Does this panda have what it takes to become a legendary kung fu master, or will he become a legendary chump?
Movie based games tend to…how can I put this lightly…..be incredibly, and terrifyingly crappy. Believe or not, Kung Fu Panda breaks this trend, for the most part. You will spend most of your time jumping from platform to platform, while showing off your awesome kung fu skills against numerous enemies. The in-game combat is very simple and only requires two buttons to pull off combos. Simplicity is what makes this game great, but it's also this game's downfall. Boredom quickly overwhelmed me after I witnessed the same freakin' combo for the 100th time, and the platforming sections, which were well done, were just not that exciting. Kung Fu Panda recycles what you love about action adventure games and tries to make it its own, but after you've played other platformers like Ratchet and Clank, and Jak and Daxter this game just isn't that exciting.
The in-game graphics were……average. Nothing caught my eye, but nothing caused it to bleed either, hahahaha, I crack myself up. The level design was well done, and it was very easy to navigate my way through areas. There was a moderate attention to detail within the levels, but you'll hardly notice it. The character designs were also superb just like in the film.
The sound design was spectacular in the game, well most of the time. Jack Black narrates the in-game story and plays the voice of Po, and he does a really good job. Maybe he should consider being a voice actor for video games. (Brutal Legend perhaps hehehehe…) The rest of the in-game voice actors also do a great job; Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, etc. I can't say the same thing about the third party characters like the townsfolk in the game. All of them had the same voice actor, and their lines were very repetitive and annoying. The in-game music suited the levels well and had a flare to them, I can't really explain it. The sound effects on the other hand sounded dull, worn out, and muted. I'm not sure if it was my T.V. or the game or me, but something just did not sound right about the sound effects.
Overall: Kung Fu Panda breaks the trend that videogame based movies are destined to be bad. It doesn't do anything new as a platformer, or as an action adventure title, but it's still a pretty solid videogame. If you're looking for something to play, and don't expect too much from games, then you should give Kung Fu Panda a shot.