the second game are missing here.
- The game's weight is a major issue, making it difficult to play on lower-end hardware.
- The game's storyline is predictable and lacks surprises.
Gallery
Editor's Summary
I gotta say, 'Ice Age: The Meltdown' is a total letdown. I was expecting a game that would live up to its predecessor, but it's a whole different story. The game's name is 'Ice Age 5' in my book, and it's a decent, but flawed, installment in the series. I'll be sharing all my frustrations and disappointments as I play through it.
Specifications
I'm back with another installment of my favorite and unforgettable game, which I've been playing since 2006, after which I decided to try out the entire series of 'Ice Age' games.
Spoiler alert: My ratings are going downhill from here.
If I gave the second part 5 stars, this one gets 4.
5 stars isn't so bad despite its flaws, because the more I play, the more I'll be spilling all my frustrations and disappointments.
Yes, the game's name is 'Ice Age: The Meltdown', but I find it easier to just call it 'Ice Age 5', let's stick with that. It's more concise.
Weight: I didn't bother checking the torrent, but the 4.3 GB weight against 700 MB for the second part tells you something - even if your PC has 16 GB of RAM, its weight suggests it'll still be a system hog.
Crashes: It loaded my PC so heavily (and I'm not exactly running a dinosaur) that the first time I launched it, I got a blue screen after an hour, and I was too scared to launch it for a week. But yesterday, I launched it, played for two hours, and it seemed to be working fine, although my PC was making a lot of noise and getting hot.
Graphics: The graphics have taken a huge leap, released in 2019, so it's not old and people are still playing it on gaming consoles.
Ice Age: The Meltdown - gameplayHere's a screenshot for reference.But from now on, I'll be posting phone pics, and I won't be able to play and screenshot at the same time.
Ice Age: The MeltdownHere's what it looks like during loading, with two minutes of music playing - I don't like the noise, so I immediately turned off the sound in the settings.
Ice Age: Crazy Adventure of ScratControls: I've gotta say, the devs have already decided how you'll be controlling Scrat during gameplay, and that's a minus. Yeah, there are three options, but they're even more awkward than the one I chose, so I left it as is.One thing that's different from the previous game is the autosave feature. Every 15-20 minutes, you'll be able to save your progress at checkpoints, and you'll see a little purple acorn on the screen. Don't worry, it's normal - the game creates a backup for you. In the previous game, you had to do it manually, but the risk of dying was way lower.
Ice Age: Crazy Adventure of ScratIt starts with you getting dropped into a cave, where you'll have some characters talking to you and writing 'chesno' - that's a missing letter, but I get the gist of it.
Ice Age: Crazy Adventure of ScratAfter a short sprint, you'll be transported to a forest, and your goal is to explore all the locations.I'm really enjoying how this series has stuck to its roots - it's all about progressing through levels, collecting nuts, fighting enemies, and sometimes unlocking gates. Some people might find it boring, but I'm all about collecting as much food as possible and navigating Scrat with the least amount of fat on my fingers. The adventures might not be as crazy as I'd like, but that's okay with me.
Ice Age: Crazy Adventure of Scrat - walkthroughYeah, it's the same deal as before - you'll need to jump over obstacles, and if you fall into the water, you'll have two chances to get back to land. On the third try, you'll die and respawn at the last checkpoint. I was a bit disappointed to find out that there's no double jump in the game - it's just not there, no matter how many times you press space. But the camera doesn't clip much, at least.One thing that's changed is the health system. You won't have '50 leaves' or any other numbers - your health is represented by a battery-like gauge on your phone, and it gets restored at special 'health boxes'.
One of the biggest perks of 'Ice Age 5' is that you've got unlimited ammo, no need to scrounge around for bullets or worry about running out. And the best part? You've got the ability to focus your shots, which is super helpful for taking out enemies before they even get close. I mean, I could basically clear out a whole area before even stepping foot in it.
Ice Age: The Crazy Adventure of Scrat - GameplayLet me show you another bug:
Ice Age: The Crazy Adventure of Scrat - Gameplay Ice Age: The Crazy Adventure of Scrat - GameplayOkay, so this is basically the same spot, but my screen was glitching out and I managed to capture both versions. I'm trying to take out these beetles, but the problem is that some enemies can sneak under the rocks and I end up getting ambushed when I pop out of cover. It's super frustrating, especially since they take like 4-5 hits to take down. So, I'd be walking out of my little hideout, thinking I'm safe, and then BAM! I'd get attacked out of nowhere and my health would plummet.I was getting pretty fed up with this, to be honest. That's when I started thinking about cheats.
I managed to find some cheats online, but let me tell you, it wasn't easy. You've got to search for them on English websites and then download this tiny file and put it in the right folder. It's a bit of a pain, but trust me, it's worth it.
As soon as I activated the cheats, the game was a whole new world:
Ice Age: The Crazy Adventure of Scrat Ice Age: The Crazy Adventure of Scrat - GameplayWith the double jump cheat, I was able to navigate the terrain so much easier. I mean, if I messed up a jump, I could just jump back up and try again, instead of having to run all the way back and start over. It's a total game-changer. Ice Age: Scurry's Wild Adventure I mean, there are hills here too, but there are way more of them.The biggest minus of the game is the balance of difficulty. You'll be cruising through levels for miles without any issues or enemies, and then suddenly you'll come across this massive boss creature that's way stronger than you.
Ice Age: Scurry's Wild Adventure - Gameplay Honestly, I think it's impossible to win this battle without cheating. I was fighting this crocodile for 20 minutes, and if I didn't have a cheat code, I would've never beaten it. Developers, please, don't make it this hard - it's just not fair to players who have to resort to cheating.Other than that, Ice Age 5 has its pros and cons, which I've mentioned before. I wouldn't recommend it to kids - it's way too hard for them, and it's more suited for teenagers and adults.I've seen videos of people playing this game on YouTube, and there's one video where a dad and his 5- or 6-year-old son are playing together. I think that's way too young for this game.
Despite its flaws, I still really enjoy playing Ice Age 5, so I'm giving it a 7/10.