Amazon Maximum Age: 20 years Amazon Minimum Age: 144 months Binding: CD-ROM Brand: Wizard Works EAN: 0722242611652 ESRB Age Rating: Teen Format: CD-ROM Label: Wizard Works Manufacturer: Wizard Works Publisher: Wizard Works Release Date: October 04, 2001 Sales Rank: 6760 Studio: Wizard Works
Rating: - The Icy Third Installment- and it ain't lookin hot
Ice Age. Ice Age, Ice Age, Ice Age. Tut tut. Wow, they could have done a LOT more with that game.
So the first two Carnivores games were okay. The first one was great, the second one was surprisingly good considering it was a sequel, and I usually hate sequels, but it wasn't brilliant or anything. And, as with everything, Carnivores Ice Age, the third instalment, proved to be a bit of a disappointment.
Graphics: they're fine. That's not what the problem is here. The creatures all move perfectly, exept all of the four legged predators- the bear looks like some kind of demented pony when it tries to run. The bonus creature, which I shan't reveal to any potential buyers of this game, is possibly the best well done creature of Carnivores Ice:Age, though I think another, even better animal could have been selected to fill up its role-something much larger, like a Megatherium (look it up, dum-dum.) The environements are fine but incredibly samey- it seems like you're on the same island the whole way through. The only differing locale was 'Ravaren's Bridge,' because it had no actual snow, but let's face it I can't say that was fun to hunt in. The trees and vegetation are all right, despite they're not much to look at and simply clutter up the environments in some cases. Why couldn't they have made an enviromnment that was totally flat, but in a constant blizzard, so you could only see about 20 metres in front of you and the calls and footsteps are half-blocked by the wind? That would certainly liven up the game, but I was actually rather surprised to find that NOTHING like this was included in the game; on the contrary, most of the environments are completely the opposite, and all very similar, giving the general landscapes a very bland, unoriginal look. Basically, scratch what I said at the top of this paragraph- the graphics AREN'T fine.
AI: So-so. The creatures walk around realistically, going about their business. The herbivores stop occasionally to eat a plant or claw at the ground, and the carnivores sniff the air in search of food. I was quite disappointed in CIA (Carnivores Ice Age) to find that the co-operation between the animals is completely non-existant. They won't call their own species, they won't hunt each other- I once saw a Smilodon go right through a pig without even nipping at it, I felt like saying 'Why is it always me?' when it malled me to death a few seconds later. There's also a glitch in all of the creatures, so I can see right through their mouth when viewing them head on. I suppose that comes under the 'graphics' section actually, but oh well.
Audio: I'm glad to say that generally the audio in Carnivores Ice Age is okay. There are some nice, ambient background noises when hunting, really giving it a good 'Ice Age' kind of effect. The calls are all quite satisfying- most are them are completely invented, and very imaginative- the Brontoteriy call is a brilliant example of this. Oh, now I come to think of it, there is one major downfall to the calls, and I'd like to know whether everyone has this problem- the bonus creature's call and the bear's are EXACTLY THE SAME! I mean, come ON! They could have tried just a tad more effort than that, don't you think? AND the bear's call itself isn't particularly good, it sounds a bit too cute and cuddly to me.
Storline: Terrible. Well, it's okay I suppose. Kind of. What happens is a few years after the discovery of the planet FMM UV-32 (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out a review of the original carnivores game) the officials of the carnivores hunting business discovered that prehistoric FURRY animals were living and thriving up near the polar caps of the planet. Sounds a bit too FIXED to me. Or maybe that's what it's supposed to be like. Maybe it's supposed to be a mirror image of Earth's past, or it's future, or something creepy like that.
Weapons: The weapons were okay. IN THE LAST GAME THEY WERE IN! Yes, all of the weapons in Canivores Ice Age have came directly from Carnivores 2, so basically Atari made no attempt whatsoever to improve on the weapons. And personally I don't really like the weapons anyway. Most of them are very similar, except the pistol, which is pretty crap when it comes to actual hunting. Some of the weapons, like the DB shogun, are quite good to use but completely unoriginal. Just for the record, there are six weapons in total: Pistol, shotgun, DB shotgun, Crossbow, Rifle and Sniper Rifle. Sounds pretty good, doen't it? It's not.
Overall: 3 stars- despite being a good game to play with a friend with the speakers up full blast, and the odd memorable moment here and there, Carnivores Ice Age just has no long-lasting effect, and its similarity to Carnivores 2 in particular just makes it a very forgettable experience overall.
p.s. Rate this review after reading it, I want to see if I'm writing in the right kind of context here.
Rating: - good but THE BEST
I dowlaoded this game on my computer and i thought it was one of the best games ever i played the original carnivores game and I loved it! Its was the best game. But, now if you have the same objective exept you hunt ice animals that lowerd it by 1 star so that all i got
Rating: - Totally prehistoric!
This game is really neat. While its in the same fashion and design of Carnivores 1 & 2, it does have some changes, for the better. For one, you aren't hunting dinosaurs. While I love the previous games, this is a really nice change of pace. you definitely have to be on your toes for this game, especially when you finally get to the mystery monster, and I ain't tell what it is. But you had better be a dead-on, one-shot kinda hunter because that's all you will be, just like with the T-Rex and this monster is a whole lot more fast.Enjoy!!
- The Icy Third Installment- and it ain't lookin hot
- Totally prehistoric!
