Kung Fu Panda Review

BY Rabie Hassoun | POSTED: 23 July 2008

Kung Fu Panda proves that not all movie licensed games suck.



Kung Fu Panda was a movie a whole lot of people enjoyed. People from all ages packed the theatres around the world to watch a funny and simple flick. So to come up with a game based on the movie, going with the movies theme itself is not exactly a bad idea. The game has to look good, has to be simple enough to attract the target audience (young children) but in the same time it needs to grab the older casual gamers’ attention.  Kung Fu Panda the game manages to offer almost all of the above factors. The game looks fantastic, offers a wide variety of game play styles and will keep your little brother busy for weeks. The older gamer might feel a bit left off though.

Gamers stopped expecting good things from movie licensed videogames like 10 years ago. Other than a few recent exceptions (The Bee movie game was fantastic) all movie related games have sucked. King Fu Panda is certainly and luckily an exception. It offers some wide variety of gameplay options for you to test drive during your time with the game. A mix of exploration, platforming and a surprisingly interesting combat system keep things fresh for a while. The exploration is very simple, yet it is a delight walking about some of the movie’s scenery in such high resolution beauty. What about the platforming aspects? The usual, you will be jumping and grinding around as a cute panda. The combat system somehow feels like it got ripped off Devil May Cry 4. Yup you read that right. It certainly does not offer the depth you experienced in DMC4 but the combos you perform and the meter displayed linking those combos really does bring back some rather “devilish” memories.

The story will be following that of the movie, but not in every single detail. Some levels and scenes are made just for the game. The movie, as you all might know, is a cute and funny movie that finished just a bit too soon. The game follows that very same path as well. Just when you start getting hold of the game, the game comes to an end. 13 levels might sound like a big number for a children’s game but the levels are really short and those 13 levels could have easily fit in 5 long episodes. On any level of difficulty you choose the game will not really challenge you in anyway, well unless you’re 10 years old and got this game as a gift than you might need a guide. Each level in the game will be offering a set of challenges and objectives for you to complete. Objectives will range from primary to secondary. Obviously primary objectives are those you need to complete to finish the level.

The game really looks attractive. Not “I want to take her out for a drink” attractive but rather “Wow she is cute” attractive. We actually were surprised about how good the game looked on the PS3 and Xbox 360. For those who have seen the movie, the game does not look as good as that but really comes very close. The scenes and backgrounds are really accurate and manage to capture the atmosphere of the movie perfectly. Oh and relax, slowdowns and lag do not exist in either versions of the game.

The game borrows some of the music from the movie. Nothing spectacular here, but hearing those familiar tunes is rather important in a movie licensed videogame. The voice acting is actually good, even though it is not the star studded voice crew from the movie, they still sound familiar and authentic.

Kung Fu Panda is not a game for every gamer out there. Older gamers are going to have a hard time getting around the fact that the game is just too simple. This however is not the game's problem; the game is obviously thriving for the young generation’s attention with this one. Even though King Fu Panda will not be taking a whole lot of time to complete, picking it up for a young gamer just might turn around this hot summer for him/her. After all there is only so much those air conditioners can do!