While in the summer, video game releases take a breather, licensed games seem to just pour from the sky – to coincide with the latest big movie release.  This time it’s an animated Dreamworks picture, called Kung Fu Panda. Developed by Vicarious Visions, this DS title does an alright job of giving players a fun, movie-related experience.

The CG animated movie tells the story of an overweight panda (played by Jack Black) who bumbles his way from goofball to hero.  Like any good movie-license game, the DS title gives players a shortened version of that story.   In this game, the developers “borrowed” the Metroid-Vania gameplay mechanic of laying out a web of connecting levels and letting players explore them to unlock new levels.  While this game never gets anywhere near as complex as Metroid, younger players will get a challenge from the simple level design.

Like most platformers in this genre, players gain new powers as the story progresses.  Of course, since it’s on the DS, players use the touchscreen to control Po the panda.  To make an attack, swipe towards the enemy. Simple right?  To jump, players can either swipe up or tap Y or up on the D-Pad, depending on whether you’re a righty or lefty.  Eventually, you’ll learn new moves that use different motions or button controls.  For instance, to progress through a new area, you might have to roll up into a ball. Consider it a ball of Po (tee-hee). Anyway, new moves equal new levels – everyone knows that!

The graphics in Kung Fu Panda are perhaps the most impressive aspect of the game.  The 2-D levels feature fully 3-D characters and environments.  Even backgrounds that you might just pass by quickly are given an artistic twist of some kind, and always please the eye.

Sadly, Kung Fu Panda is not perfect. Occasionally, poor level design hampered my progress for hours.  Maybe I was over-thinking certain puzzles, but I found on multiple occasions the puzzle to be poorly explained.  Similarly, the touch-screen controls sometimes feel a little clunky. The game also has little replay value. The short, albeit fun, adventure has no co-op or wireless capabilities, and there’s little reason to go through it again. But I have to commend Vicarious Visions, because this game is not a quick cash-in title, like so many other license games.

Gameplay: 7.0

The touchscreen controls are engaging and adapted for younger players, but might feel cumbersome for regular gamers.

Graphics: 8.0

The most impressive part of this game, the unique 3-D environments outshine all the other parts.

Sound: 7.0
While Jack Black and other stars don't lend their voices to this game, the sound and voices do their job.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

Straightforward gameplay is sometimes inhibited by frustrating level design.

Concept: 7.0

The touchscreen controls are well thought out and Metroid-Vania design suits the title.

Overall: 7.0

A decent title for the DS that (for once) looks like some real work was put into it.  While the game is fairly short, fans of the movie will enjoy this beat-um-up.