Kung Fu Panda (Xbox 360) Review
Posted by John Curry on 06.25.2008
As much fun as you could have being a fat panda voiced by “Jack Black”.
In what may come as a shock to you, I actually enjoy these cartoon film based games and tend to play almost all of them that come out. Now add Jack Black (or in the game a decent sound alike) to it and you know I am going to be all over it. When I first saw the preview for Kung Fu Panda in the theater I thought “Man, I can’t wait to see that.” I saw it and busted a gut laughing. Yeah it’s childish but it was enough to keep me entertained. I am not expecting too much from a cartoon. After I saw the film I said I hope the game is half as good as this. Let’s take a look and see how exactly this game did.
The storyline of the game is where the hilarity comes from. You are a fat panda named Po who works for his father, a duck, delivering special soup. Although you come from humble beginnings you believe you are a kung fu master. Your shenanigans while trying to watch the Kung Fu Dragon Master tournament lead you on a journey to prove yourself as a kung fu master.
Gameplay:
The game has 13 levels for you to conquer in the storyline with a good amount of custom done cut scenes to get you laughing in between the action. The gameplay is pretty simple. The first level is a tutorial to show you exactly what moves you can do and how to do them. You basically have chi (your special power energy) and your health. There are various moves you can do in addition to regular martial arts moves, such as Panda Roll, Panda Bump, Panda Quake and others. The fights revolve around you fighting these small boar like creatures and alligators with different objectives throughout the game. You can collect coins that will allow you to upgrade your skills for a certain cost. The real enjoyment of playing through the levels comes from the other 5 members of the “Furious Five” who play an integral role in the game. The game is very easy for an experienced gamer, and took me only 3 hours, if even, to beat. However, for the target market of this game it will take a little bit longer. I would go into the specifics a little further but I don’t want to ruin the game or the film for those who have not seen it.
The game does have a multiplayer setting which unfortunately is solely off line and nothing more than little mini-games a la Mario Party and supports up to 4 players at once.
The graphics are by and far the best we have yet to see on a licensed game. The game is almost as good looking as the film itself. It isn’t as good but damn close. The levels are varied and actually well done and add astronomically to the whole feel of the game. The cut-scenes are some of the best looking and funniest I have yet to see on a cartoon game. I hope that in the future all cartoon based games at least reach this level, if not surpass it. The one issue that always seems to exist in these games is trouble with lagging during heavy usage of the games pixels. This was not an issue here at all.
The sound is one of the strongest points in this game. The voice acting is solid and well done. The music is top notch. After a while you will really feel as if you are part of the movie rather than playing a game.
Fun Factor
This game is very fun to play for the 3 hours it lasts. It is one of the funniest family friendly games to hit the market in a long time. If you are a big gamer this game will be a short lasting fun but if you have kids or young relatives this game will be a hit for you and make you the favorite for a while.
Heeeeeeyyaaah!
Lasting Appeal
The lasting appeal for an hardcore gamer is very little at 3 hours max. If you are not a hardcore gamer or if you have kids the game will last a while especially if you take advantage of the multiplayer mini-games. Again know going in to this it isn’t the most challenging game for anyone who plays a lot of games.
The 411
Kung Fu Panda is by far one of the best licensed games to hit the next generation market. The graphics, voice acting, and gameplay are solid and most importantly suit their target market. While many hardcore gamers will breeze through this game with little to no problems at all, kids will really get a kick out of this game. My final recommendation is to pick this game up via rental and play it through. If you have kids still rent it to see how they do with it. You might be able to save yourself some money if they can breeze through it as well. Congratulations to Activision for perfectly executing this game for their target generation.
Graphics
9.0
The best cartoon graphics I have seen on a licensed product. The environment, characters, and battles are all exemplarily done.
Gameplay
7.5
The gameplay is enjoyable for all. The only real complaint I have is the length of the game for avid gamers but considering the market this game was created for I cannot complain too much.
Sound
8.0
The voice acting is awesome and really quite hilarious. The music and fight sounds are awesome as well. You will get a kick out of the dialogue.
Lasting Appeal
4.0
I hate to give this game such a low score the reality is any game that takes only 3 hours to beat is going to get a low rating. The kids will probably enjoy the mini-games for a little while but not for long.
Fun Factor
8.5
The game is great time for as long as it lasts. The story line is great and has a good message for kids. It’s just an awesome good time. If it wasn’t for the length of this game I would give it a 10 for the enjoyment I had playing this game.
