For a game involving fuzzy creatures practicing and fighting in the arts of King-Fu, the game isn't too bad.

Yes, you heard me, it isn't as bad as I had thought it might be. And believe me, seeing that this is a game based on a movie and starring Jack Black, there were two big strikes against it going in. Not that Jack Black is a bad actor or anything, but he does have a history of over doing things and, well, movies games usually stink like rotten fish. That being said, the game is a cheap way of seeing how the movie plays out prior to actually seeing the movie. Kind of cheating but, since the movie is based on the real five animals styles of Kung-Fu (tiger, viper, crane, monkey, and praying mantis), the fact that those animals are actually doing the fighting is kind of cool. For some reason I can't help but think there is a dragon style of Kung-Fu as well; oh well, maybe that will be in the sequel.

So the story, as the game shows, has you playing the title hero of "Po" the rotund Panda bear who talks a big game even though he works in his father's restaurant. If the game is to be believed (as compared to the movie), then Po knows a little something about fighting since he sees all his little rabbit friends being picked on by some local thugs and promptly beats thenm into submission. The locals all see him as a good guy looking out for the little guy and all Po wants to do is see the chosen furious five (the above mentioned animals) compete in a Kung-Fu tournament to see who the next Dragon warrior will be (hey, there's the dragon warrior). The dragon warrior is being chosen by the oldest and wisest master in order to combat the coming threat of an especially dangerous criminal (who is a tiger) named Tai Lung. Well surely the title of the movie has a Panda, then Po is chosen almost accidentally. The other warriors are stunned and even offended and their master, Shifu is not at all happy about the situation since he has been charged with preparing Po for his newly acquired status of Dragon warrior.

"You put your right hand in and you shake it all around..."

So now, you play as several characters from the movie across 13 different levels, all the while increasing character points and using those points to improve your attacks and statistics. Since you primarily play as Po, you will be doing all the leveling up as him. Otherwise, there are some nifty action scenarios where you play as another character. The giant fight at the beginning of the game is a kind of cool one as you must hit the right buttons in a series a la God of War to defeat the mechanical giant. Additionally, the Kung-Fu is fairly easy to get to use; simple buttons will provide basic attacks where comboing them together will launch a more powerful, fancy move. It could have been put together a bit better, but I can see why the developers did what they did since the game is aimed squarely at 10-year olds everywhere. The simple fighting engine is designed to get the most out of younger players but does show some signs of depth with powerful moves and bone-crunching combos. Dealing with other bad guys other than Tai Lung is par for the course and as the Dragon warrior, you must duke it out with other gangs like the Evil Boar gang called the Black Tusk, a gang of simians led by the Great Gorrilla, a bunch of crocodiles called the Imperial Golden Croc gang and the swift wolves of the Lang Shadow army. Finally, before squaring off with Tai Lung, you will need to best the Wu Sisters. So to say there is a few bad guys in the game is somewhat of an understatement.

So with that, since the game is based on an animated movie, you would think the graphics would be pretty sharp, and you would be right. Kung-Fu Panda is a decent looking title, not fantastic mind you, but the game more than makes due with the visuals that are offered. Good use of shading and colors, the characters all look like the movie characters and the lighting effects are more than ample. To be honest with you I really liked how the game flowed and looked. Switching from character to character, doing different things on different levels rather then the same thing time and time again. The game comes together nicely.

 
"On second thought, maybe you don't need to be milked."

Now the game has voice work that sounds an awful lot like the actors, but apparently it is not, just really good voice actors. Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, and Dustin Hoffman are some pretty big names in the Hollywood community, so it wasn't totally unexpected that they couldn't land the actual actors, but it would have been nice. Some lesser known voices do appear including James Hong who has about a million movies to his credit, but never in a leading role. Still, decent voice work that I assume follows the movie closely.

Kung-Fu Panda does a fair job of keeping things moving. Like I said there are different things to do on each level, they primarily do involve fighting but there is a sequence towards the beginning where you try and best the furious five's record times in their danger rooms. At the end of each level you score additional points for meeting or breaking the challenges and can really ratchet up Po's abilities quickly. Hidden items, and requirements litter the levles and help to keep you on task. Of course finding gold coins helps out immensely.

Interestingly enough, the game has decent multiplayer modes to roll with, a fighting game, mini-quests in co-op mode, a game of dodge ball and even a crossbow style game that make for some actually interesting game play.

Gameplay: 7.0
The fighting engine could be more advanced but I understand why its as simple as it is, evne though there are some slightly advanced moves for the inclined.

Graphics: 7.4
Were not re-inventing the wheel here, but the game does a good job of conveying the action story, no slowdown, good lighting and character models.

Sound: 7.2
Not the same actors, but pretty decent ones. Some funny one-liners and decent narration, I could swear its Jack Black, but he's not credited anywhere.

Difficulty: Medium
Young players will find challenge, veterans will have an easy-enough time.

Concept: 6.0
Nothing new here in concepts, other than making a game based on a summer kids' movie that doesn't stink it up.

Multiplayer: 6.8
Not too bad, some fighting, some co-op, some dodge ball; it feels slightly tacked on and you're not going to be playing this for the multiplayer, but at least there is some good in it.

Overall: 7.0
There are certainly worse movie-to-game titles, but this one does a decent job of having some fun and providing a coherent story, along with decent gameplay. If your kids bug you to get this game, rest assured they will not tire of it quickly, there is fun to be had here.