Previewed: May 14, 2008
Previewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Activision

Developer
Luxoflux

Release Date: June 3, 2008
Genre: Action
Players: 1-4

Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)

In the Kung Fu Panda video game, players embark on an epic, action-packed adventure as they master the specialized Kung Fu fighting styles of Po the Panda, the unlikely hero, his teacher Shifu, and the legendary Kung Fu masters, the Furious Five: Monkey, Tigress, Viper, Mantis and Crane.

Many of you with an Xbox 360 have probably already downloaded the demo for Kung Fu Panda and played a section lifted from the first level of the game, so you might already be familiar with the visuals and the frantic button-mashing gameplay. I recently had a chance to play a preview build of the game, which included many more levels and offered a far greater scope of depth when it comes to combat and traditional platform environmental action.

There are 13 challenging missions in Kung Fu Panda and each comes with an assorted list of primary and secondary objectives. These almost always include defeating some level-end boss and rescuing trapped rabbits, baby turtles, or even your own members of the Furious Five. To accomplish these objectives you’ll get to play as the portly Po and key members of the Furious Five, unleashing your own animalistic brand of kung fu.

Po starts off with a few core moves like fast and strong attacks that can be used individually or strung together as elaborate combos. As the game continues you will discover new and more powerful moves like charged attacks, iron belly, panda stomp and even panda stumble where you can curl up into a ball and roll around the levels Marble Madness style.

Kung Fu Panda gets surprisingly deep with its robust skill-based game core. As you explore the levels and defeat the enemies you will collect hundreds of gold coins and the occasional rare green coin used to unlock bonus content. Gold coins can be spent between missions to power-up Po’s personal stats and level up a large variety of specialty kung fu moves. The more you spend on each move the move powerful it becomes.

The basic gameplay is traditional 3D exploration mixed with heavy doses of combat. There are a few on-rails segments, where you steer Po as he rolls around part of a level, and there is even a cool chase scene where Master Crane (who is carrying Po) is trying to escape a giant crocodile. This reverse angle scene plays out much like the opening scene in the Shark Tale video game where Oscar is trying to dodge the incoming attacks of the pursing shark and you must make the appropriate (and timed) dodge maneuver.

Just when you might get tired of playing as the wisecracking and perpetually hungry Po, the designers throw a few curves your way allowing you to play as other members of the Furious Five. Early on you’ll get to play as Tigress, and there are several levels where you’ll play as Po’s wise teacher, Shifu, and even a brief stint as Monkey. These characters all come with their own unique moves, which are fun to explore, but with the exception of Shifu, your time is far too limited with the peripheral cast.

Kung Fu Panda mixes up the extreme amounts of combat with lots of environmental puzzles like dousing fire with water barrels or challenging jumping puzzles across lily pads, or even fluffy clouds. You’ll even get to test your aim with a few ballista (giant crossbow) shooting games. All of these various game design elements mix flawlessly into what is easily one of the best movie-inspired games of the summer.

Kung Fu Panda also comes with a nice assortment of multiplayer party-style games for up to four players, and even includes some team-based modes. Most of the modes are simply brawl-type games so if you are a fan of Super Smash Bros. then you know exactly what to expect. There are a few nifty games that feature more ballista target shoots and even a clever puzzle-tile matching game where you race to match tile images and fight for control when two players each uncover a matching tile. These mini-games are along the same style as those found in the Shrek, only with a lot more focus on combat, as is appropriate for a game about a Kung Fu Panda.

Visually, Kung Fu Panda is full of rich and wonderful colors and some surprisingly authentic (or perhaps stereotypical) Chinese architecture. The characters are delightfully designed and animated and the fur textures on Po, Tigress, and Tai Lung are remarkable. You just want to reach out and pet them.

The level designs are huge and many are inspired from the movie while others take us to places the movie only hints at. In addition to game-exclusive levels, you’ll also get to meet some new characters like the evil ninja cat trio, the Wu Sisters. These whirling ninjas are the boss to what is easily one of my favorite levels in the game, one that features some treetop escapades over a forest village with a stunning river running through it, all lit with pale blue moonlight…simply stunning.

When it comes to sound I have to give huge props to the guy who does the voice of Po…you really have your Jack Black impersonation (even down to the timing and inflections) down to a science. Sometimes you sound more like Jack than Jack does. A lot of the game is narrated by Po and it’s told in that story-style Jack has made famous in movies like School of Rock and Tenacious D. and the Pick of Destiny.

Not to slight the rest of the wonderful cast; all of the Furious Five, Tai Lung, and especially Shifu all perform flawlessly with loads of attitude and appropriate levels of self-aware humor. The rest of the aural experience is choked full of “awesomeness” including plenty of exaggerated and powerful kung fu thwacks. Po’s Panda Stumble rolling move had my subwoofer rumbling deeper than the boulder chase in the new special edition of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

It’s not often a video game can get me excited about a film, but I can honestly say I am now looking forward to watching Kung Fu Panda when it hits theaters in a few weeks. Meanwhile, I can’t recommend Kung Fu Panda, the video game, highly enough when it finally arrives on virtually every system. It was a pure delight to play from start to finish and I look forward to going into far greater detail in my full review coming soon.